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Get Well Soon!: My (Un)Brilliant Career as a Nurse
Falling into the nursing profession, Kristy Chambers spent almost a decade working with a wide range of people, ranging from drug addicts to cancer patients. Dark, humorous, honest, and compassionate, this memoir illustrates the incredible work nurses do and the many challenges they face. A tribute to the wonderfully brave people Chambers met during her career, this book portrays both joyous and difficult experiences.
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
13 people are currently reading
546 people want to read
About the author
Kristy Chambers
3 books13 followersKristy Chambers was born in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1975. After graduating from university as a nurse at age thirty, she worked in several hospitals around Australia and wrote this memoir. She currently lives in Brisbane, intends to run away to New York City for a while and is uncomfortable speaking about herself in the third person because it’s weird.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
May 21, 2015
Well, there are people who hated this book and are outraged about the attitude of this author/nurse, because a lot of people believe that all nurses are perfect little Mother Theresas with a stethoscope and 3-month-old urine on the soles of their shoes.
I did not laugh while reading this book, but not because it's lacking in humour. It's definitely funny and the humour is just my type - black, dark and rotten. I didn't laugh because this shit is my life. It was like reading my diary. If you don't adopt that type of humour, you can't be a nurse. This is why nurses have dry, weird senses of humour. It's also why people read these things and very quickly become horrified and disgusted and think "oh my what a horrible person!". Let me just say: when you're a nurse you deal with buckets upon buckets of shit every day, sometimes thrown IN YOUR FACE (In your face. Just needed to repeat that. They throw actual human poo in your actual face. One time a lady rubbed it in my hair). You deal with constant streams of hateful abuse, you find yourself exhausted and unappreciated most of the time, you never get paid enough, you have to deal with the reality of dead people all the time - people you have loved dearly and cared for intimately - you get frustrated because some people aren't interested in their health and expect the health industry to patch up their arteries and please would you stop lecturing me about my diet and lifestyle? Pass me a goddamn lemonade already. Gimme a break love I've just had triple CABGs.
Then you write a book about all of this madness and people hate it because it's far too real, honest and light-hearted. You just can't get a break.
Chambers speaks about things AS THEY ARE. As a nurse you just have to accept some things as they are and get on with your job. Some of us go into nursing because we know we will be fantastic nurses and love the work we do. Others have no idea, they just want a secure job and shift work seems appealing. Please understand that very few of us are evil, even if we are joking about the things our mental patients say or (perhaps inappropriately) making grim jokes about illnesses. We are just trying to get through our shift and come to terms with the horrors we see every day. Humour is good like that.
This book is not for everyone, but it's very refreshing for those of us who do this work day in and day out. It's real. It's actually the most realistic introduction to nursing for those who have no idea that I have come across thus far.
I did not laugh while reading this book, but not because it's lacking in humour. It's definitely funny and the humour is just my type - black, dark and rotten. I didn't laugh because this shit is my life. It was like reading my diary. If you don't adopt that type of humour, you can't be a nurse. This is why nurses have dry, weird senses of humour. It's also why people read these things and very quickly become horrified and disgusted and think "oh my what a horrible person!". Let me just say: when you're a nurse you deal with buckets upon buckets of shit every day, sometimes thrown IN YOUR FACE (In your face. Just needed to repeat that. They throw actual human poo in your actual face. One time a lady rubbed it in my hair). You deal with constant streams of hateful abuse, you find yourself exhausted and unappreciated most of the time, you never get paid enough, you have to deal with the reality of dead people all the time - people you have loved dearly and cared for intimately - you get frustrated because some people aren't interested in their health and expect the health industry to patch up their arteries and please would you stop lecturing me about my diet and lifestyle? Pass me a goddamn lemonade already. Gimme a break love I've just had triple CABGs.
Then you write a book about all of this madness and people hate it because it's far too real, honest and light-hearted. You just can't get a break.
Chambers speaks about things AS THEY ARE. As a nurse you just have to accept some things as they are and get on with your job. Some of us go into nursing because we know we will be fantastic nurses and love the work we do. Others have no idea, they just want a secure job and shift work seems appealing. Please understand that very few of us are evil, even if we are joking about the things our mental patients say or (perhaps inappropriately) making grim jokes about illnesses. We are just trying to get through our shift and come to terms with the horrors we see every day. Humour is good like that.
