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The Nurse's Story
"Speaking Up For Nursing What does the public know - and want to know - about the nursing profession? Nurse-novelist Carol Gino unravels misconceptions and tells 'the nurse's story.'" - American Journal of Nursing
"The first book to really take you behind hospital doors." - NY Times
"Speaks with honesty, vigor, eloquence and sensitivity." - Dolores Krieger, Ph.D, R.N.
"So steeped in reality is The Nurse's Story that to call it fiction seems scarcely adequate; the story bristles with details and case histories that only experience could have provided. Teri Daley, the narrator, is grossly underpaid and overworked, burdened with responsibility but little authority, yet often held accountable for the blundering of doctors. In harrowing, sometimes gruesome passages still fresh with pain, Teri ministers to patients so disfigured with cancer or burns that they barely resemble human beings, while other patients are so psychotic, tragically terminal or deformed that only sheer guts and bottomless compassion can see her through the long days and nights. Rocked by her own implosions of grief each time a patient dies, she finds the mundane quality of her own life mocking and barely tolerable." - Cheryl McCall for People Magazine
"The first book to really take you behind hospital doors." - NY Times
"Speaks with honesty, vigor, eloquence and sensitivity." - Dolores Krieger, Ph.D, R.N.
"So steeped in reality is The Nurse's Story that to call it fiction seems scarcely adequate; the story bristles with details and case histories that only experience could have provided. Teri Daley, the narrator, is grossly underpaid and overworked, burdened with responsibility but little authority, yet often held accountable for the blundering of doctors. In harrowing, sometimes gruesome passages still fresh with pain, Teri ministers to patients so disfigured with cancer or burns that they barely resemble human beings, while other patients are so psychotic, tragically terminal or deformed that only sheer guts and bottomless compassion can see her through the long days and nights. Rocked by her own implosions of grief each time a patient dies, she finds the mundane quality of her own life mocking and barely tolerable." - Cheryl McCall for People Magazine
336 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1983
9 people are currently reading
175 people want to read
About the author
Carol Gino
20 books18 followersCarol Gino RN, MA, has been a nurse, author and teacher for many years. She has worked in all areas of nursing including Emergency Room, Intensive Care, the Burn Unit, Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Pediatric Intensive Care, and Hospice Care for the terminally ill.
Her first book "The Nurse's Story" published by Simon and Schuster sold to nine foreign countries. It is still in print in Japan. It was a feature of the Book of the Month Club and Nurses Book Club and was on PW's list for six weeks. It was #2 on the Los Angeles Times list. Carol did two cross-country tours for The Nurse's Story: which included TV, radio and print media.
She has appeared several TV and radio shows including "The Today Show", "Charlie Rose", "Houston Live", "Regis", "AM Los Angeles", "AM San Francisco" etc.. The Nurse's Story was serialized in the New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post etc.. People Magazine did a feature article on her, and she has been highlighted in many other local and national papers.
She has written articles for New York Magazine (aka Teri Daniels) American Journal of Nursing, and other Nursing Mags. Three of her articles were published in Nursing '97 (the largest nursing journal - circulation of over 350,000.) Three of her stories and several editorials appeared in Nursing '98.
Ms. Gino's second book "Rusty's Story" sold 350,000 copies and again, Carol did a 15 city media tour. That book received the Epilepsy Association's National Book Award and was on the New York Times bestseller list for 5 weeks. She also received the Service Award from the Epilepsy Association of Ohio and spoke to many epilepsy associations across the country. Ciba Geigy made her their spokesperson for the anti-convulsion drug, Tegretol. And another media tour followed.
In 1997, Kensington Books published Carol Gino's new book about the death of her grandson: "Then An Angel Came..." Both her previous books, "The Nurse's Story" and "Rusty's Story" have been reprinted.
Ms. Gino still acts as a Nursing consultant in Healing Imagery for Total Care Home Health Care agency. Her Masters in Transpersonal Studies focused on new modalities for healing, changes in consciousness, and cross-cultural healing.
"The Nurse's Story" screenplay was completed by Mario Puzo. It has been submitted for a feature film or major TV series.
