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The Making of a Nurse
The bestselling author of A Nurse’s Story is back with more insider stories.
Tilda Shalof has been a caregiver all her life — at home for her family, at work for strangers — but her skills didn’t come easily. From when she was a child taking care of her sick parents to her current position on an ICU team in one of Canada’s largest hospitals, there have always been daunting challenges and worthy rewards for her work. With her trademark humour, unflinching honesty, and skilled storytelling, Shalof describes her experiences becoming the capable nurse she is today.
After graduation from nurse’s college, finding no jobs in Toronto, Shalof travelled to Tel Aviv, Israel, to work in a hospital for the first time, finding adventure and young love in the process. A summer stint as a camp nurse came with requests for condoms, strange allergies (“Misty has reactions, but we don’t know to what”), and overly protective parents (also known as “helicopter parents” for their tendency to hover over their children). The Making of a Nurse contains these stories and much more, and they are comforting, entertaining, shocking, funny, heart-warming and heart-wrenching. From hospitals to home care, they will give readers a glimpse into the life of a nurse and the hidden medical world.
Tilda Shalof has been a caregiver all her life — at home for her family, at work for strangers — but her skills didn’t come easily. From when she was a child taking care of her sick parents to her current position on an ICU team in one of Canada’s largest hospitals, there have always been daunting challenges and worthy rewards for her work. With her trademark humour, unflinching honesty, and skilled storytelling, Shalof describes her experiences becoming the capable nurse she is today.
After graduation from nurse’s college, finding no jobs in Toronto, Shalof travelled to Tel Aviv, Israel, to work in a hospital for the first time, finding adventure and young love in the process. A summer stint as a camp nurse came with requests for condoms, strange allergies (“Misty has reactions, but we don’t know to what”), and overly protective parents (also known as “helicopter parents” for their tendency to hover over their children). The Making of a Nurse contains these stories and much more, and they are comforting, entertaining, shocking, funny, heart-warming and heart-wrenching. From hospitals to home care, they will give readers a glimpse into the life of a nurse and the hidden medical world.
328 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
23 people are currently reading
798 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
October 19, 2009
Dear Ms. Shalof,
Today I finished reading your book, “The Making of a Nurse.” Although you’ll probably never see this, I want to offer my thanks for your words. All of them. Each and every one.
Twice I’ve begun nursing school and been unable to finish due to life-altering personal issues. In the wake of my second departure, grief, fear and rejection on a nuclear scale saw me, in turn, go on to reject all that I have ever known, including my chosen profession. Ever since, I’ve been wandering on the inside, desperate for someone to save me and give me the answers. But it was only once I stopped flailing and looking for others to pull me out of deep water, that I found I could save my own life by following my heart.
That began a gingerbread trail away from the neurotic cottage of isolation where I could (not that long ago) be found bouncing off padded walls muttering repeatedly “Who am I, who am I?” towards the trees, the wind, the sunset and flowers that beckoned down the path of real life. One of the blooms turned out to be your book, as it grabbed my attention in Chapters one random day.
Of all the books I brought home that day, I read yours, cover to cover, first. You had me at page 50 when you said, “First I got to know a patient’s veins, and then I got to know the patient.”
Walking with you through your life and career to date, I recognized too much of myself to recount them all, but here are a few. Treasuring being with your patients at those most precious moments in their life, having been inspired by a television doctor and nurse pairing, appreciating how nurses are the constant caregivers so different from the doctors who are in and out, and the instropection on hands. My “What is nursing?” paper in university started off with a poem written by a nurse about how we use our hands.
Most importantly, your words cleared the path ahead of me. I see now that I am a nurse already, albeit one without a certificate. But it’s in my heart, there’s no denying it. (Even in video games, I end up playing a healing character, one who’s singular purpose is to help others.) I feel both committed and enthralled by the profession, inspired rather than daunted by its challenges. I look forward to finishing school as soon as I can.
