Book Review: "The Craft of Compassion at the Bedside of the Ill"

Disclaimer: As always, I received no payment for this book review, only a copy of the book from the author in order to facilitate the writing of this post.

"The Craft of Compassion at the Bedside of the Ill" is a poetic and moving discourse on compassion by nurse, author and medicine man Michael Ortiz Hill. In this stirring book, Mr. Hill presents his view of compassion as a craft that can be learned, honed and developed, a notion that many in the nursing and medical fields would be wise to heed.

Nursing, NPR, and Where to Go From Here

Nurses and nursing are consistently in the news these days, and with issues surrounding health care continuing to come to a boil in the U.S. and elsewhere, we can expect more stories that include nurses to bubble to the top.

Nursing: Trouble in Paradise?

Despite the consistently wonderful press about the trust that Americans place in the nursing profession, not to mention the heady days of new nurses being assured a plethora of jobs upon graduation, the nursing zeitgeist seems just a little diminished and subdued these days. At least for now, many new grads are hard pressed to find work and there is little to cheer about when it comes to nurses' economic standing.

I Should Only Be So Lucky

I walk into the home and am welcomed warmly by the client's two sons, as well as the home health aide that I'm ostensibly there to supervise. The client sits in his wheelchair, quietly fingering a towel that was previously placed in his lap as a diversion. I greet the client---John---and then take a seat on the couch, late morning sun streaming through the living room window.

Partners in Health and Nurses Week

What Will You Do....For National Nurses Week?

Well, it's that time of year again, and National Nurses Week is just around the corner. Now, before you get too excited about the hearts, flowers and monogrammed mugs that your supervisors will leave in the nurses station (I just received a terribly ugly pin in the mail from one of my employers), the question of the day is: What will you do---for yourself---for National Nurses Week?