Nurses

15 December 2022

(Nursing)

Christie Watson worked for twenty years as a nurse, and in this personal, poignant book she opens the doors of the hospital and reveals its secrets. She takes us through the hospital corridors to a variety of wards and meets some of the most unforgettable patients.

We will walk hand in hand through the corridors and visit tiny premature babies who are fighting for their lives, suspended on the brink of survival thanks to a network of catheters and the care of nurses; we will sit in the midst of oncology patients and learn how chemotherapy affects them, we will see from afar how an instrument attendant co-creates the chain of assistance during open-heart surgery; we will stand by as nurses in a crowded ED are forced to fend off waves of patients intoxicated by alcohol and drugs. We'll get a sneak peek inside the hospital pharmacy and reflect on the thousands of prescriptions dispensed; we'll spend some time in the morgue in the company of nurses and patients' families. We will see that this most underrated of professions is a source of essential care and kindness.

Excerpt from publisher's description