The Complexities of Care: Nursing Reconsidered (The Culture and Politics of Health Care Work) [Paperback]

Sioban Nelson (Editor), Suzanne Gordon (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0801473225 | ISBN-13: 978-0801473227 | Publication Date: August 17, 2006 | Edition: 1

Nursing, everyone believes, is the caring profession. Texts on caring line the walls of nursing schools and student shelves. Indeed, the discipline of nursing is often known as the 'caring science.' Because of their caring reputation, nurses top the polls as the most-trustworthy professionals. Yet, in spite of what seems to be an endless outpouring of public support, in almost every country in the world nursing is under threat, in the practice setting and in the academic sector. Indeed, its standing as a regulated profession is constantly challenged. In our view, this paradox is neither accidental nor natural but, in great part, the logical consequence of the fact that nurses and their organizations place such a heavy emphasis on nursing's and nurses' virtues rather than on their knowledge and concrete contributions."-from the Introduction In a series of provocative essays, The Complexities of Care rejects the assumption that nursing work is primarily emotional and relational. The contributors-international experts on nursing- all argue that caring discourse in nursing is a dangerous oversimplification that has in fact created many dilemmas within the profession and in the health care system. This book offers a long-overdue exploration of care at a pivotal moment in the history of health care. The ideas presented here will foster a critical debate that will assist nurses to better understand the nature and meaning of the nurse-patient relationship, confront challenges to their work and their profession, and deliver the services patients need now and into the future.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"While the nursing profession has wrapped itself in care talk, has this hampered a more realistic basis for nurses' self identities and nursing's collective power? This hard-hitting collection faces this question head on. The book is a necessary antidote to more saccharine assessments of twenty-first-century nursing and a tough prescription for change in the health care system. "—Susan M. Reverby, Wellesley College, author of Ordered to Care: The Dilemma of American Nursing

About the Author

Sioban Nelson is Dean and Professor on the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto. She is the author of Say Little, Do Much and A Genealogy of Care of the Sick. Suzanne Gordon is Visiting Professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. She is an award-winning journalist and Assistant Adjunct Professor at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing. She is the author of Nursing against the Odds: How Health Care Cost Cutting, Media Stereotypes, and Medical Hubris Undermine Nurses and Patient Care and the coauthor of From Silence to Voice: What Nurses Know and Must Communicate to the Public, Second Edition, also from Cornell, and Life Support: Three Nurses on the Front Lines.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Cornell Univ Pr; 1 edition (August 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801473225
• ISBN-13: 978-0801473227
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #38 in Books > Medical Books > Nursing > Patient Education
  • #76 in Books > Medical Books > Nursing > Issues, Trends & Roles

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for the modern nurse, June 10, 2007

By 

S. Kuhns (Illinois USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Complexities of Care: Nursing Reconsidered (The Culture and Politics of Health Care Work) (Paperback)

I purchased this book and "Nursing Against the Odds" by Gordan at the same time. While this book provided inspiring articulation of my own thoughts at this point in my career, the other one was just depressing. I coasted through this book of essays by different authors and felt empowered and encouraged. The chapter by Diana Mason was particularly interesting for me. I think this is a timely book that should be read and discussed by nursing professionals everywhere!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating, Contraversial and Critical for Nurses to read!, January 27, 2008

By 

C. Barden - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Complexities of Care: Nursing Reconsidered (The Culture and Politics of Health Care Work) (Paperback)

This is THE BEST nursing book I've ever read. Had to read it for a required nursing class and I will read it again. Any nurse who cares about the nursing profession needs to read this book. I have passed it around work and everyone loves it. It holds your interest, and really represents the nursing profession. If only patients and the public could read this book...

5.0 out of 5 stars A great collection of essays, April 27, 2010

By 

P. Cox (minneapolis, mn USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complexities of Care: Nursing Reconsidered (The Culture and Politics of Health Care Work) (Paperback)

These essays are well-written, and the ideas are well-articulated. The themes are presented via anecdotes and personal research, and any opinion is addressed from multiple perspectives. I just like it. Should be required reading for nursing students.