This book is not for everyone, but it's very refreshing for those of us who do this work day in and day out. It's real. It's actually the most realistic introduction to nursing for those who have no idea that I have come across thus far.
June 12, 2013
Despite the pile of books of have awaiting review when I spotted this book on the new acquisitions shelf at my library I couldn't resist. In Get Well Soon!, Kristy Chambers shares both the good and bad of her '(un)Brilliant Career As A Nurse'.
It is unrealistic to ascribe a saintly demeanor to nurses yet it is a societal perception that lingers beyond the legend of Florence Nightingale. Many may be shocked by Kirsty Chambers frank admissions of a career chosen by default rather than passion and her struggle with its daily challenges.
In her various nursing roles, Kristy has to deal with an inordinate amount and type of body fluids, a variety of personalities and situations that are often simultaneously tragic and absurd.
Chambers dry, 'gallows humor' - the sort used by law and medical personnel faced with difficult circumstances, can be a little confronting and I am almost ashamed to admit how often I laughed out loud at the misfortune of others, particularly the poor man whose bowel contents 'redecorated' a bathroom interior.
Yet I was also moved by the stories of patients struggling to recover from serious sickness, mental illness and injuries, and those who do not survive the ravages of disease. Confronted daily by death and suffering, I am not really surprised Chambers drinks a little too much.
Get Well Soon! is a boldly honest journal of Kristy Chambers experiences as a nurse. I laughed, cringed, winced and laughed some more.
This memoir will not suit someone who is easily offended by crude language, or tends to take everything a bit too seriously, but if you are considering nursing as a profession, I suggest your read this first.
July 17, 2012
This is the first ever memoir by an Australian nurse and it is a mixture of David Lynch-calibre weirdness, heart-shattering sadness and side-splitting comedy.
It is rare that I laugh out loud while reading a book, but Get Well Soon! had me laughing so much I was shushed on the train by another passenger. It also made me cry (again in a public space). This book should carry a warning to be read only in the privacy of one’s own home!
From the angry girls in the anorexia ward to the sozzled sailors in detox, from the radioactive Russian in Oncology to the foreign bodies in Emergency (this chapter needs to be read to believed), Kristy tells it all with refreshing honesty, heart and compassion (and a fair degree of revulsion).
Watch out for it in September!
It is rare that I laugh out loud while reading a book, but Get Well Soon! had me laughing so much I was shushed on the train by another passenger. It also made me cry (again in a public space). This book should carry a warning to be read only in the privacy of one’s own home!
From the angry girls in the anorexia ward to the sozzled sailors in detox, from the radioactive Russian in Oncology to the foreign bodies in Emergency (this chapter needs to be read to believed), Kristy tells it all with refreshing honesty, heart and compassion (and a fair degree of revulsion).
Watch out for it in September!
April 29, 2013
This was a very poor attempt at humor by a very poor writer on a subject that isn't at all funny.
October 25, 2013
Apparently this is the second book Chambers wrote, as she shredded her first book, which "was no great loss for the literary world, only the trees." She should have shredded this book also before it was published.
Hopefully this author has found a fulfilling job elsewhere and is no longer working as a nurse....because she is a disgrace to her profession, if what she is writing is all true, which, I highly doubt.
It was a difficult book to read due to the amateur writing, but I slogged through it trying to find something redeeming about this book. But there is nothing.
Certainly working as a nurse is a challenging profession but Chambers with her very limited experience as a nurse, has painted most patients and fellow staff as idiots. And although there are patients and staff who are idiots, perhaps if she treated them with more respect, she would see that each person is unique.
One of those books which one is happy to return to the library, and hope they lose the copy.
Hopefully this author has found a fulfilling job elsewhere and is no longer working as a nurse....because she is a disgrace to her profession, if what she is writing is all true, which, I highly doubt.
It was a difficult book to read due to the amateur writing, but I slogged through it trying to find something redeeming about this book. But there is nothing.
