Nurses: The Real-Life Experiences of Registered Nurses

by Michael Brown

Vital signs of hope and humanity

They are the unsung heroes of health care, putting their own lives at risk to provide support and comfort to those who need it most. Registered nurse Michael Brown has interviewed over fifty practicing nurses, spanning forty-one states and most nursing specialties. In The Human Touch , he takes you to the front lines of his profession, where split-second, life-and-death decisions are made every day.

You’ll experience firsthand the combatlike tension of an inner-city emergency room, the nonstop action of a Mobile Intensive Care Unit, the sound, sight, and feel of an operation in progress, harrowing daily life in a psychiatric hospital, and the joy of welcoming in the newly born.

You’ll share in the challenges and rewards, triumphs and disappointments of the nursing profession. And you’ll watch extraordinary stories unfold—life stories that bear witness to the courage, commitment, and compassion of these outstanding medical professionals.

Genres: Medical, Nonfiction, Health

318 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

from Amazon.com:
From the Inside Flap
Registered nurse Michael Brown has interviewed over fifty practicing nurses, spanning forty-one states and most nursing specialties. He takes you to the front lines of his profession, where split-second, life-and-death decisions are made every day by these unsung heroes of health care, who put their own lives at risk to provide support and comfort to those who need it most..

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked portions of this book, but some of it was so negative. In particular the section on Medical-Surgical nursing. Now, as a nursing student I realize that Med-Surg is one of the hardest jobs to deal with. Usually the nurses are overworked and underappreciated. Patient load is high. Nurses often feel they have no power or control. I get that. However, I know there has to be SOME good points about Med-Surg. I've seen good points during clinicals. When the nurse takes an extra minute to make their patient comfortable, lends a shoulder to cry on, advocates for the patient to the physician. This happens every day in the hospital. The chapter on Med-Surg was just full of complaints and negativity. The nurses were all burned out, miserable, making fatal errors and admitting that if they could, they would get as far away from nursing as possible. In other chapters, the author seems to get both sides of the story. But with med-surg, he just tells story after story of endless misery. It was horrible. The ICU chapter was similar. I suppose for someone who doesn't realize what their nurse goes through, it would be somewhat enlightening. But if you're a nursing student and want to save yourself nightmares of killing patients with neglect, skip the Med-Surg/ICU chapter and head to the Nurse Practitioner section.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the rewards and challenges of the nursing profession. It tackles Stories of nurses from different areas of expertise, their daily interaction with their supervisors and doctors, their collaborative interaction with other disciplines, the challenges they are facing with the administrators and the patients they have handled. This book is an eye-opener to students wants to enter the profession.

The passion to reach out and care for the clients/patients should come from within in order to survive. Nursing profession can be very stressful. One should get into it for the right reasons otherwise you might
be burned out even before you reach your tenth year in the service. Or worse end up in jail for being too laxed about your responsibilities as a nurse. Sometimes, having an insurance is not enough to cover the loss of your patient. You might be criminally and administratively charged for your negligent acts.

Yes, this book had been written in the 90s. There had been rewarding changes in the profession since then. Technologies included.

However, some things never change. As I said earlier, you've got to choose the nursing profession for the right reason.

[Kathleen Garber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a glimpse into nursing in the 90s including the AIDS scares and the nursing cutbacks (in the US at least.) The author interviewed many nurses and creating a descriptive narrative so that it reads like a memoir and not a book of interviews. Lots of types of nurses are included and the stories seem real.

Read full review: http://smsnonfictionbookreviews.com/2...

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this years ago when I was contemplating entering into the nursing profession. Gripping, fascinating behind-the-scenes account of real nurses. Fans of ER are apt to like this as well.