Description
Book SynopsisGordon describes the everyday work of three RNs in Boston—a nurse practitioner, an oncology nurse, and a clinical nurse specialist on a medical unit—providing a vivid, engaging, and intimate portrait of the importance of nurses in patients' lives.
Trade ReviewA beautiful, profound, and profoundly important book.... Gordon's message is simplicity itself: sick people need skilled, humane, and insightful care that keeps their interests paramount. Registered nurses have historically provided that care, but now their ability to fulfill their crucial role faces the greatest jeopardy in the history of the profession.... Life Support belongs in the august company of Silent Spring, The Other America, The Feminine Mystique, and other pivotal works with the power to shape the nation's consciousness.
* Washington Post *
For patients, physicians, nurses, and health policy analysts, Gordon's passionate and accessible account of the impact of managed care on skilled nursing provides clear grounds for concern.
* Health Affairs *
In this enlightening, involving, in-depth book, Gordon interweaves the history and philosophy of nursing with on-the-job observations of three nurses at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital. Gordon lets the nurses speak for themselves, effectively illustrating their commitment to their profession and involving readers in real-life dramas.
* Publishers Weekly *
Table of ContentsForeword to the Cornell Edition by Claire M. Fagin, R. N., Ph. D., F.A.A.N.Preface
CHAPTER 1: The Tapestry of Care
CHAPTER 2: Nancy Rumplik - The Care of Strangers
CHAPTER 3: Jeannie Chaisson - Not on the Charts
CHAPTER 4: Ellen Kitchen - A Special Visitor
CHAPTER 5: Nancy Rumplik - The Meaning of Illness
CHAPTER 6: Jeannie Chaisson - A Mentor of Their Own
CHAPTER 7: Ellen Kitchen - Collaborative Care
CHAPTER 8: Nancy Rumplik - A Good Enough Death
CHAPTER 9: Ellen Kitchen - Final Checkups
CHAPTER 10: Jeannie - Chaisson A Good Enough Death II
CHAPTER 11: Unraveling the Tapestry of Care
CONCLUSION: Preserving the Tapestry of CareAfterword to the Cornell Edition
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
