The Nurse's Story (Paperback)

~ (Author) "THE LITTLE GIRL'S SCREAMS MADE ME FURIOUS..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Nurse's Story belongs on the library shelf of every nursing school, every hospital, and every public library in the country. " -- The Midwest Book Review

"The Nurse's Story will be enough to forever change your thinking . . . " -- Daily News

"A touching work, highly recommended for nursing, medical, and health sciences libraries. " -- Library Journal

"Just the right blend of emotion, compassion and wisdom. " -- Harold S. Kushner

"Riveting, wrenching. Few nurse's have experienced the range of cases this dedicated woman describes: cancer, burn unit, emergency ward, birth, brain damage . . . The writer is a vigorous optimistic, caring woman. And she exudes frankness . . . " -- Los Angeles Times

"The Nurse's Story captures the complexities of caring for acutely ill patients and the sensitivity needed in working with families . . . " -- American Journal of Nursing

"The first truly unvarnished portrait of the role and life of a nurse I have ever read, this book is a moving and important affirmation of courage, of the power of love, and of tragedy redeemed by compassion . . . " -- Charles Horton, Chapel Hill NC

"The most shattering and exhilarating book on nursing ever written . . -- Mario Puzo

"The Nurse's Story belongs on the library shelf of every nursing school, every hospital, and every public library in the country. " -- The Midwest Book Review <br /><br />"The Nurse's Story will be enough to forever change your thinking . . . " -- Daily News <br /><br />"A touching work, highly recommended for nursing, medical, and health sciences libraries. " -- Library Journal<br /><br />"Just the right blend of emotion, compassion and wisdom. " -- Harold S. Kushner<br /><br />"Riveting, wrenching. Few nurse's have experienced the range of cases this dedicated woman describes: cancer, burn unit, emergency ward, birth, brain damage . . . The writer is a vigorous optimistic, caring woman. And she exudes frankness . . . " -- Los Angeles Times <br /><br />"The Nurse's Story captures the complexities of caring for acutely ill patients and the sensitivity needed in working with families . . . " -- American Journal of Nursing <br /><br />"The first truly unvarnished portrait of the role and life of a nurse I have ever read, this book is a moving and important affirmation of courage, of the power of love, and of tragedy redeemed by compassion . . . " -- Charles Horton, Chapel Hill NC <br /><br />"The most shattering and exhilarating book on nursing ever written . . -- Mario Puzo <br /><br />Gritty and honest . . it has a fierce compassion. -Martha Lear Author of Heartsounds -- Martha Lear Author of Heartsounds <br /><br />With uncompromising honesty, Carol Gino strips the TV image to reveal the gritty truths of a nurse's life, from it's early, optimistic beginnings to the harsh realities (and incalculable rewards) that sustain her even in the face of a nurse's greatest professional hazard -- burnout. How can she help the family of a terminally ill patient when the doctor can do nothing more? What can she do for a 10-year-old burn victim for whom most of consciousness is pain? How does she convince the doctor of her intuition that the patient cannot survive major surgery at a given time? And how can she leave all this behind at the end of her shift? The Nurse's Story is one woman's eloquent testament of passionate commitment, a moving and important affirmation of courage, of the power of love, and of tragedy redeemed by compassion. The Nurse's Story belongs on the library shelf of every nursing school, every hospital, and every public library in the country. --Midwest Book Review

Gritty and honest . . it has a fierce compassion. -Martha Lear Author of Heartsounds -- Martha Lear Author of Heartsounds

With uncompromising honesty, Carol Gino strips the TV image to reveal the gritty truths of a nurse's life, from it's early, optimistic beginnings to the harsh realities (and incalculable rewards) that sustain her even in the face of a nurse's greatest professional hazard -- burnout. How can she help the family of a terminally ill patient when the doctor can do nothing more? What can she do for a 10-year-old burn victim for whom most of consciousness is pain? How does she convince the doctor of her intuition that the patient cannot survive major surgery at a given time? And how can she leave all this behind at the end of her shift? The Nurse's Story is one woman's eloquent testament of passionate commitment, a moving and important affirmation of courage, of the power of love, and of tragedy redeemed by compassion. The Nurse's Story belongs on the library shelf of every nursing school, every hospital, and every public library in the country. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Description

" . the story bristles with details and case histories that only experience could have provided."

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: aah-ha! Books Inc.; Revised edition (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889853038
• ISBN-13: 978-1889853031
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,549,592 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put the book down, June 1, 1999

By A Customer

This story is about a compassionate young nurse who wants to take away pain and heal everyone because she believes that between good doctors and miraculous medicine, all suffering can be taken away. She works in all areas of a hospital, from the burn unit to pediatrics. We follow her through a couple of cases where you can almost feel the pain of her patients and her anguish at not being able to do much more than make them as comfortable as possible or being a friend to a women in confinement with a contagious disease. She learns of a system that ties her hands and the stress from understaffing, but she also learns of healing on all aspects and that there is a higher power, and no amount of screaming and yelling will change some outcomes. She tells it like it is. Read this book and you will never see hospitals in the same way.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Endagered Spieces: Nurses with Compassion, November 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Nurses Story (Hardcover)

I found this book at a goodwill store, at first expecting not to find anything at all. I bought it for a dollar then started reading it just to check it out, but then found myself deeply attached to it. My mother is a nurse and the only reason this book got my attention on the shelf was because I wanted a narrative true story of what her life *must be like* at work. All in all, this is a very well-written book.
**Someone above made a comment about her home life story not being "worth a reader's time," but hey, it's reality and I didn't expect her to start telling stories of her glass slipper or eating a poisoned apple. Anyone with compassion would understand what she's been through (especially waiting anxiously for her husband to return before she realizes she's been abandoned again and again) and and the only reason it doesn't sound "exciting" (to some readers) is because she obviously skipped more painful and complicated details. Any reader should be able to understand that. And isn't this a story about *nurses* after all?
Anyway, the book is amazing. It opened my eyes a little to what nurses really go through and what they have to do to keep their sanity. It made me understand my mother's work more. It is one of the toughest jobs out there and the author definitely gives us a great & down-to-earth tour of her journey. Go ahead and read it. You'll laugh and cry.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not About Nurse's, October 4, 2001

By	Georgia Jones (San Carlos, CA USA) - See all my reviews

"The Nurse's Story" is a book about patients. Carol Gino tells about her years of nursing without writing a book about herself. Instead, she focuses on her patients, on their courage, pain, and the lessons they pass on to all of us. In "The Nurses Story" we see nursing rise above science. Ms. Gino makes this a book about caretaking, a book we can all use to aid in our own healing.