documentation

Bedrock Learning BL-ws-DESIGN Digital Home Design and Documentation Worksheets
$59.00

Mosby's Surefire Documentation: How, What, and When Nurses Need To Document
$45.95
Mosbys Surefire Documentation, Second Edition, uses clear concise reading style to give specific, practical advice of how, what, and when to document over 100 of the most common and most important situations nurses face. Divided into 3 sections: Caring for Patients; Dealing with Special Situations; and Practicing Yourself Legally; each entry tells exactly what to consider and document, so that nurses can ensure quality patient care, continuity of care, and legal protection. The second edition will be thoroughly updated to reflect the latest HIPAA and JCAHO recommendations and standards as well as the most current legal tips and advice. A special emphasis will be placed on the evolving role and means of electronic documentation in the clinical setting. * Provides practical advice that is useful for everyday documentation challenges. * Explains how to document unusual or difficult developments or events. * Includes tips and advice to help streamline documentation! without sacrificing accuracy. * Offers expert advice on everyday legal issues related to documentation to help the nurse legally protect herself and the employer. * Provides explanations of legal terms in easy-to-understand language. * Shows and explains how to document safely and correctly to ensure quality and continuity of care. * UNIQUE! Uses case histories to illustrate key legal points. * Explains how and why to document in a variety of documentation systems.

Technical Writing 101: A Real-World Guide to Planning and Writing Technical Documentation, Second Edition
$35.95
If you have not read it, I suggest "Technical Writing 101". This is a 101 book and is not a complete writer's guide (Strunk n White, Gregg, etc handle style and similar books cover advanced templates and structure).

It is a great tool for professional writing exposure and basic understanding of the process. Such as how Tech Writing differs from normal writing, how to work with subject matter experts (SME) in a political manner, and even a bit on resumes and getting into the field or freelancing. It wraps up with a reference section of online resources and societies to continue your learning.

I keep spare copies to give as gifts both for those interested in the career of Tech Writing and to ease interaction with difficult SMEs. I also have had a few friends that borrowed it for guidance with term papers. Again it is an introduction to professional writing and process to which most college students have not yet had exposure. This is also a great tool to initially train new hires when you would rather have a common reference point.

Managing Your Documentation Projects
$55.00
It's shocking to me that this book is still the best of its kind on the market. In 1994 this was a breakthrough book. People who wanted a rigorous methodology for planning and executing documentation projects needed this book. Its shortfalls were clear from the beginning--the bloated sections on the process maturity model, delaying project planning until 80 pages into the book, and the unnecessarily vague how-to advice made the book hard to use. And even in its most useful sections, the project management processes were convoluted.
Some of the book's weaknesses are understandable. Hackos was developing a profession-specific project management methodology before the PMI had ever published the PMBOK. Online help had yet to gain universal implementation. Content management and single sourcing were hardly the themes we have today. Netscape wasn't even released until late 1994!
My primary objection, though, is that by developing a methodology that does not correspond to a product development team's methodology, doc teams doom themselves to irrelevance, frustration, and lack of success.
Despite all these weaknesses, however, this book has become a classic in the field and is still the best to buy on this subject. It is still superior to Hackos's updated version from 2007. Buy this one, if you can. But even more importantly, after you read this book, learn more about project management in general. You are more likely to be successful.