Awarded for publication

The American Journal of Nursing (AJN) recently honored Weber State University Associate Professor of Nursing Deborah Judd, Associate Professor of Nursing Kathleen Sitzman and Health Sciences Librarian G. Megan Davis with the 2009 Book of the Year award. This award was given for the three authors’ work titled A History of American Nursing: Trends and Eras. The textbook is designed to give nursing students historic nursing information without the bulk of a traditional textbook.
“It was extremely work- intensive and time-consuming,” said Sitzman about writing the textbook. “I could have never done it without Deborah Judd and Megan Davis. This book was a collaborative effort.”
The textbook is printing for the third time since its first printing in March 2009, and is currently used by WSU students in the nursing program. Other schools across the nation are also incorporating this book into their core nursing curriculum.
“The text was created specifically with WSU nursing students in mind,” Sitzman said. “I had already completed a textbook, so I approached Jones and Bartlett Publishers about the idea and they thought it was a really good one. I really enjoy creating things for the students.”
With only 265 pages, the textbook is significantly smaller than prior historical textbooks. The book covers historical events about nursing since 1950 to the present.
“I remember the huge history textbooks you’d have to read,” said 1995 WSU School of Nursing graduate Ruth Ann Ellis. “I used to dread learning about history for the program because I had a hard time getting through the text.”
Co-author Sitzman, who was in charge of writing the text, has also written the book Understanding the Work of Nurse Theorists: A Creative Beginning.  A second edition of this book is scheduled to be printed in March 2010. 
Once the research for A History of American Nursing: Trends and Eras was nearly finished, Sitzman enlisted the help of her colleague, Judd, to finish the book. Judd authored chapters six through 10, and Davis wrote the last chapter and contributed the illustrations.
“The theory and history textbooks were created to complement each other,” Sitzman said. “With the second edition of Understanding the Work of Nurse Theorists: A Creative Beginning coming out in March, many nursing programs across the United States are restructuring their curriculum to match Weber’s.”
The AJN is a monthly magazine that focuses on providing nurses with insight into the latest medical technology. According to their site, AJN has been the leading voice of nursing since 1900. The AJN’s mission is to distribute literature and peer-reviewed information to individuals within the nursing and health care field in order to create better practices. The journal emphasizes the need for original research and contributions for the nursing industry. Every year the journal selects literature that meets such criteria.