Free eBooks A Nurse's Story Available To Downloads
The team of nurses that Tilda Shalof found herself working with in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a big-city hospital was known as “Laura’s Line.” They were a bit wild: smart, funny, disrespectful of authority, but also caring and incredibly committed to their jobs. Laura set the tone with her quick remarks. Frances, from Newfoundland, was famous for her improvised recipes. Justine, the union rep, wore t-shirts emblazoned with defiant slogans, like “Nurses Care But It’s Not in the Budget.” Shalof was the one who had been to university. The others accused her of being “sooo sensitive.”They depended upon one another. Working in the ICU was both emotionally grueling and physically exhausting. Many patients, quite simply, were dying, and the staff strove mightily to prolong their lives. With their skill, dedication, and the resources of modern science, they sometimes were almost too successful. Doctors and nurses alike wondered if what they did for terminally-ill patients was not, in some cases, too extreme. A number of patients were admitted when it was too late even for heroic measures. A boy struck down by a cerebral aneurysm in the middle of a little-league hockey game. A woman rescued – too late – from a burning house. It all took its toll on the staff.And yet, on good days, they thrived on what they did. Shalof describes a colleague who is managing a “crashing” patient: “I looked at her. Nicky was flushed with excitement. She was doing five different things at the same time, planning ahead for another five. She was totally focused, in her element, in control, completely at home with the chaos. There was a huge smile on her face. Nurses like to fix things. If they can.”Shalof, a veteran ICU nurse, reveals what it is really like to work behind the closed hospital curtains. The drama, the sardonic humour, the grinding workload, the cheerful camaraderie, the big issues and the small, all are brought vividly to life in this remarkable book.From the Hardcover edition.
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Emblem Editions; 1 edition (February 22, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0771080875
ISBN-13: 978-0771080876
Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #102,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #27 in Books > Textbooks > Medicine & Health Sciences > Medicine > Clinical > Critical Care #38 in Books > Textbooks > Medicine & Health Sciences > Nursing > Clinical > Critical & Intensive Care #48 in Books > Medical Books > Medicine > Internal Medicine > Critical Care
Initially purchased title, recommended by a collogue, to augment my clinical research on our medical care crisis, shortage and inadequacy of nursing care, high prescription costs, etc., here in Maine, vis a vis our Northern neighbors. Was hoping to find Ms. Shalof's work informative; but very pleasantly surprised to find it so very engrossing and moving, as well. Must've feared receiving a dry recitation of facts and figures, with a few bare-bones character sketches sprinkled in. Hardly the case, fortunately. Quite detail-rich and filled with a myriad of fascinating characters, both care givers and patients. Confess I finished it, and it's not slim by any means, in 48 hours (my Inbox is now suffering for it!). Must note, Tilda's work personalized the sometimes heroic challenges high-pressure, medical care practioners struggle with, particularly ICU; at the same time it opened a fascinating window on patient perspective I suspect could not've seen otherwise. Insight on quality of care issues, as well as the "essence" of the nursing experience, will certainly inform my project recommendations. Personally, intrigued by the Canadian nursing perspective -- which, as it turns out (least for this nurse) is not so unlike the best of ours here in the states. Finally, must comment: top-notch writing! Don't usually lavish praise, but having just finished (for recreation) Hemingway's "Farewell to Arms," I found the unadonred, yet touching directness of her prose, esp. for a first-time author, to've stood up well; in particular, reminiscent of the emotional impact of Hemingway's Catherine in Childbirth scene. Must confess, found as entertaining as P.D. James' "Shroud for a Nightingale," too. Read this book! Won't disappoint on any level.
Gerontological Nurse Exam Secrets Study Guide: Gerontological Nurse Test Review for the Gerontological Nurse Exam Nurse Practitioner's Business Practice And Legal Guide (Buppert, Nurse Practitioner's Business Practice and Legal Gu) 2015 PDR Nurse's Drug Handbook (Physicians' Desk Reference Nurse's Drug Handbook) Nurse As Educator: Principles of Teaching and Learning for Nursing Practice (Bastable, Nurse as Educator) The Nurse Leader Handbook: The Art and Science of Nurse Leadership Nursing Careers: Easily Choose What Nursing Career Will Make Your 12 Hour Shift a Blast! (Registered Nurse, Certified Nursing Assistant, Licensed ... Nursing Scrubs, Nurse Anesthetist) (Volume 1) Nurse's Pocket Guide: Diagnoses, Prioritized Interventions and Rationales (Nurse's Pocket Guide: Diagnoses, Interventions & Rationales) Medical-Surgical Nurse Exam Practice Questions: Med-Surg Practice Tests & Exam Review for the Medical-Surgical Nurse Examination New Nurse Survival Guide: 50 Tips to Survive and Thrive as a New Nurse Financial Management For Nurse Managers: Merging The Heart With The Dollar (Dunham-Taylor, Financial Management for Nurse Managers) PedsNotes: Nurse's Clinical Pocket Guide (Nurse's Clinical Pocket Guides) Inpatient Obstetric Nurse Exam Secrets Study Guide: Inpatient Obstetric Test Review for the Inpatient Obstetric Nurse Exam Management And Leadership For Nurse Administrators (Roussel, Management and leadership for Nurse Administrators With Online Access) Nurse Anesthesia, 4e (Nagelhout, Nurse Anesthesia) Nurse Anesthesia (Nagelhout, Nurse Anesthesia) Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Exam Flashcard Study System: NP Test Practice Questions & Review for the Nurse Practitioner Exam (Cards) Nurse Educator Competencies: Creating an Evidence-Based Practice for Nurse Educators Catching Homelessness: A Nurse's Story of Falling Through the Safety Net A Nurse's Story Nurse (Cool Careers)
