The Handover: A Nurse's Last Shift

by Tilda Shalof, Lisa Mochrie (Primary Contributor)

In The Handover, nurse Tilda Shalof shares her knowledge and vast experience with student nurse, Lisa Mochrie.  Their relationship unfolds through conversations, texts, emails, and real-time meetings, that span the COVID-19 pandemic to the present day.
As Shalof reflects on what has changed in the profession, she also seeks to identify the universal practices, values, and nursing ethos, that must be preserved.  She and Mochrie discuss clinical challenges and personal from the rigours of nursing school and shift work to the stresses of “adulting,” such as dating, friendships, identity, self-care, and the search for balance.
This book offers practical advice and novel perspectives on long-standing issues, such as the meaning of the term nursing shortage and how to combat the pervasive problem of burnout.  It explores compassion fatigue, emotional intelligence, boundary-setting, bias and privilege awareness, and the aspiration to provide person-centered care. 
The Handover is a candid, often humorous, and deeply intimate look into the world of nursing, which is too often overlooked by the media or regarded through overly sentimental stereotypes. Accessible to all readers and invaluable to students and educators, this book will stimulate critical conversations about what it means to care for others and oneself and how to repair our precious, but precarious, health care system.

344 pages, Paperback

Published January 10, 2026

Reviews

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was so healing for me. to hear other nurses stories and to know that i am not alone in my struggle. i mean i knew that before but its so eye opening. i’ve only ever worked in one hospital and to know that mine isn’t the only facility with its struggles lifts a weight off my shoulders.

a few of my favourite quotes:
“The care of the body is the place to start” (page 50). too many people view the patient as the medical problem they’re facing. but people are a whole and we need to care for them as such. i try my best to care for the body however this is a nice reminder.

“The nurse is holding the patient, but who is holding the nurse?” (page 116). people too often forget that we are humans too with our own limits. a common saying is “you can’t pour from an empty cup”. i’m thankful that i have people in my life who keep my cup full 🤍
this goes with the concept of kintsugi (mentioned on page 227)

“You have to play full out, just to be basic. You have to be extra, just to be adequate” (page 299) this is a concept that i wish people who don’t work in healthcare could grasp. by providing everything we can give, it’s still not enough. there aren’t enough hands in the world that could perfect patient care, at least not to my standards anyway

“If a call bell rings in a hospital and there’s no nurse to hear it, does it make a sound?” (page 355) no explanation needed there. just love the fact that someone put it into words

i will recommend this book until the end of my days, even if you’ve never set foot in a hospital, it’s a worthwhile read, because one day, everyone will need a nurse 🤍🩺

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting read. Nurses are a Special Breed. We need you!

[Joan Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a retired nurse, I found this excellent.

[Donna Callaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that everyone could benefit from reading this book.