Nursing: Against the Odds
By Suzanne Gordon. New York, Cornell University Press, 2005. $29.95. ISBN 0-8014-3976-0. 489 pp.
This latest work by journalist Suzanne Gordon chronicles real-life events depicting the negative impact of managed care, hospital restructuring, and the sociopolitical dynamics of medicine on professional nursing. The alarming descriptions of medical errors resulting from nurse-physician role conflict and administrative snafus are laid out in detail. While Gordon does an excellent job of outlining the challenging state of the healthcare system, the by-product is a demoralizing portrait of a "profession" without power, influence, and perhaps even hope. The broad scope of the text ranges from verbal abuse of nurses by physicians to the absence of accurate nursing representation in the media to ineffectual nursing education. The content is truly significant, but the narrative is repetitive as the salient points are hammered home. Cases used to demonstrate these points are fascinating and clearly illustrate the issues. The role of the CNS was accurately highlighted and positively portrayed in several scenarios. Sadly, the role of the nurse manager was described in a generally negative tone, with little acknowledgement of the difficult position in which they function. In fact, an entire chapter could have been appropriately devoted to the unique plight of nurses in formal leadership roles. The author's recommendation for nurses to take their case for patient safety and professional recognition to the public is well founded. Additional recommendations for action seemed to center around two themes: unionization and a national health system. I found this odd, as these approaches are largely already in place in the setting from which Gordon draws many of her more disturbing cases (eg, Canada). So while worthy of debate, these strategies must not be sufficiently striking at the root causes of our dysfunction. Gordon is to be commended for supporting the nursing profession through her journalistic endeavors. This book adds to the body of literature documenting the real challenges facing nurses and the healthcare system as of 2005. This book is appropriate reading for practicing CNSs and graduate level students as part of a role theory/professional issue course which includes discussion of individual experiences in contrast to those presented in the book.
Caring for the Caregiver: 8 Truths to Prolong Your Career
By Michael A. Sherbun. Boston, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2006. ISBN 0-7637-3080-7. 145 pp.
The purposes of Caring for the Caregiver: 8 Truths to Prolong Your Career are to address the stressors confronted by healthcare professionals and to provide methods to manage these stressors with the expectation that this will assist individuals in prolonging their careers. The primary targets of this book are nurses working in staff and leadership positions in clinical areas, but the principles could be applied to other professionals in similar circumstances. The book is laid out in 8 chapters. In each chapter, a "truth" or concept regarding career success is addressed. Early chapters present the author's models for self-development (the circle of control), personality type (the 4-P personality styles), and interpersonal interactions (success steps model to emotional connection). In subsequent chapters, these concepts are applied to interactions with patients, and families, colleagues at work and to the issue of burnout. Exercises are included for the reader to assess individual self-development, and clinical examples are used to demonstrate how these ideas have been applied to real-life situations.
It is the author's premise that an individual must understand personality styles to successfully interact with others, but that most personality inventories are too lengthy or complicated to be useful. Therefore, the author presents a simplified inventory which is easy to use; however, information on how this model was developed and the evidence for its validity are lacking. A strength of this book is the discussion of dealing with conflict with patients and families and within and among staff, the clinical examples will sound familiar to the reader and aid in illustrating key points. In addition, a strong case is made for the role of stress and burnout in the retention of nurses. The book includes practical advice on methods to incorporate self-care into daily life and has a useful summary of relaxation and meditation techniques. The CNS would find this book of use for personal career evaluation and a resource for staff development and team building.