Jennifer Percival

Promoting health: making every contact count.

This article describes a new training programme devised and run by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) to assist staff to make every patient contact count. The aim of the training programme is to help nurses become more effective when offering opportunistic health promotion advice as part of their routine work, and avoid generating resistance to change.

Be clear and firm: It is not your job to solve your employer’s staffing problem – regain your confidence and stand up for your rights, advises Jennifer Percival

I had a letter from Kate, who was worried about her escalating stress levels. She had been away from work for six months following a car accident. She felt shaken by the experience and had lost some of her confidence. Kate had recovered physically but knew she was not ready to take on full-time hours. She had therefore decided to return part-time to her old post.

Motivational Interviewing in Nutrition and Fitness Clifford Dawn and Curtis Laura Motivational Interviewing in Nutrition and Fitness 276pp £50.99 The Guilford Press 9781462524181 1462524184

Recommending people make changes to their diet and exercise is not a straightforward task for nurses and, if handled badly, can lead to resistance.

Telephone counselling helps smokers to quit

As a stop smoking trainer and author of You Can Stop Smoking, I was interested to read that Australians who were offered proactive telephone counselling to help them stop smoking had improved abstinence rates and were significantly more likely to have attempted to quit (clinical digest January 5).

Smoke free in 30 days – the painless, permanent way to quit Daniel Seidman Smoke free in 30 days – the painless, permanent way to quit Souvenir Press 214pp £10 978 0 285 63885 3 9780285638853

American psychologist Daniel Seidman has put his extensive experience of helping smokers change their thinking and behaviour to good use in this self-help guide. The book is divided into four parts: smoking addiction and how to overcome it, preparing to quit, becoming smoke-free and the 30-day calendar.

The UK is a world leader in smoking cessation support

Further to the art & science article on tobacco-related diseases (March 18), I would like to congratulate colleagues on the amazing work we do in the UK to help people stop smoking.

Second thoughts: Do not let an unhappy placement put you off completing nurse training, says Jennifer Percival. Remember the right place is out there somewhere

I received a letter from Melanie who was under-taking her final placement before completing her adult nursing training. She explained thats he had started off with a great deal of enthusi-asm for what she could learn on this last place-ment, but her hopes had been dashed. She now dreaded going into work and when she was there she could not wait to get home.

Desire vs intent: Understanding that the intention behind an action is responsible for the outcome is fundamental to achieving our desires, says Jennifer Percival

Wayne Dyer, affectionately nicknamed the Father of Motivation by his fans, is one of the most respected authors in the field of self empowerment. His latest book, The Power of Intention ( Dyer 2004 ), is a ground breaking text. It helps readers understand how to change their inner speech to bring success into their lives.

Learn to love your enemy

I have come across an excellent book by Chuck Spezzano - a master of relationship advice - called 50 Ways to Make Every Relationship Work. The principles outlined promise to help you get along with anyone. The book explains how to transform the problem areas of your life and is full of simple revelations and inspiring text.

Wrong headed: Turn problems into opportunities withShift Happens! suggests Jennifer Percival

Shift Happens! is a new book full of powerful ideas to transform your life. Each of its short chapters describes real problems solved by someone taking a different approach. Hard to put down once you start reading, the books key themes include.