I commend you for writing your story, for doing something about the problems rather than merely complaining, for encouraging future and practicing nurses and for all your years of caring.
Sincerely,
the nurse without a degree… yet
“I have never had a problem or a worry, either big or small, that couldn’t be made better by meeting with a girlfriend and talking about it over coffee. If only world leaders could do the same, I’m certain wars could be averted."
Today I finished reading your book, “The Making of a Nurse.” Although you’ll probably never see this, I want to offer my thanks for your words. All of them. Each and every one.
Twice I’ve begun nursing school and been unable to finish due to life-altering personal issues. In the wake of my second departure, grief, fear and rejection on a nuclear scale saw me, in turn, go on to reject all that I have ever known, including my chosen profession. Ever since, I’ve been wandering on the inside, desperate for someone to save me and give me the answers. But it was only once I stopped flailing and looking for others to pull me out of deep water, that I found I could save my own life by following my heart.
That began a gingerbread trail away from the neurotic cottage of isolation where I could (not that long ago) be found bouncing off padded walls muttering repeatedly “Who am I, who am I?” towards the trees, the wind, the sunset and flowers that beckoned down the path of real life. One of the blooms turned out to be your book, as it grabbed my attention in Chapters one random day.
Of all the books I brought home that day, I read yours, cover to cover, first. You had me at page 50 when you said, “First I got to know a patient’s veins, and then I got to know the patient.”
Walking with you through your life and career to date, I recognized too much of myself to recount them all, but here are a few. Treasuring being with your patients at those most precious moments in their life, having been inspired by a television doctor and nurse pairing, appreciating how nurses are the constant caregivers so different from the doctors who are in and out, and the instropection on hands. My “What is nursing?” paper in university started off with a poem written by a nurse about how we use our hands.
Most importantly, your words cleared the path ahead of me. I see now that I am a nurse already, albeit one without a certificate. But it’s in my heart, there’s no denying it. (Even in video games, I end up playing a healing character, one who’s singular purpose is to help others.) I feel both committed and enthralled by the profession, inspired rather than daunted by its challenges. I look forward to finishing school as soon as I can.
I commend you for writing your story, for doing something about the problems rather than merely complaining, for encouraging future and practicing nurses and for all your years of caring.
Sincerely,
the nurse without a degree… yet
“I have never had a problem or a worry, either big or small, that couldn’t be made better by meeting with a girlfriend and talking about it over coffee. If only world leaders could do the same, I’m certain wars could be averted."
April 18, 2008
I bought this when I got "Better: a surgeons notes on performance" to see if they maybe complement one another (a doctors' perspective vs. a nurses' perspective) To my surprise, they are not really complementary but very distinct and whole narratives of the two very different professions, challenges. In better, the author wrote from a more technical point of view, discussing methodology of improving patient care and the health care system. This book, on the other hand, talks staight from the heart. Its personal. She skips the tech-talk (though she does a thorough job not to miss explaining any jargon if there is any bit of it) and talks with feeling. I rarely cry reading books--but this one did it. When I read better, I noded along, "oh yeah, thats a good way idea..oh no, thats not a good idea". When I read this book, I felt as if I was listening to my wise retired grandma talk: you just listen.
I am so grateful that the author shared such intimate details of her nursing career. She's raw and tells it like it is. She trudges through all the hard and dirty issues of being a nurse but never fails to mention the beautiful and rewarding parts of it. After all the gory descriptions of homeless patients trying to attack her and body-numing night shifts, I am still motivated to pursue nursing--and thats why I think this is an inspiring and empowering book, as I think it was intended to be.
I am so grateful that the author shared such intimate details of her nursing career. She's raw and tells it like it is. She trudges through all the hard and dirty issues of being a nurse but never fails to mention the beautiful and rewarding parts of it. After all the gory descriptions of homeless patients trying to attack her and body-numing night shifts, I am still motivated to pursue nursing--and thats why I think this is an inspiring and empowering book, as I think it was intended to be.
