I wasn't strong like this when I started out : true stories of becoming a nurse

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Title:

I wasn't strong like this when I started out : true stories of becoming a nurse

ISBN:

9781937163129

Publication Information:

Pittsburgh, Pa.. : InFact Books, c2013.

Physical Description:

271 p. ; 23 cm.

Contents:

Introduction : the anonymous, irreplaceable nurse / Lee Gutkind -- Foreword : the art of meeting patient need / Karen Wolk Feinstein -- Hitting the bone / Eddie Lueken -- The haunting / Thomas Schwarz -- Becoming a nurse / Laura DeVaney -- Next of kin / Josephine Ensign -- Healing Wang Jie's bottom / L. Darby-Zhao -- Zeitgeber / Denise Elliott -- A long night's journey into day / Theresa Brown -- Don't ever forget me / Christopher Lance Coleman -- Heart lessons / Diane Kraynak -- Docking in Togo / Jennifer Binger, as told to Ann Swindell -- I see you / Tilda Shalof -- Listening and other lifesaving measures / Karla Theilen -- Careening toward reunion / Nina Gaby -- Nurse Nora at nineteen / Nora Casper -- Four sticks / Janice Dvorak -- Messiah, not otherwise specified / Janet Gool -- All alone and afraid : becoming a person through nursing / Anna Gersman -- Individually identifiable / Pamela Baker -- Approaching death / Kimberly A. Condon -- The nurses whispered / Patricia A. Nugent -- Becoming / Lori Mulvihill.

Subject Term:

Nurses -- Biography.

Nursing.

Added Author:

Gutkind, Lee

Summary:

This volume collects the stories of nurses at all stages of their careers: passionate, terrified, sometimes simply exhausted, as they discuss their experiences and the nursing profession, one of the most challenging and underappreciated jobs in the world. Often, nursing demands technical expertise; sometimes, as these stories reveal, patients also need something more basic: a hand to hold, or someone to listen closely. Being on the front lines of medicine requires empathy, fortitude, knowledge, and grace. Nurses, now, more than ever, are the backbone of the healthcare system, the first line in providing the best possible care for all patients.

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Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake)	610.73069 IWA	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Stillwater Public Library	610.73069 IWA	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

This collection of true narratives reflects the dynamism and diversity of nurses, who provide the first vital line of patient care.

Here, nurses remember their first "sticks," first births, and first deaths, and reflect on what gets them though long, demanding shifts, and keeps them in the profession.

The stories reveal many voices from nurses at different stages of their careers: One nurse-in-training longs to be trusted with more "important" procedures, while another questions her ability to care for nursing home residents. An efficient young emergency room nurse finds his life and career irrevocably changed by a car accident. A nurse practitioner wonders whether she has violated professional boundaries in her care for a homeless man with AIDS, and a home care case manager is the sole attendee at a funeral for one of her patients.

What connects these stories is the passion and strength of the writers, who struggle against burnout and bureaucracy to serve their patients with skill, empathy, and strength.

Author Notes

Lee Gutkind is founder and editor of the literary magazine Creative :Nonfiction and has written and edited books about baseball, health care, travel and technology. He is currently Distinguished Writer in Residence at the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes and Professor in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, both at Arizona State University.

Reviews (1)

Booklist Review

Expect to be moved by this anthology of tales from the front line, written by veteran nurses and nurses-in-training. One contributor describes his experiences as a nursing student at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, when the disease was called gay-related immune-deficiency syndrome, particularly his nurse's intuition, that is, knowing when a patient is going to die. There was a stigma to the work I was doing, he writes. But I eventually got to a point where I wasn't afraid to say, when someone asked what I did, I work with persons who are dying of AIDS.' Several of the essayists lace their emotional tales with humor. A University of Pennsylvania nursing student records her friends' reaction to her job: So you actually cleaned up poop? A woman who survived Hodgkin's lymphoma as a teen becomes an oncology nurse. And a nurse recounts watching a person die for the first time. Essayists note that they're not supposed to get too close to patients, but they do it anyway. It's easy to love these empathetic people, and their beautifully written stories.--Springen, Karen Copyright 2010 Booklist

Lee GutkindKaren Wolk FeinsteinEddie LuekenThomas SchwarzLaura DeVaneyJosephine EnsignL. Darby-ZhaoDenise ElliottTheresa BrownChristopher Lance ColemanDiane KraynakJennifer Binger, as told to Ann SwindellTilda ShalqfKarla TheilenNina GabyNora CasperJanice DvorakJanet GoolAnna GermanPamela BakerKimberly A. CondonPatricia A. Nugent

Introduction: The Anonymous, Irreplaceable Nurse	p. 13
Foreword: The Art of Meeting Patient Need	p. 21
Hitting the Bone	p. 25
The Haunting	p. 35
Becoming a Nurse	p. 47
Next of Kin	p. 57
Healing Wang Jie's Bottom	p. 71
Zeitgeber	p. 83
A Long Night's Journey into Day	p. 95
Don't Ever Forget Me	p. 105
Heart Lessons	p. 113
Docking in Togo	p. 129
I See You	p. 143
Listening and Other Lifesaving Measures	p. 153
Careening toward Reunion	p. 167
Nurse Nora at Nineteen	p. 181
Four Sticks	p. 191
Messiah, Not Otherwise Specified	p. 203
All Alone and Afraid: Becoming a Person through Nursing	p. 217
Individually Identifiable	p. 229
Approaching Death	p. 243
The Nurses Whispered	p. 251
Becoming	p. 259 Lori Mul

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