The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder

Graeber, C. (2013).

New York, NY: Twelve. 307 pages.

When you read The Good Nurse by Charles Graeber you will wonder how registered nurse Charlie Cullen managed to get hired at hospital after hospital, despite serious misgivings at every point along the way in his career as a critical care nurse. Although he was never successful for any length of time as he bounced from job to job, he was never reported to the state board of nursing. It appears that his superiors at all of the hospitals, happy to be rid of him, did nothing to prevent him from wreaking havoc on the next hospital. The description of Graeber by a nurse coworker as an "odd duck" is an understatement. He was a serial killer, who preyed on the most vulnerable, elderly, and critically ill intensive care patients, killing as many as 400 of them with insulin-spiked intravenous fluids or intramuscular digoxin. He was an alcoholic, and prone to overdosing on whatever handful of pills he could find, especially when he was spurned by women who, after initial interest, grew uncomfortable with his weird antics. You will wonder how he ever managed to get away with it. It is disheartening that so many of his superiors looked the other way, protecting the hospitals' reputations over the lives of patients. This is a somewhat uncomfortable book to read, but it is an important one. Healthcare providers who read this may find themselves more alert to odd behavior and stories that do not add up and perhaps will be more insistent that action be taken. After reading this book, I can assure you that you will be reluctant to leave the bedside of your hospitalized loved ones.

-Contributed by Maureen Anthony, PhD, RN