Main description:

This book gives a sincere yet honest representation of modern nursing in all its forms rather than purely focusing only on the 'good' 'the funny' 'the sad' or the 'ugly'. This book provides a collection of stories that concentrate on nursing, that validates, educates and encourages those undertaking a career in nursing. In addition, this book also celebrates the amazing rewards that the unique career of nursing has to offer, for those who can find a way to persevere through the challenges.

There is a high rate of burnout among nurses in their early days of practice, because of the high demands placed on them by the healthcare system; hospital administrations; the expectations of management, patients, families and carers; and the sheer size of the patient loads with complex needs these days.

The global pandemic erupting has now pushed a health care service that was already under pressure to now be in complete crisis. The world now knows that we need more nurses employed to be able to move forward from this calamity. This book closes that gap in that it encourages the readers to continue to pursue a career in nursing (despite the challenges that the profession holds) while also positively promoting the incredible work that nurses do.

The chapters within this book, explore a cornucopia of different aspects of nursing including: caring for dying patients, dealing with bodily fluids and how patients are not very good at working out how sick they really are. The book also covers how to manage the care of patients with complex mental illnesses and those contemplating suicide.

This book is targeted at nurses who may feel a little overwhelmed with the world that is nursing but who wish to thrive and further their career. Discussion questions at the end of the book further add to the reflection and learning process of the reader.

Contents:

1. Foreword The book begins with the author discussing that the stories of a nurse are unique. The author discusses that these stories can be sad, funny, heart-warming, or just plain strange-sometimes they are all of those things. The author further reflects that nursing stories are rarely documented, perhaps because nurses are generally too exhausted to think about writing down these tales after a long, hard shift. The author states that, if she had been given more knowledge about what it really meant to be a nurse, she may have either chosen a different career path, or would have been better prepared when embarking on her nursing journey

2. Career choices: How I came to study nursing
3. Mad bad and sad This chapter entails the author's vivid impressions and ethical challenges while completing a clinical placement in a prison as an undergraduate nurse. Through the author's experiences while working in a residential care home-as well as an interview with another nurse

4. First encounters with death Discusses how nurses deal with death; the interview details the sudden and traumatic death of the interviewee's mother, which motivated them to choose nursing as a career.

5. Poo Discusses the different weaknesses that nurses have when dealing with particular bodily fluids

6. ED or the GP Discusses how patients are not always very good at working out how sick they really are.

7. Love bites and herpes Deals with how the author sensitively approaches bizarre clinical scenarios that can be seen to be hilarious, such as retrieving a blood sample from a man who was covered in love bites.

8. Do you believe in God? Discusses the spiritual side of nursing

9. Trusting your instinct Importance of nurses understanding when they need to trust their gut instinct

10. Nurses versus Doctors Some of the politics within the health system are discussed, such as the clinical staff hierarchy and perceived pay inequalities between healthcare workers, which leads to the author discussing the differences in the roles of nurses and doctors.

11. Self-harm and suicide attempts Ddiscusses the topic of suicide and suicidality through author's clinical experiences, as well as through interviews with nurses who have had to deal with this directly in their line of work

12. Noob nurses and epic fails The failures that some nurses face and overcome are discussed

13. Catch my disease Describes how (pre COVID-19) a contagious illness spread through the hospital

14. Colourful clinical handovers & puzzling presentations The sometimes-odd clinical presentations that seem to become the norm for nurses in their day to day

15. Post-traumatic stress and burnout Short staffing and the continuous demands that are placed upon nurses that can lead to burnout are explored

16. Shit that nurses say 17. The blame game 18. Being a patient 19. Magic medications and broken bones 20. Some things are harder to explain 21. Working with youngens and complicated families 22. Learn to duck and weave 23. Would you like to shower with me? 24. What you find confronting will surprise you 25. Brainstorm 26. Tell me your agenda 27. Missing 28. An introduction to the psychiatric ward 29. Caring for diverse populations30. Nursing in faraway places 31. Overcoming disabilities 32. Nursing suggestions for living well 33. Saying thank you 34. Visiting hours are now over