Certainly working as a nurse is a challenging profession but Chambers with her very limited experience as a nurse, has painted most patients and fellow staff as idiots. And although there are patients and staff who are idiots, perhaps if she treated them with more respect, she would see that each person is unique.
One of those books which one is happy to return to the library, and hope they lose the copy.
April 24, 2015
I have been a nurse for 15 years now. The job is not always easy, but it is also very rewarding. I am proud to be a nurse who has helped people through all kinds of experiences both good and bad during their hospital stays. I feel that the nurse in this book focused way too much on the negative side of nursing and very little about the positive side. The constant cursing in this book was disappointing too. I really hope that a person who reads this book who may or may not have had a hospital experience does not believe this is what all hospital experiences are like. 2 Thumbs Down!!
December 30, 2013
Hope I never have to go to a hospital kristy works in. I found her idea of humour way too cynical and not funny. Maybe I'm naive but I would expect more empathy from my nurse. "There for the grace of God go I" etc.
August 18, 2012
A ball achingly funny book that made me feel better about my own career choices.
February 10, 2018
I was late for work because of this book. Frequently doubled-over in laughter too. It's hilarious - and scary!
November 23, 2017
When I had surgery last year to remove some fibroids from my uterus I developed a new appreciation for nurses. The nurses that took care of me during my four day stay at the RBWH were just the bomb as far as I was concerned – caring, meticulous, friendly and utterly professional. I was so grateful, in fact, that I promised myself I’d buy a card to express my gratitude and send it to the nurses on Ward 6A just as soon as I could walk without feeling like someone was shoving knitting needles into my womb. Regrettably, I never did send that card. I said thank you a lot though, so hopefully they knew I was appreciative of their care and attention. I remember remarking, unoriginally, to one young nurse as she checked my sanitary pad, which was wedged where sanitary pads are supposed to be wedged, that ‘I could never be a nurse’. She smiled and said something to the effect that checking the markings on a sanitary pad was pretty mild on the scale of things nurses are asked to do. I didn’t ask her to elaborate, but I could well imagine.
Well, that’s wasn’t true. I couldn’t well imagine, but thanks to Kristy Chambers’s discomfiting, frank and blackly funny memoir Get Well Soon!, I need no longer imagine. Chambers lays bare all the horrors of nursing in squeamish, unrelenting detail – the tampon incident should really come with a reader caution (I dry retched) – but it’s her flat out honesty about her own failings and humanness that make this memoir such an addictive and enjoyable read.
Chambers is the nurse who ‘could never be a nurse’. She doesn’t pretend to be immune to the fluids, solids and all the other detritus in between the human body is capable of excreting. She finds it just as gross and stomach churning as the rest of us, but boy, the stories she could tell you... And she does tell. Yes, you may come away with some images in your mind you probably wish you could scorch with a blowtorch, but any connoisseur of poo stories will tell you this is top notch material. Plus the rest – imagine an inanimate object, any inanimate object, is it smaller than a chair? Well, Chambers has got an Emergency Room story about that object – vase, carrot, Russian nesting dolls – being stuck up someone’s arse.
But Get Well Soon! is not just a litany of the gross and profane. It’s a book about characters – most of the chapter titles are named after patients – or real people, rather, who have left an impression on Chambers for better or for worse. There are the cancer patients who died while Chambers was working in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit – just try sparing your tears when 16-year-old Sarah dies of leukaemia – the addicts and personalities who populate the Detox ward, and then there’s the fucked-up, heart-breaking sadness of the mentally ill who turn up regularly in Emergency. This is humanity at its most wretched, disgusting and sorrowful, but its Chamber’s own humanity and compassion that comes through in the telling, even if she doesn’t spell it out. She doesn’t waste words on sentimentality and her humour is justifiably wry. In essence she’s hugely likeable and if you’re not prudish or too squeamish you’ll love Chambers and her guided tour into nursing land. Every page, however, was a reminder of why I wouldn’t be a nurse for quids. Chambers will tell you though, in her blessedly honest way, that money – a decent income, that is, that comes with a respectable job – was the reason she became a nurse. It wasn’t a calling, she’s not a modern Florence Nightingale, she’s just a regular girl who took up nursing and this what she saw.