August 27, 2022
Mixed feelings on this one. I read a few chapters …then it sat on my nightstand for months. I liked the beginning and ending but the middle chapters were nothing special, rather boring. As most of this was the author recounting stories of her coworkers. I much prefer her own stories.
It’s an easy read, down to earth without techie medical stuff. And I liked that it took place in Canada. But I felt the author delved mainly on the hardships of nursing and not enough on the joys.
It’s an easy read, down to earth without techie medical stuff. And I liked that it took place in Canada. But I felt the author delved mainly on the hardships of nursing and not enough on the joys.
July 28, 2015
I thought this would be a collection of various nurses' stories but it followed Tilda throughout her career. There were alot if personal stories related to her family and parents which were fine but I did hope for more of her nursing stories. I loved hearing about her 20 years in the ICU and the summer she spent as a camp nurse with great stories. I also liked reading about her student days and understanding what she means about how your accomplishments sounds weird to other people like being proud of inserting a catheter for the first time. I look forward to reading Tilda Shalof's other books now and hearing more of her patient stories.
October 7, 2019
Realistically speaking, this is undoubtedly and undeniably the most uninteresting book I have ever read. So pointlessly bland with no narrative flow no story its litterally just like someone asked a kid to write down what they did today and then put it word for word into a book.
June 9, 2024
Strange structure and the author has an infuriating habit of rushing past points of potential interest, leaving everything feeling shallow and disjointed. Sadly this is all worsened by an apparent lack of writing talent or spark of voice/originality. She has ample interesting material to work with, but no storytelling ability to utilize it. (And at times, it feels like she doesn't even WANT to tell the stories!!!) There's an inability to sit, stew, & explore.
June 2, 2021
I'm astounded at how many small, meaningless details someone can include in a book and still get it published. As my friend put it: "It's like if you asked a child to write down everything that happened to them for a month and then read it". Terrible prose, focuses on the least interested points of nursing, overall a massive waste of my time.
July 21, 2020
I didn't finish the book...made it about half way through...I am sure she is an excellent nurse and probably a good person but in the book she came across as cold and detached...I didn't like what I read.
September 26, 2019
A touching read, I will be taking a lot of her words about life forward with me I think.
May 15, 2016
It took me a little while to get into this, but once I did, it was worth it. Shalof says things about my former profession I'm not sure I've read anywhere else. She put into words what so many of us have felt in nursing, reasons both to stay and to leave. Here are a few quotes that got me.
From chapter 8, "But I still haven't figured out how to teach another nurse to manage the emotions this work can evoke. I know many experienced nurses who still struggle with this challenge. How do you care, but not so much that it hurts? How do you make your care patient-centered, yet still keep your personal boundaries intact? There are huge emotional risks in caring for critically ill people. This work can break your heart."
From chapter 14, " 'Patients were always dissatisfied with me because I wasn't giving enough care to them, but I was always off somewhere else, giving not enough care to another patient.' "
From chapter 16, "But as I grow older, there is less and less of a separation between my professional self and my personal self. More and more, being a nurse is part of everything I do, both at work and away from it."
From chapter 8, "But I still haven't figured out how to teach another nurse to manage the emotions this work can evoke. I know many experienced nurses who still struggle with this challenge. How do you care, but not so much that it hurts? How do you make your care patient-centered, yet still keep your personal boundaries intact? There are huge emotional risks in caring for critically ill people. This work can break your heart."
From chapter 14, " 'Patients were always dissatisfied with me because I wasn't giving enough care to them, but I was always off somewhere else, giving not enough care to another patient.' "
From chapter 16, "But as I grow older, there is less and less of a separation between my professional self and my personal self. More and more, being a nurse is part of everything I do, both at work and away from it."
