The issue of power is central in the analysis of the development and contemporary structures of nursing, the remedial therapies and social work. Both the idea of caring and the concept of professionalism are integral to the problems of power. Using material from the UK and the USA, this book examines the growth of these professions, and asks a critical perspective of their present organisation, highlighting race, gender and relationships with service users as central to such an analysis.

"The issue of power is central in the analysis of the development and contemporary structures of nursing, the remedial therapies and social work. Both the idea of caring and the concept of professionalism are integral to the problems of power. Using material from the UK and the USA, this book examines the growth of these professions, and asks a critical perspective of their present organisation, highlighting race, gender and relationships with service users as central to such an analysis."--

The issue of power is central in the analysis of the development and contemporary structures of nursing, the remedial therapies and social work. Both the idea of caring and the concept of professionalism are integral to the problems of power. Using material from the UK and the USA, this book examines the growth of these professions, and asks a critical perspective of their present organisation, highlighting race, gender and relationships with service users as central to such an analysis 'This is a fascinating book which will be of interest to everyone who has devoted thought to the nature of professional intervention in health care'. Jennifer Creek, British Journal of Occupational Therapy

Ethics are central to the caring professions. The very idea of a profession stakes a claim on the ethical basis of knowledge and skills. In this book Richard Hugman examines new approaches in ethics and applies these to the practices and organisation of the caring professions. Hugman addresses debates about the relationship between the individual person and social structures, about pluralism and the possibility of universal values, about the challenges created by industrial society and technology, and about the changing social mandate for the caring professions. These debates are considered from the perspectives of liberalism, feminism, ecology, postmodernism and constructivism. Ideas are explained and the implications for professional ethics are explored using illustrative examples from practice to show their relevance for the caring professions. This book will be essential reading for members of caring professions (especially allied health, medicine, nursing, psychology, social work and teaching) and students entering these professions.

Why does it matter that our leaders care about us? What might we reasonably expect from a caring leader, and what price are we prepared to pay for it? Is caring leadership something ‘soft’, or can it be linked to strategy and delivery? International scholars from the fields of ancient and modern philosophy, psychology, organization studies and leadership development offer a strikingly original debate on what it means for leaders to care.

Essential reading for every American who must navigate the US health care system. Why was the Obama health plan so controversial and difficult to understand? In this readable, entertaining, and substantive book, Stuart Altman—internationally recognized expert in health policy and adviser to five US presidents—and fellow health care specialist David Shactman explain not only the Obama health plan but also many of the intriguing stories in the hundred-year saga leading up to the landmark 2010 legislation. Blending political intrigue, policy substance, and good old-fashioned storytelling, this is the first book to place the Obama health plan within a historical perspective. The authors describe the sometimes haphazard, piece-by-piece construction of the nation’s health care system, from the early efforts of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman to the later additions of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. In each case, they examine the factors that led to success or failure, often by illuminating little-known political maneuvers that brought about immense shifts in policy or thwarted herculean efforts at reform. The authors look at key moments in health care history: the Hill–Burton Act in 1946, in which one determined poverty lawyer secured the rights of the uninsured poor to get hospital care; the "three-layer cake" strategy of powerful House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Wilbur Mills to enact Medicare and Medicaid under Lyndon Johnson in 1965; the odd story of how Medicare catastrophic insurance was passed by Ronald Reagan in 1988 and then repealed because of public anger in 1989; and the fact that the largest and most expensive expansion of Medicare was enacted by George W. Bush in 2003. President Barack Obama is the protagonist in the climactic chapter, learning from the successes and failures chronicled throughout the narrative. The authors relate how, in the midst of a worldwide financial meltdown, Obama overcame seemingly impossible obstacles to accomplish what other presidents had tried and failed to achieve for nearly one hundred years.