Not just for nursing students
585613
Purchased these for my husband who has been a nurse for 16 years.  He used a version of these cards while in nursing school and tells me that they are essential in his day to day care plan writing.  Saves lots of time and very informative.
4053598
I have found this to be very interesting and very readable.  I've recommended it to my students on a number of occassion; both graduate and undergraduate students.  Several nursing students indicated that they had read it as well.  It is for a lay audience and is a narrative, not a medical history.
2106874
My university actually purchased this textbook for me since I teach a master's level course on teaching and learning strategies in nursing. It is an excellent taxtbook, easy to read, interesting, and chocked full of information. It is evidence-based and although I have my doctorate in education, I have learned a lot related to teaching and learning strategies for nursing students.

Some of my favorite materials include use of technology, how to augment lectures (and lecture is not "old-school" if it is done right), PBL (problem based learning) and cooperative learning strategies. There is also a good chapter about simulation (which is now used all over the country to teach nursing students skills and critical thinking).

There are also lists of great resources to look at over and above those discussed in the chapters. I would highly recommend this book for every nursing faculty even if they already have a master's or doctorate in education (and especially if they don't), as it will surely help to plan better teaching strategies for better student learning.
79150
This slim volume contains a lot of nursing history. The author was a bedside nurse in pediatrics and obstetrics, a nursing home administrator, a home health visiting nurse, a hospice nurse, and I am sure I am forgetting some of her other positions. It was easy to identify with her, as it seemed in every job she was a "newbie" with very little orientation. That "what do I do now" feeling is something we all can identify with. Throughout, the author brought her listening ear and compassionate heart. I am not a nurse, but still enjoyed the read tremendously.
2994814
About to start nursing school and wanted to get a head start. This book is not just for nursing students, though, it is a very well written, practical guide on going back to school. Very elementary concepts are used and explained. I have used other books from this "Incredibly Easy" series and found them equally helpful. No matter if you're going to nursing school or going back to school period --- this book will provide comfort and advice that will take you whereever you want to go.
2290538
As a long time nurse, I thought this book sounded interesting. It definitely was. I found their comments about the portrayals of nursing to be all too true and often coincided with many of my and my co-workers comments. Some of our surgeons couldn't pick out their patients in a line up let alone stoop to spending hours of their precious time comforting them and their families or providing actual personal care to them. Anyone who thinks what they see on tv is what nursing really is definitely needs to read this book.
2203832
A great book for nurses during any phase of their career.  This is a collection of stories by nurses sharing diverse experiences with patient care--some heartbreaking, some funny, some strange, some inspirational.
1435315
I really enjoyed reading Camille's book. All Nurse's have a story to tell but only a few actually put their story in a book. Nurse's are of all ages, come from many cultural back grounds and have their own unique life experiences in nursing. I recommend this to all nurses and student nurses who are interested in reading true life experiences of a Nurse who has spent her past forty plus years in nursing taking care of patients and their families. Thanks Camille for sharing your nursing story and experiences.
1946800
I am a third year nursing student, when I received this book right after the bat i really enjoyed the fact that this book wasn't your plain ol' black and white text book. Its actually interactive and a quite simple approach to learning medical terms. The breaking down of the words makes it easy to comprehend and memorize. For a person that doesn't really read at all, I am actually relieved to have something simple and quick. And i actually like the fact that it has the practice questions at the end.
SL
552532
As a nurse, parent and grandparent I found this book very appropriate to demonstrate how animals can enhance and broaden our educational experiences as well as contribute to healing - physical and emotional.  I was not aware of the use of therapy dogs as  adjunct "instructor." This book promotes the important role of a therapy dog in a school setting to provide motivation and encouragement to students.  Since animals do not discriminate and generally give unsolicited love they are perfect for providing a environment of acceptance and belonging to children who may not experience these values at home (unfortunately.) It's a known fact that animals in a nursing home improve the residents' feeling of well-being and in turn most likely improve the residents' physical well-being.  The story of Ariel is an excellent illustration of the use of animals to help children overcome the many obstacles that may hinder learning, boost a school's overall morale and encourage other schools to adopt a similar program.  Well written and illustrated!
1664122
This book* has a lot of useful advice and helpful tips on how to survive nursing school. The books was recommended to us by our college's nursing department before we entered the program. And I'm so glad they did! It provides a fantastic overview of studying, note taking, stress management, and what to expect in clinicals. This book won't give you a bird's eye view of everything about being a nursing student, but it will give you a solid "heads up" of what to expect overall. Definitely a must-read for the entering (and potentially frazzled) nursing student!

*I read the 4th edition of this book but apparently there is an 8th edition as of November 2012. Be sure to buy the updated edition instead!
2203210
Lots of information. Excellent for nursing students.
4974777
I am a nursing student and love this little book. It is so full of useful information (a little bit of everything)! I showed it to one of my instructors and she was quite impressed and is planning to order one as well.
4274107
Very well written and an easy read, unlike a lot of other text books. I also love that each chapter gives a list of nursing diagnosis. That'll make care plans a lot easier.
2653906
This book is more than `a practical manual for experiential learning': it is a model for the sophisticated involvement of simulation in teaching communication skills. Although it suggests that it deliberately hasn't explored the theoretical basis of experiential learning, or involving simulated patients in clinical teaching, it gives enough to guide the reasons for the learning and teaching strategies suggested in the book. Its main emphasis is the development of communication skills for health professionals by working with simulated patients. The strong emphasis on learner reflection and effective feedback is interlaced into each chapter. After some general educational discussion on lesson planning, training and working with simulated patients, and examples of small group and larger group interactions, communication examples include information gathering, risk communication, breaking bad news, and communication between health professionals.
I found this book to be in itself a model for clear communication. With its numerous examples of how to work well with simulated patients, it is very practical particularly if you already have dedicated simulated patients in your health professional education program. And with clinical placements becoming harder to find for the increasing numbers of health students, the time to embrace these learning and teaching strategies has never been more apt.
2769534
I wish I would have had this book when I was going to school. This book not only defines virtually every medical term but elaborates on essential areas.  The beginning of the book is a color atlas of all body systems. eg.  Skeletal,GI, Cranial Nerves, Muscles ect. It is then organized as a  Dictionary from A-Z. There are clear pictures to help elaborate on  definitions and explanations.  An example is in the area of Intercranial  Pressure.  Not only is it defined, it is also explained in detail including  ICP monitoring devices and pictures for easy understanding. I have been a  nurse for a long time and found this book to be a wonderful reference....  in all areas of nursing.... Everyone on the unit wants to borrow this book  and many have already purchased it themselves.
246496
Nurse Teresa's former position as an English professor prompted her to use scattered literary references throughout this book, and while they add an extra level of sophistication and intelligence when compared to other medical memoirs, the real strength and purpose of her book remains exactly as described in the title: offering personal insight into what a typical twelve-hour shift is like for a nurse working in a teaching hospital's oncology ward.

This isn't a sensational behind-the-scenes tell-all book, and it isn't overly sentimental. It's a straightforward, occasionally too-detailed, account of the exhausting work she does with and for patients, and the tremendous amount of responsibility she bears for the well-being and comfort of the patients assigned to her care. Her shift involves plenty of redundant routine, marked by mountains of mandatory paperwork and detailed documentation of every little thing, (which has to be checked, rechecked, and initialed by yet another nurse) but it's her interaction with and compassion for patients and their needs that make this nurse, and others like her, shine.

If you ever wanted to know what it'd be like to be a nurse, read this book. It may not tell you the entire story, but it's a great start. Four and a half stars.