Ms. Gino was a keynote speaker at the National SIDS Convention in Dallas Texas in 1997, and she was also a speaker at the Bereavement Convention in upstate New York, entitled "Helping Families Cope with Grief" in Tarrytown.
The trade paperback edition of "Then An Angel Came" was released in September 1997 by Kensington Books.
She began her own publishing house called Starwater Press Ltd. in 1987 to publish spiritual and angel books and tapes long before they were in mainstream consciousness. Since then she has also started aah-ha! Books in 1996 (Help for Hard Times - clear and simple) for her more mainstream titles.
Carol Gino was the long time companion of author Mario Puzo for 20 years until his death in 1999 and in 2001 completed his book "The Family" which was published by Judith Regan of Harper Collins. It too was a best seller.
Her first book "The Nurse's Story" published by Simon and Schuster sold to nine foreign countries. It is still in print in Japan. It was a feature of the Book of the Month Club and Nurses Book Club and was on PW's list for six weeks. It was #2 on the Los Angeles Times list. Carol did two cross-country tours for The Nurse's Story: which included TV, radio and print media.
She has appeared several TV and radio shows including "The Today Show", "Charlie Rose", "Houston Live", "Regis", "AM Los Angeles", "AM San Francisco" etc.. The Nurse's Story was serialized in the New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post etc.. People Magazine did a feature article on her, and she has been highlighted in many other local and national papers.
She has written articles for New York Magazine (aka Teri Daniels) American Journal of Nursing, and other Nursing Mags. Three of her articles were published in Nursing '97 (the largest nursing journal - circulation of over 350,000.) Three of her stories and several editorials appeared in Nursing '98.
Ms. Gino's second book "Rusty's Story" sold 350,000 copies and again, Carol did a 15 city media tour. That book received the Epilepsy Association's National Book Award and was on the New York Times bestseller list for 5 weeks. She also received the Service Award from the Epilepsy Association of Ohio and spoke to many epilepsy associations across the country. Ciba Geigy made her their spokesperson for the anti-convulsion drug, Tegretol. And another media tour followed.
In 1997, Kensington Books published Carol Gino's new book about the death of her grandson: "Then An Angel Came..." Both her previous books, "The Nurse's Story" and "Rusty's Story" have been reprinted.
Ms. Gino still acts as a Nursing consultant in Healing Imagery for Total Care Home Health Care agency. Her Masters in Transpersonal Studies focused on new modalities for healing, changes in consciousness, and cross-cultural healing.
"The Nurse's Story" screenplay was completed by Mario Puzo. It has been submitted for a feature film or major TV series.
Ms. Gino was a keynote speaker at the National SIDS Convention in Dallas Texas in 1997, and she was also a speaker at the Bereavement Convention in upstate New York, entitled "Helping Families Cope with Grief" in Tarrytown.
The trade paperback edition of "Then An Angel Came" was released in September 1997 by Kensington Books.
She began her own publishing house called Starwater Press Ltd. in 1987 to publish spiritual and angel books and tapes long before they were in mainstream consciousness. Since then she has also started aah-ha! Books in 1996 (Help for Hard Times - clear and simple) for her more mainstream titles.
Carol Gino was the long time companion of author Mario Puzo for 20 years until his death in 1999 and in 2001 completed his book "The Family" which was published by Judith Regan of Harper Collins. It too was a best seller.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 16, 2022
En mi parecer, este libro tiene una estructura demasiado lineal, sin ningún cambio trascendental a lo largo de la historia. Los personajes ni siquiera están bien desarrollados ni presentados (tampoco la protagonista), los hechos ocurren de repente y tiene un final muy precipitado. En el epílogo se resuelve toda la historia de la protagonista sin explicar el por qué de las decisiones de Teri.
Además, dado que la mayoría de los pacientes se mueren, pienso que se podría haber hecho una reflexión de la muerte, la cual no está presente por ningún lado.
Si que me ha gustado el tratar tantos casos clínicos pues es un tema que realmente me interesa, pero en ningún momento he sentido unas ganas terribles de seguir con la lectura 🤒
Además, dado que la mayoría de los pacientes se mueren, pienso que se podría haber hecho una reflexión de la muerte, la cual no está presente por ningún lado.
Si que me ha gustado el tratar tantos casos clínicos pues es un tema que realmente me interesa, pero en ningún momento he sentido unas ganas terribles de seguir con la lectura 🤒
January 30, 2009
I suppose I shouldn't rate it this low because it was a memoir, and a life story is what it is. As terrible as it is to say, I gave low ratings to the life choices this woman made and because nursing was awful in the 70s. I gave two stars to white nurses caps, lack of respect, failure to include patients in patient care, and inadequate collaboration between doctors and nurses. Not to mention some icky personal decisions. Nursing's come a long way, and thank God for that. The sad thing is that it hasn't come nearly far enough.
Ms. Gino is a single mom who goes into nursing because it is one of the few positions available to women with limited education. This was a general problem of nursing at the time and I can't fault her for it (although I guess I kind of am with a 2 star rating). Now there is more emphasis on understanding disease process and treatment, not just how to follow orders. However, Ms. Gino does kick ass in that she advocates for her patients. She genuinely cares for them and fights for their rights. The most heart wrenching moments come in the burn ward. I know those units are still terrible, but things have come a LONG way since the 70s. Back then, they wouldn't treat a burn patient's pain because they didn't want them to get addicted. So they'd scrub off the dead skin after a couple of ibuprofen. It's barbaric. And can I also say thank God for the new emphasis on hospice care. The options available to patients back in the day when it came to dying were not great. Many of them weren't even told their diagnoses (for their own comfort).
Now to the story outside of medicine. How can you let yourself be picked up by your married gynecologist during an office visit (right after the pelvic) and then have him arrange a job for you where everyone hates you because you're the other woman? This is the SAME doctor that criticized her as "a baby having a baby" during the delivery of her first child. The doctor is a total douchebag and the only explanation is that her self esteem must have been terribly low. The ethical breech here by the doctor is staggering, which just makes the whole relationship icky, icky, icky.
I guess the part that upset me most is that she burned out and thus ends the story. I know I'm putting more personal feelings into this review than I should, but its hard not to seperate out the nurse from me from the nurse in Ms. Gino. It begins a tragedy and ends a tragedy. And tragedies go on through the middle. The only silver lining is that nurses have come a long way.
Ms. Gino is a single mom who goes into nursing because it is one of the few positions available to women with limited education. This was a general problem of nursing at the time and I can't fault her for it (although I guess I kind of am with a 2 star rating). Now there is more emphasis on understanding disease process and treatment, not just how to follow orders. However, Ms. Gino does kick ass in that she advocates for her patients. She genuinely cares for them and fights for their rights. The most heart wrenching moments come in the burn ward. I know those units are still terrible, but things have come a LONG way since the 70s. Back then, they wouldn't treat a burn patient's pain because they didn't want them to get addicted. So they'd scrub off the dead skin after a couple of ibuprofen. It's barbaric. And can I also say thank God for the new emphasis on hospice care. The options available to patients back in the day when it came to dying were not great. Many of them weren't even told their diagnoses (for their own comfort).
Now to the story outside of medicine. How can you let yourself be picked up by your married gynecologist during an office visit (right after the pelvic) and then have him arrange a job for you where everyone hates you because you're the other woman? This is the SAME doctor that criticized her as "a baby having a baby" during the delivery of her first child. The doctor is a total douchebag and the only explanation is that her self esteem must have been terribly low. The ethical breech here by the doctor is staggering, which just makes the whole relationship icky, icky, icky.
I guess the part that upset me most is that she burned out and thus ends the story. I know I'm putting more personal feelings into this review than I should, but its hard not to seperate out the nurse from me from the nurse in Ms. Gino. It begins a tragedy and ends a tragedy. And tragedies go on through the middle. The only silver lining is that nurses have come a long way.
March 2, 2009
A dark, depressing look at the ignorant, misogynist American healthcare system. Scarred me for life.
March 20, 2011
A good complete representation of a nurse's career, through all the highs and lows. While the author describes the story as an amalgamation of her own experience and those of her peers, she does a great job in putting it all together as one smooth, flowing tale. The book is a bit dated as it was written in the early 80s, and there are some telltale signs that the case histories presented go back further (the most notable towards the end is an ill child whose father was the lone survivor in his family of the WWII concentration camps), so treatments described do not include the latest technologies. Gino named her fictional nurse Teri, and to be honest, many of Teri's patients were so severely ill that even today, their prognosis wouldn't be good.
That was one criticism I had of the book, it was quite dark. Teri works in some really tough units over her career including a burn unit, a PICU, and private jobs for severely ill individuals, and her care for these patients often ends at their death. While Gino/Teri use these case histories to emphasize the compassion and dedication needed to be a good nurse, I felt like only the most sensational cases were chosen for the book, and too few had good outcomes.
The other criticism I had was the way Teri's personal life played out. After the darkness of the patient work, reading about the darkness going on at home for Teri really weighed the book down and made it slow reading at time. I understand that sacrifices must be made, and being a single mom while working and furthering an education is tough, but I felt like Teri's children were an afterthought, much less those of Lil, Teri's roommate early in the book, who didn't seem to make an effort to be a part of her children's lives until she has a revelation, quits her job and moves out to live with her parents, who were raising the kids. Overall, I felt like Teri's personal life was written as if it was to be a season-long script of a medical soap opera. I'd have been much happier if the author had cut it all out and instead just stuck with the medicine, but I suppose that would cut out a vital part of understanding the life of a nurse.
That was one criticism I had of the book, it was quite dark. Teri works in some really tough units over her career including a burn unit, a PICU, and private jobs for severely ill individuals, and her care for these patients often ends at their death. While Gino/Teri use these case histories to emphasize the compassion and dedication needed to be a good nurse, I felt like only the most sensational cases were chosen for the book, and too few had good outcomes.
The other criticism I had was the way Teri's personal life played out. After the darkness of the patient work, reading about the darkness going on at home for Teri really weighed the book down and made it slow reading at time. I understand that sacrifices must be made, and being a single mom while working and furthering an education is tough, but I felt like Teri's children were an afterthought, much less those of Lil, Teri's roommate early in the book, who didn't seem to make an effort to be a part of her children's lives until she has a revelation, quits her job and moves out to live with her parents, who were raising the kids. Overall, I felt like Teri's personal life was written as if it was to be a season-long script of a medical soap opera. I'd have been much happier if the author had cut it all out and instead just stuck with the medicine, but I suppose that would cut out a vital part of understanding the life of a nurse.
May 14, 2016
I've only been a nurse nine years so I found these stories horrifying. Medicine is constantly changing and developing, but the treatments that were done to the burn patients and those that should be comfort measures only were shocking. It was an interesting read. I enjoyed the case studies. Overall the book kept me interested, but I agree with the other posters that her out of hospital story line was drawn out and boring. Hooking up with two physicians left a bad taste in my mouth but her compassion and advocacy for her patients was heart warming.
January 3, 2019
Although nurses don't smoke at the nurses' station any more (thank goodness), this book rings very true to me. I worked in a hospital for 8 years and the stories of the horrible system and the powerful bonds between nurses and patients are so real. Carol Gino is a good writer and though this book is hard to read, it tells it like it is/was (sadly, it's still much the same).
June 5, 2021
As a “baby” nurse, I loved reading about the stories from the 70-80’s. Very interesting to compare practice. Which by the way hasn’t changed that much. We are all still just providing patient care. We all have our stories. This was a good quality look into nursing in the 80s. Loved it.
July 6, 2015
I read this book many years ago (early 80's), so I could not give an accurate review. I have it listed in my records as an "ok read".
June 15, 2020
Outdated, but even so, the stories in this book prove the meaning of what it means to be a nurse hasn’t changed
January 8, 2025
Considering that this book was written in 1983 it is indeed dated. However previous practices and medicine is astonishing and interesting to read. ‘Teri’ who is the main character has several different jobs in this book, one job was when she was a Nurse aid in a burn’s unit. She would take one of her patients with severe burns into cold showers and scrub the area of burns with a plastic bristle brush. They would make sure that the skin was completely raw and bleeding to allow fresh healing to take place, then sterile gauze would be placed on the area. 😳
“The glove protects you. It lets you touch, but you can't be touched. It leaves you in charge. When you took that glove off, you and Scott were equals. You became as vulnerable as he was because then you too could be touched”
I have given it a low star rating, because I didn’t agree with many of Teri’s decisions with her life and her career.
~ Read physical book ~
“The glove protects you. It lets you touch, but you can't be touched. It leaves you in charge. When you took that glove off, you and Scott were equals. You became as vulnerable as he was because then you too could be touched”
I have given it a low star rating, because I didn’t agree with many of Teri’s decisions with her life and her career.
~ Read physical book ~
March 4, 2024
i enjoyed this book but i couldn't read it super consistently because it was so sad. i think the patient stories were very impactful as a nursing major. it was also very interesting seeing how healthcare has improved so much since this book was written. terri pissed me off sometimes because she was so mean and angry. i also didn't like how it had so many negative nursing stories and would never focus on the positive parts of it. i think lil and terri are lesbians.
January 2, 2025
Loved this book! I graduated as an LPN in 1979 and also went on to get my RN much like this author did. This book brought back so many memories. Yes, some things have changed since then but health care still struggles with staffing issues and burn out in nursing is still a problem today.
April 9, 2019
I love this book. I have read about 3 times now and will read it again.
January 25, 2021
I loved this story. I felt as if I was working right next to Carol Gino. It is a very beautiful book.
June 19, 2021
Great book
April 10, 2009
Being in the Nursing profession myself, I appreciated this story more than most I think. I feel honoured to be allowed to care for so many people and trusted with their innermost thoughts, vulnerabilities and private moments. Excellent story!!
From the back cover:
"With uncompromising honesty, Carol Gino strips the TV image to reveal the gritty truths of a nurse's life, from its early, optimistic beginnings to the harsh realities and incalculable rewards that sustain her even in the face of a nurse's greatest professional hazard: burnout. How can she help the family of a terminally ill patient when the doctor can do nothing more? What can she do for a 10-year old burn victim for whom most of consciousness is pain? How does she convince the doctor of her intuition that the patient cannot survive major surgery at a given time? And how can she leave all this behind at the end of her shift?
The Nurse's Story is one woman's testament of passionate committment, a moving and important affirmation of courage, of the power of love, and of tragedy redeemed by compassion...."
From the back cover:
"With uncompromising honesty, Carol Gino strips the TV image to reveal the gritty truths of a nurse's life, from its early, optimistic beginnings to the harsh realities and incalculable rewards that sustain her even in the face of a nurse's greatest professional hazard: burnout. How can she help the family of a terminally ill patient when the doctor can do nothing more? What can she do for a 10-year old burn victim for whom most of consciousness is pain? How does she convince the doctor of her intuition that the patient cannot survive major surgery at a given time? And how can she leave all this behind at the end of her shift?
The Nurse's Story is one woman's testament of passionate committment, a moving and important affirmation of courage, of the power of love, and of tragedy redeemed by compassion...."
November 1, 2015
Although set In the 70's, this book was an interesting read on nursing. It profiled some of the many issues we as nurses face, such as inability to help our patients without orders, the heartbreak from knowing it is the end for our patient, and the "nurses eat their young" mentality. The only drawback to the book was the craziness of the main characters life choices. A bit overdramatize at times but still an interesting read where the patients are concerned.
April 26, 2011
loved it but maybe because I could relate to a lot of it.
May 7, 2012
I really enjoyed it, there aren't many books like it. If anyone knows of any nursing stories like this I would love some recommendations please.
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May 10, 2013Good, made me think of my sister and what she does......
September 27, 2015
I read this years ago and remember it to be an emotional read.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews