Description
'Among all the recent books on medicine, Critical Care stands alone.' ' Pauline Chen, author of Final Exam 'A must read for anyone who wants to understand healthcare. Extraordinary.' ' Elizabeth Cohen, MPH, CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Critical Care is the powerful and absorbing memoir of Theresa Brown'a regular contributor to the New York Times blog 'Well''about her experiences during the first year on the job as an oncology nurse; in the process, Brown sheds brilliant light on issues of mortality and meaning in our lives.
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"At my job, people die," writes Theresa Brown, capturing both the burden and the singular importance of her profession. Brown, a former English professor, chronicles her first year as an R.N. in medical oncology. She illuminates the unique role of nursesin health care, giving us a moving portrait of the day-to-day work nurses do: caring for the person who is ill, not just the illness itself. Brown takes us with her as she struggles to tend to her patients' needs, both physical and emotional. Along the way, we see the work nurses do to fight for their patients' dignity, in spite of punishing treatments and an often uncaring hospital bureaucracy. We also see how caring for the seriously ill gives Brown herself a deeper appreciation of what it means to be alive. Ultimately, this is a book about embracing life, whether in times of sickness or health.--From publisher description.
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