5 books written by and for nurses

First Year Nurse, Creatas | ThinkStock + Scrubs

First Year Nurse: Wisdom, Warnings, and What I Wish I’d Known My First 100 Days on the Job
By: Barbara Arnoldussen

Your first 100 days at a new job could be daunting—unless you go in prepared. First Year Nurse places the wisdom and warnings of hundreds of experienced nurses right at your fingertips. You’ll learn all about how to start off on the right foot; plan and prioritize; communicate with your colleagues; cope with challenging patients; keep your energy up (and stress down); and set a course for professional growth.

The Everything New Nurse Book: Gain Confidence, Manage Your Schedule, And Deal With the Unexpected (Everything (School & Careers))
By: Kathy Quan, R.N. B.S.N. P.H.N.

Congratulations! As a new nurse, you’re entering one of the most challenging and rewarding fields! Still, you may feel a little nervous about stepping into the brave new world of medical facilities. How can you learn the ropes quickly? How will you handle the stressful situations that are par for the course in this profession? How can you adjust? How do you firmly establish your place among the doctors? The Everything New Nurse Book addresses all this and more. Covering the nation’s top ten types of nursing, this comprehensive handbook concentrates on the issues that new nurses face every day on the job–from dealing with patients to juggling multiple responsibilities. Highlights include how to: Balance a hectic new schedule (for work AND sleep); deal with the doctors’ old boy network; avoid illness yourself; continue your education while working at the same time; and cope with the death of patients. Written by Kathy Quan, a registered nurse with thirty years experience, The Everything New Nurse Book guides you through those first critical months on the job. If you want to know what to expect on your first day and beyond, this is the book for you!

A Nurse’s Story
By: Tilda Shalof

The team of nurses that Tilda Shalof found herself working with in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a big-city hospital was known as “Laura’s Line.” They were a bit wild: smart, funny, disrespectful of authority, but also caring and incredibly committed to their jobs. Laura set the tone with her quick remarks. Frances, from Newfoundland, was famous for her improvised recipes. Justine, the union rep, wore t-shirts emblazoned with defiant slogans, like “Nurses Care But It’s Not in the Budget.” Shalof was the one who had been to university. The others accused her of being “sooo sensitive.”

They depended upon one another. Working in the ICU was both emotionally grueling and physically exhausting. Many patients, quite simply, were dying, and the staff strove mightily to prolong their lives. With their skill, dedication, and the resources of modern science, they sometimes were almost too successful. Doctors and nurses alike wondered if what they did for terminally-ill patients was not, in some cases, too extreme. A number of patients were admitted when it was too late even for heroic measures. A boy struck down by a cerebral aneurysm in the middle of a little-league hockey game. A woman rescued–too late–from a burning house. It all took its toll on the staff.

And yet, on good days, they thrived on what they did. Shalof describes a colleague who is managing a “crashing” patient: “I looked at her. Nicky was flushed with excitement. She was doing five different things at the same time, planning ahead for another five. She was totally focused, in her element, in control, completely at home with the chaos. There was a huge smile on her face. Nurses like to fix things. If they can.”

Shalof, a veteran ICU nurse, reveals what it is really like to work behind the closed hospital curtains. The drama, the sardonic humour, the grinding workload, the cheerful camaraderie, the big issues and the small, all are brought vividly to life in this remarkable book.

To see the last two picks, head on over to The Nerdy Nurse. Then, tell us about your top picks for nursing books every nurse should read!