April 27, 2013
I really struggled with deciding just what to rate this book - it is probably more a 2.5 than a 2, but couldn't quite give it a 3.
I was looking forward to this book as I thought it sounded like an interesting and humorous take on the nursing profession. It certainly wasn't what I expected!
Can I say up front there is nothing wrong with the way the book is written - the writing is good and has an easy to read style. Although it jumped over the place a bit in terms of time and place, the way the chapters are arranged made it easy enough to follow. It was the content I struggled with - the whole time I was reading I was battling between really admiring Kristy and also getting very annoyed with her.
Right from the beginning Kristy reveals that she did not choose nursing with any kind of real thought. Very early into the book she reveals herself as a bit of slacker who has never had much direction in life. This theme is amusing enough to begin with, but it begins to grate as it is constantly reinforced throughout the book. By the end I just wanted to tell her to get over herself - that she wasn't the only person in the world who had struggled with a career choice and that she was the only person who could figure that out. The world didn't owe her a living just because she ended up in a job she didn't really like.
On the flip side, I had to admire that Kristy had chosen the more difficult areas of nursing, such as working with anorexia patients and in emergency and drug and alcohol units. There is very little that is "nice" about this kind of nursing and kudos to her for caring for those that the rest of the world don't spend much time thinking about.
Back to the other side of the fence, I found it quite disrespectful the way Kristy spoke about some of her patients. Being well acquainted with many nurses I really do understand that nursing can be a very messy, smelly, difficult job. I know that cleaning up vomit and poo is not fun. But it is all part of the job and I'm certain that sick people do not take any joy in knowing that the nursing staff have to clean up after them. While I know that many nurses do use the words "piss" and "shit" rather than their milder forms, it was quite confronting to be bombarded with those terms all the time. I just found that to be a little bit immature and again something that was reinforced just a bit too often.
Good on Kristy for first of all studying nursing (a degree is no mean feat) and staying in the profession, despite her apparent apathy for it. Good on her too for taking on the difficult stuff and literally getting her hands dirty. But if she really doesn't like it, then she should explore a new career direction rather than trying to get the world to feel sorry for her.
Going by other reviews, you're probably going to either love this book or hate it. Or you might be like me and torn about just how you feel about it. Maybe I shouldn't have read it so soon after Bush Nurses, which celebrated the difficulties of nursing in a much more positive way.
I am glad I stuck it out to the end, but am still not totally sure how I feel about this one!
I was looking forward to this book as I thought it sounded like an interesting and humorous take on the nursing profession. It certainly wasn't what I expected!
Can I say up front there is nothing wrong with the way the book is written - the writing is good and has an easy to read style. Although it jumped over the place a bit in terms of time and place, the way the chapters are arranged made it easy enough to follow. It was the content I struggled with - the whole time I was reading I was battling between really admiring Kristy and also getting very annoyed with her.
Right from the beginning Kristy reveals that she did not choose nursing with any kind of real thought. Very early into the book she reveals herself as a bit of slacker who has never had much direction in life. This theme is amusing enough to begin with, but it begins to grate as it is constantly reinforced throughout the book. By the end I just wanted to tell her to get over herself - that she wasn't the only person in the world who had struggled with a career choice and that she was the only person who could figure that out. The world didn't owe her a living just because she ended up in a job she didn't really like.
On the flip side, I had to admire that Kristy had chosen the more difficult areas of nursing, such as working with anorexia patients and in emergency and drug and alcohol units. There is very little that is "nice" about this kind of nursing and kudos to her for caring for those that the rest of the world don't spend much time thinking about.
Back to the other side of the fence, I found it quite disrespectful the way Kristy spoke about some of her patients. Being well acquainted with many nurses I really do understand that nursing can be a very messy, smelly, difficult job. I know that cleaning up vomit and poo is not fun. But it is all part of the job and I'm certain that sick people do not take any joy in knowing that the nursing staff have to clean up after them. While I know that many nurses do use the words "piss" and "shit" rather than their milder forms, it was quite confronting to be bombarded with those terms all the time. I just found that to be a little bit immature and again something that was reinforced just a bit too often.
