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Why I Nurse, Why I Drink
Take an unprecedented look inside the nursing profession told from the people on the front line. From heartbreak and tragedy to triumph and survival, Why I Nurse, Why I Drink takes readers inside the hearts and minds of the nurses taking care of the most vulnerable in their time of need. The stories highlight the outrageous and often hilarious situations that can drive one to drink and the heartwarming conclusions that make it worth waking up in the morning and walking into the fire of healthcare. This book is not just for nurses, but anyone curious about the day-to-day struggles nurses face and anyone wanting to understand the human condition told from the perspective of people at their emotional extremes. Laugh, cry, celebrate, and possibly puke as you travel the halls with nurses telling their best stories of why they nurse and why, on a regular basis, they question why they ever decided to enter the field in the first place.
163 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 26, 2022
21 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 27, 2023
Review 3.5 rounded down because the poo put me off my meal, which being airline food, wasn't that appetizing to start with. I thought that this would be a good plane book but it turned out not to be what was on the tin. D.C. Michaels is not the author but the editor as all the stories are written by different nurses. They seem to have a scatalogical obsession.
1. Two Knuckles Deep was about a new nurse sticking a large suppository up the bottom of an unresponsive patient and holding it there to .... plug the forceful liquid diarrhoea that sprayed out in all directions.
2. I'm Just a Nurse, Right? was a lot more serious. I didn't know that girls trafficked as sex workers were often killed when they were no longer useful. This story was about a nurse's endeavours to protect such a girl from a man reaching her. As such it fit the brief, it was about a nurse, but the sex trafficking angle was so much more interesting. I couldn't find anything to back up the nurse's claims that unwanted trafficking victims were put to death.
3. My Favourite Patient was about a very nice woman who was always grateful for any attention but dying of cancer anyway.
4. Working under the Hood was another story where the back story would have been more interesting than the tale of removing a ring from a clitoris.
5. God Damn it, Jerry. New nurse Jerry gave a patient a huge overdose of morphine because he didn't check the contents of the vial, and she died. But she was going to die shortly anyway.
6. Shorts. Boring, one paragraph 'stories'.
7. Mega Colon. Man who is constipated eventually does a log so big it sticks above the toilet seat. As it cannot be flushed it must be reduced, and all the hilarity that involves. Not very hilarious. Stinky.
8. Dragon Penis. Man with very average penis has it tattooed like a dragon and discusses his sex life.
9. Tran Tran. Vietnamese-speaking mental patient who enjoyed eating his own poo and splattering from floor to ceiling (and anyone in the way).
That's about half way. Three stories out of 9 involving faeces? Are nurses really that preoccupied with poo or is it the editor, or do they just make good stories (if you like that sort of thing. Personally....)
And so it goes. I finished the book but only because I was stuck on the plane, but I must admit I was driven to drink - just the free little bottles of wine they give you if you sit in the right seat.
1. Two Knuckles Deep was about a new nurse sticking a large suppository up the bottom of an unresponsive patient and holding it there to .... plug the forceful liquid diarrhoea that sprayed out in all directions.
2. I'm Just a Nurse, Right? was a lot more serious. I didn't know that girls trafficked as sex workers were often killed when they were no longer useful. This story was about a nurse's endeavours to protect such a girl from a man reaching her. As such it fit the brief, it was about a nurse, but the sex trafficking angle was so much more interesting. I couldn't find anything to back up the nurse's claims that unwanted trafficking victims were put to death.
3. My Favourite Patient was about a very nice woman who was always grateful for any attention but dying of cancer anyway.
4. Working under the Hood was another story where the back story would have been more interesting than the tale of removing a ring from a clitoris.
5. God Damn it, Jerry. New nurse Jerry gave a patient a huge overdose of morphine because he didn't check the contents of the vial, and she died. But she was going to die shortly anyway.
6. Shorts. Boring, one paragraph 'stories'.
7. Mega Colon. Man who is constipated eventually does a log so big it sticks above the toilet seat. As it cannot be flushed it must be reduced, and all the hilarity that involves. Not very hilarious. Stinky.
8. Dragon Penis. Man with very average penis has it tattooed like a dragon and discusses his sex life.
9. Tran Tran. Vietnamese-speaking mental patient who enjoyed eating his own poo and splattering from floor to ceiling (and anyone in the way).
That's about half way. Three stories out of 9 involving faeces? Are nurses really that preoccupied with poo or is it the editor, or do they just make good stories (if you like that sort of thing. Personally....)
And so it goes. I finished the book but only because I was stuck on the plane, but I must admit I was driven to drink - just the free little bottles of wine they give you if you sit in the right seat.
March 17, 2023
An eye opening experience
My sister-in-law, an RN, recommended this book and she couldn't have been more right. One minute you're laughing out loud and the next your heart breaks. These stories have really opened my eyes to what nurses endure and I'm now so grateful to every one that's ever helped me or my loved ones. This is an absolute MUST READ!!!
My sister-in-law, an RN, recommended this book and she couldn't have been more right. One minute you're laughing out loud and the next your heart breaks. These stories have really opened my eyes to what nurses endure and I'm now so grateful to every one that's ever helped me or my loved ones. This is an absolute MUST READ!!!
June 14, 2023
What an entertaining read! Especially if you are in the medical field. Some stories are touching and some will literally make you laugh out loud
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews