Main description:

In this book, Suzanne Gordon describes the everyday work of three RNs in Boston-a nurse practitioner, an oncology nurse, and a clinical nurse specialist on a medical unit. At a time when nursing is often undervalued and nurses themselves in short supply, Life Support provides a vivid, engaging, and intimate portrait of health care's largest profession and the important role it plays in patients' lives.

Life Support is essential reading for working nurses, nursing students, and anyone considering a career in nursing as well as for physicians and health policy makers seeking a better understanding of what nurses do and why we need them. For the Cornell edition of this landmark work, Gordon has written a new introduction that describes the current nursing crisis and its impact on bedside nurses like those she profiled in the book.

Contents:

Foreword to the Cornell Edition by Claire M. Fagin, R. N., Ph. D., F.A.A.N.PrefaceCHAPTER 1: The Tapestry of CareCHAPTER 2: Nancy Rumplik - The Care of StrangersCHAPTER 3: Jeannie Chaisson - Not on the ChartsCHAPTER 4: Ellen Kitchen - A Special VisitorCHAPTER 5: Nancy Rumplik - The Meaning of IllnessCHAPTER 6: Jeannie Chaisson - A Mentor of Their OwnCHAPTER 7: Ellen Kitchen - Collaborative CareCHAPTER 8: Nancy Rumplik - A Good Enough DeathCHAPTER 9: Ellen Kitchen - Final CheckupsCHAPTER 10: Jeannie - Chaisson A Good Enough Death IICHAPTER 11: Unraveling the Tapestry of CareCONCLUSION: Preserving the Tapestry of CareAfterword to the Cornell EditionNotesSelected BibliographyIndex