Good on Kristy for first of all studying nursing (a degree is no mean feat) and staying in the profession, despite her apparent apathy for it. Good on her too for taking on the difficult stuff and literally getting her hands dirty. But if she really doesn't like it, then she should explore a new career direction rather than trying to get the world to feel sorry for her.
Going by other reviews, you're probably going to either love this book or hate it. Or you might be like me and torn about just how you feel about it. Maybe I shouldn't have read it so soon after Bush Nurses, which celebrated the difficulties of nursing in a much more positive way.
I am glad I stuck it out to the end, but am still not totally sure how I feel about this one!
March 25, 2013
I enjoyed reading this, especially from the viewpoint of a fellow health professional. However, I was disappointed by the crudity of the language, although I do understand that this is how the author speaks. She makes the comment at one point that she restrains her language at work, and as a reader, I would have appreciated the same courtesy as she extends to her patients. One of her main jobs is working as a drug and alcohol nurse and I suspect she enjoys this work because she can empathise with her patients, since she sounds like a bit of a rough diamond herself.
Also disappointing was her attitude of resentment at having to work for a living - she states this in the beginning and it is more or less present throughout the book. I understand that she tells her audience this to explain her ambivalence toward nursing, but seriously - we all need to work to pay the bills! I totally sympathise with being in a job you don't like and the short professional attention span (enjoying a job for 12 months or so and then getting frustrated with it), but the author's continual complaints did get a bit draining, especially in the beginning (maybe I got used to it after a while!). We are also treated to an account of the authors own alcohol and cigarette abuse - to drown out the sorrows of working in the nursing profession.
This book had its humourous moments and its horrendous moments (the treatment described for cervical cancer springs to mind as an example of the latter). Having worked in a hospital, there are things that sound very familiar, although the author has certainly seen a bit more of life than I have - and there are some things I'm glad not to have seen!
Overall, I did enjoy this book, but I think this book had greater potential than was actually realised, which is always a little sad. The bare bones were good, but I think they could have been fleshed out better. I would have enjoyed this read much more if there had been less foul language, less attitude and less description of the author's alcohol use.
Also disappointing was her attitude of resentment at having to work for a living - she states this in the beginning and it is more or less present throughout the book. I understand that she tells her audience this to explain her ambivalence toward nursing, but seriously - we all need to work to pay the bills! I totally sympathise with being in a job you don't like and the short professional attention span (enjoying a job for 12 months or so and then getting frustrated with it), but the author's continual complaints did get a bit draining, especially in the beginning (maybe I got used to it after a while!). We are also treated to an account of the authors own alcohol and cigarette abuse - to drown out the sorrows of working in the nursing profession.
This book had its humourous moments and its horrendous moments (the treatment described for cervical cancer springs to mind as an example of the latter). Having worked in a hospital, there are things that sound very familiar, although the author has certainly seen a bit more of life than I have - and there are some things I'm glad not to have seen!
Overall, I did enjoy this book, but I think this book had greater potential than was actually realised, which is always a little sad. The bare bones were good, but I think they could have been fleshed out better. I would have enjoyed this read much more if there had been less foul language, less attitude and less description of the author's alcohol use.
December 30, 2016
While the idea of the book is definitely promising, the execution was sub par. I would have thought that nursing had far more positive experiences than the ones that were spoke about in the book. There was an overarching negative tone to the whole book - not to mention that its language was uncouth at best.
Such a shame, because the book had the potential to be enjoyable, if only it had been written a little differently.
Nevertheless, I did take one positive quote from it:
"A lot of people passed away as the sun came up. It was like a signal, or a kiss. This day was not for you, but you left this planet, this plane, at its most beautiful. The world was sending you off with gentle fanfare, in a bright pink-and-orange-hued dawn."
Such a shame, because the book had the potential to be enjoyable, if only it had been written a little differently.
Nevertheless, I did take one positive quote from it:
"A lot of people passed away as the sun came up. It was like a signal, or a kiss. This day was not for you, but you left this planet, this plane, at its most beautiful. The world was sending you off with gentle fanfare, in a bright pink-and-orange-hued dawn."