April 21, 2017
I picked up this book because I'm exploring nursing as a second career and was hoping this would give an idea of what the job is like. Of course there are zillions of different paths one can taker as a nurse -- this book happens to be about a nurse who spent most of her career in the ICU of a big city hospital. As a book it's pretty good -- Talof is a decent writer and portrays her work well, though the stories of other people could have been better for my taste. But the book served its purpose: I love the idea of being part of a team and working in a big hospital, but I don't think 12-hour shifts at night, especially in the ICU which is very life-and-death, are what I'm aiming for.
September 23, 2016
This was a really well-told story; the author had to care for her ill parents as a child, became a nurse and worked in a hospital in Israel, then back to Canada and worked in an ICU in a large hospital for more than 20 years. She's a good narrator and also spent quite a bit of time examining issues like when to keep pushing life-lengthening treatments during critical illness and when to let the patient die with dignity. Also discussed how difficult it is to really give a good level of care when nurses are so overworked.
July 23, 2008
I started this book expecting to read medical cases that this nurse was a part of. The book began with a lot of her personal history, and I felt disappointed and almost didn't continue reading, but then it got better as she got into telling about her career in the ICU. I found the chapter on being a nurse at a summer camp to be the best part. I did skip a chapter entitled, "The Proper Use of the F-Word." No need to go there. Overall the book was just okay.
September 5, 2016
Tilda is a nurse. I want to be a nurse. So, her book holds interest for me and would probably hold interest for other people that are nurses, or want to become nurses. I enjoyed her nursing stories and her dilemas and questions/insights into the nursing and the human condition. I have thought a lot about some of the things she talks about, only she has 20 years experience.
I am glad to know I worry about the same things she still does.
I am glad to know I worry about the same things she still does.
July 8, 2013
I am currently in nursing school and found this book to be an insight into my future profession. I related with some struggles and loved the honesty the author spoke with about situations. It was an excellent book with good advice as I go towards a degree in this field. I would definitely recommend this book.
June 3, 2014
I like this book, not just because I'm also an ICU RN and am glad that someone actually tells our stories, but because it has the guts to talk about burn out - something that is so real in nursing, but that people often don't talk about (it doesn't get an overly serious mention in the book, just comments here & there about her friends in a gentle / humorous way).
February 19, 2015
This book was an interesting look at what it takes to be a nurse. I think it painted an interesting perpectve. Nursing seems to be one of those professions that is constantly changing. but still has core values that sustain it. At least that's my take-away from this memoir.
January 19, 2017
The Making of a Nurse
As usual Tulsa has done an exceptional job of writing what many RN's feel. I have a great deal of respect for her as a RN. She has a gift in her writing skills. Highly recommend this book.
As usual Tulsa has done an exceptional job of writing what many RN's feel. I have a great deal of respect for her as a RN. She has a gift in her writing skills. Highly recommend this book.
December 8, 2009
I am loving this book....I know I'm already going to re-read it once I'm done.
February 27, 2009
Good personal memoir of a nurse, but I didn't connect with it as much as I have other medical memoirs.
March 5, 2009
Because I am a nurse, I could relate to this book. It is one of the truest accounts of what it is like to be a nurse that I have read. I would really like to read her first novel"A Nurse's Story
July 23, 2011
well written!
Read
August 2, 2011Great book! It's wonderful to read a book and know that nurses all over have the same thoughts, feelings and fears!
Read
August 4, 2011An easy, interesting read! Makes you appreciate nurses :-)
May 3, 2012
I really enjoyed this book. I graduated from nursing school the same year and could relate to many of the stories that she told. Great book! :)
July 28, 2013
Read this after I finished nursing school. A good read for new nurses.
January 23, 2016
Excellent read
Read
April 8, 2016Loved it.
February 28, 2022
I could not out this book down once I started it, thank you Tilda. You wrote an uplifting book for your fellow nurses.
April 14, 2017
An excellent book for anyone interested in the field of nursing.
Enjoyed it thoroughly and shared with others.
Enjoyed it thoroughly and shared with others.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews