Cooked: An Inner City Nursing Memoir

by Carol Karels

In May 1971, Look magazine featured an article entitled "Chicago's Cook County A Terrible Place." The article provided an in-depth look at the largest public hospital in the country, one located on Chicago's dangerous gang-controlled and drug-infested West Side. Months later, the author, then a naïve suburban teen, and one hundred other nursing students, began their training there, despite newspaper articles that warned that the hospital might close any day. At 'the County, ' where nurse duties included swatting flies in the OR and delousing patients, both nurses and doctors were expected to provide care under the most desperate of circumstances. Cooked provides an inside look at the 2,000-bed ghetto hospital, often referred to as a "19th-century sick house," that provided health care to millions of Chicago's poor.

Genres: Nursing, Medicine, Medical, Memoir, Nonfiction

222 pages, Paperback

First published December 28, 2002

Reviews

[Lydiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Of course I picked up this book being a nurse myself. I was hoping for more nursing stories (e.g. difficult cases, ones that touched your heart). It was a brief overview of how many nurses get burn out from being placed in stressful situations for 12 hours a day several days a week (lacking support). Unfortunately, this same problem continues...and I completely understand why people move out of in-hospital jobs!

[Mads · Rating 5 out of 5]

really really great for any future nurses. really exposes the concept that sometimes as a nurse, you have to really set your heart on what you want to do and just because a system is broken doesn’t mean we should give up on the people inside the system.

[Faith Rahm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic read! It’s amazing to see the changes in the course of nursing over the years. Thanks Carol for sharing your story. A MUST-READ for all nurses.

[Laurie Barkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book exposes us to an inner city hospital at poverty level. This nurse is an inspiration as to how she raised the bar in the face of adversity.

[Mondana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a great book for future nurses. I admire the tenacity, resilience and hard working nature of this woman. This is the reason why the healthcare system can work and why exceptional patient care is possible. Carol Karels was an outstanding nurse, and beyond resilient and hard working student. This book inspired me to push outside of my comfort zone in terms of schooling and habits. She is a true example of someone who went above and beyond and I hope I can be even half the woman and health care provider as this woman was! Truly worth the read- and it was a quick and easy, fun read!

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a patient of Cook County hospital, and a new nurse, reading this book was like traveling through time to speak to the child I was 25 years ago, sitting in the long halls packed with patients who were too poor, or not the right race, or both, to get health care from the surrounding Chicago private hospitals. It made me realize that my journey to becoming a health care provider, and my passion to serve at Cook was predestined the moment I came into this world in the halls of this hospital. A great read. Be prepared to laugh and gasp and cry.

[Katherine]

Memoir of working at Chicago's Cook County Hospital. I noticed this was blurbed by nurses and the head of Preservation Chicago--interesting! The Chicago Public Library system has no copies of this book, unfortunately.

[Anna Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not overly well written and with some uncomfortable generalizations. Nevertheless, it is a really interesting narrative and definitely peaked my interest in Cook County Hospital and public healthcare.

[Teddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast & easy read. Very interesting to me being from Chicago.

[CJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I am a nursing student so it was fun to read someone else's story.