January 18, 2013
Funny and brave, not great literature but Nurses will relate well
August 12, 2022
This book provided some important insights into the experiences nurses face in different areas of nursing and I enjoyed how unfiltered and honest she was throughout. I felt myself relating to her so much at times.
She is telling her story, this doesn’t mean they are relevant to all nurses and that people shouldn’t pursue a career in nursing. This book is sharing some heartbreaking stories that most healthcare profressionals will encounter at some point in there career and are often not prepared for. I like her use of dark humour but can appreciate some people will interpret this as insensitive, although it is obvious to me that she hasn’t written the book with this intention. You can tell she had a good rapport with some of the patients in these stories and had a positive impact on their lives.
It would be interesting to hear what she decided to do next.
She is telling her story, this doesn’t mean they are relevant to all nurses and that people shouldn’t pursue a career in nursing. This book is sharing some heartbreaking stories that most healthcare profressionals will encounter at some point in there career and are often not prepared for. I like her use of dark humour but can appreciate some people will interpret this as insensitive, although it is obvious to me that she hasn’t written the book with this intention. You can tell she had a good rapport with some of the patients in these stories and had a positive impact on their lives.
It would be interesting to hear what she decided to do next.
October 23, 2021
Kristy Chambers gives a no holds barred look into the life of a nurse. From department A to Z in a hospital Kristy "test drives" many departments to see which one would be the least horrible in my opinion.
Kristy gives us the true life, up close and horrible. Not to forget laughs that go with life's foibles and awfulness of illness. Her truthfulness gave me an enjoyble read but also the sad side of life itself of a nurse day to day in a hospital.
Was an easy to pick up and put down book, and quick read.
Kristy gives us the true life, up close and horrible. Not to forget laughs that go with life's foibles and awfulness of illness. Her truthfulness gave me an enjoyble read but also the sad side of life itself of a nurse day to day in a hospital.
Was an easy to pick up and put down book, and quick read.
August 24, 2022
I really enjoyed this book! Being a nurse myself in mental health a lot of the stories related to things I have seen and people I have looked after. I found her stories to be hilarious. They even had me laughing out loud. I loved that the book was written so each chapter was a new case.
Kristy Chambers has written a great book! I think it is one all nurses should read. It had a lot of dark humour within and maybe if you weren’t a nurse you’d be shocked at the way we deal with things.
If you don’t laugh you’ll cry.
Thank you Kristy for a good laugh 💛
Kristy Chambers has written a great book! I think it is one all nurses should read. It had a lot of dark humour within and maybe if you weren’t a nurse you’d be shocked at the way we deal with things.
If you don’t laugh you’ll cry.
Thank you Kristy for a good laugh 💛
January 8, 2023
Hilarious, sad at some points and illuminating. Made me think about all the things I didn't know about different areas of nursing, health and the parts of both you don't see unless you've done it, or lived it. I thought the author wrote well and she is funny (definitely swears a lot and the book may not be suitable if you can't stomach gore or the more stomach churning side of medicine.) Overall I thought it was a great read and very honest, it shows a very dark humour that appeals to me and the reality of nursing. I'm sure not everyone is cut out for the work, I definitely wouldn't be.
January 4, 2018
I love that the author doesn't just glorify nursing like most books. She actually talks about the realities and shitty parts of the job. As someone who is studying nursing I found it a refreshing and funny read with some great stories and insights into different areas within nursing I wasn't even aware of. Definitely was a great read and I would love to read another book perhaps if the author returns to nursing again :)
October 16, 2020
I must like nurse humour because I found it funny, relatable, harsh at times but that's nurse life, right?
In the tradition of Adam Kay's 'This is Going to Hurt', Kristy Chambers chronicles her career from pouring beers in a London pub to becoming a student nurse and all her placements during her nursing education and beyond.
If you're squeamish or sensitive, give this one a miss. But if you like to peek under the covers of the human condition, there's no better place than a hospital.
In the tradition of Adam Kay's 'This is Going to Hurt', Kristy Chambers chronicles her career from pouring beers in a London pub to becoming a student nurse and all her placements during her nursing education and beyond.
If you're squeamish or sensitive, give this one a miss. But if you like to peek under the covers of the human condition, there's no better place than a hospital.
June 12, 2018
Took this on holiday with me and it was a great choice. Easy to read in small installments as each chapter deals with a different type of patient or situation encountered by the author in her job as a nurse. I was surprised to enjoy it as much as I did. Very funny and engaging. I had intended to leave it overseas, but liked it so much I ended up bringing it home!
December 15, 2018
This was Suggested for a book group read. I was a little hesitant as some of the negative reviews were scathing . I found the book Funny, honest and I really enjoyed the writing and the introduction of a new patient for each chapter. It lies bare the life of a hospital nurse and does prove that you need to be able to find humour and joy in everything if you decide to take up nursing.
February 19, 2019
This is an excellent book! Admittedly it's not for everyone but it really tells it how it is to be a nurse. Several reviews stated Kristy is angry at the world and hates nursing but I didn't get that impression. Nursing is a hard job physically as well as mentally, and often some humour is needed to get by. Nurses are not saints or angels, just a broad cross section of the general community.
July 11, 2021
An interesting take on Kristy Chambers nursing career. I wasn't sure if I could read it to the end but managed to persevere. It just made me sad and and I guess I didn't really need to be enlightened on what some nurses have to deal with on a daily basis depending on what field of nursing they choose to work in. But ten points to Kristy and all nurses as someone has to do it - they are amazing.
February 20, 2022
Nursing is a career path and life choice that holds a lot of fascination for me. It's such a powerful thing to do, but I honestly can't imagine dealing with people's shit (both literally and figuratively) like that. I also have a couple of girlfriends who are nurses I'm different fields, so understanding their day to say lives is also enthralling.
Chambers manages to write about a pretty hectic and serious career with an amazing amount of sass and humour. I particularly like when she points out that ultimately her decision between teaching and nursing came down to who do I hate less, teenagers or sick people... and teenagers are assholes. It's a sentiment that had me laughing out loud.
Alongside all of the wit and humour throughout this, there are some pretty powerful emotional moments. It's a start reminder of the intensity of this kind of career. But, also a brilliant way to highlight how some people are able to deal with the horrors of a fairly intense career path.
This is one if those memoirs that I will read again and again. It has my preferred level of dry, witty humour; plenty of sass; and a subject matter that ceaselessly fascinates me. I may have read this through my kobo plus account, but its going on my wish list for a physical copy too...
Chambers manages to write about a pretty hectic and serious career with an amazing amount of sass and humour. I particularly like when she points out that ultimately her decision between teaching and nursing came down to who do I hate less, teenagers or sick people... and teenagers are assholes. It's a sentiment that had me laughing out loud.
Alongside all of the wit and humour throughout this, there are some pretty powerful emotional moments. It's a start reminder of the intensity of this kind of career. But, also a brilliant way to highlight how some people are able to deal with the horrors of a fairly intense career path.
This is one if those memoirs that I will read again and again. It has my preferred level of dry, witty humour; plenty of sass; and a subject matter that ceaselessly fascinates me. I may have read this through my kobo plus account, but its going on my wish list for a physical copy too...
February 17, 2018
I am an ex nurse and found Ms Chambers book so very real. She doesn't gloss over difficult situations and she certainly tells how nursing is, with the good and bad.
Her honesty is refreshing.
And, I laughed and laughed, which is something I don't normally do when reading.
Her honesty is refreshing.
And, I laughed and laughed, which is something I don't normally do when reading.
August 14, 2020
My mum was a registered nurse so the harsh realities of nursing have always been on my radar. Chambers has no qualms in telling it like it is - it's a tough and often thankless jobs that is undoubtedly significantly paying less than it should be.
January 4, 2019
A good light read, especially if you are a nurse. Having worked in bone marrow transplant myself there was a lot that I could relate to.
April 6, 2020
A good, light-hearted, sometimes hilarious, easy read for us nurses out there.
October 15, 2021
Loved it, working in her field l totally understand her views lmfao
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