A veteran nurse researcher and educator provides a spiritual perspective on the professional nurse's vocation of caring. Grounding each chapter in Scripture, O'Brien explores the Christian nurse's call to love as Jesus loved: without discrimination, reserve and, sometimes, reward.

Tired of the pace and noise of life near London and longing for a better place to raise their young children, Mary J. MacLeod and her husband encountered their dream while vacationing on a remote island in the Scottish Hebrides. Enthralled by its windswept beauty, they soon were the proud owners of a near-derelict croft house—a farmer’s stone cottage—on “a small acre” of land. Mary assumed duties as the island’s district nurse. Call the Nurse is her account of the enchanted years she and her family spent there, coming to know its folk as both patients and friends. In anecdotes that are by turns funny, sad, moving, and tragic, she recalls them all, the crofters and their laird, the boatmen and tradesmen, young lovers and forbidding churchmen. Against the old-fashioned island culture and the grandeur of mountain and sea unfold indelible stories: a young woman carried through snow for airlift to the hospital; a rescue by boat; the marriage of a gentle giant and the island beauty; a ghostly encounter; the shocking discovery of a woman in chains; the flames of a heather fire at night; an unexploded bomb from World War II; and the joyful, tipsy celebration of a ceilidh. Gaelic fortitude meets a nurse’s compassion in these wonderful true stories from rural Scotland.

Praise for Educating Nurses "This book represents a call to arms, a call for nursing educators and programs to step up in our preparation of nurses. This book will incite controversy, wonderful debate, and dialogue among nurses and others. It is a must-read for every nurse educator and for every nurse that yearns for nursing to acknowledge and reach for the real difference that nursing can make in safety and quality in health care." —Beverly Malone, chief executive officer, National League for Nursing "This book describes specific steps that will enable a new system to improve both nursing formation and patient care. It provides a timely and essential element to health care reform." —David C. Leach, former executive director, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education "The ideas about caregiving developed here make a profoundly philosophical and intellectually innovative contribution to medicine as well as all healing professions, and to anyone concerned with ethics. This groundbreaking work is both paradigm-shifting and delightful to read." —Jodi Halpern, author, From Detached Concern to Empathy: Humanizing Medical Practice "This book is a landmark work in professional education! It is a must-read for all practicing and aspiring nurse educators, administrators, policy makers, and, yes, nursing students." —Christine A. Tanner, senior editor, Journal of Nursing Education "This work has profound implications for nurse executives and frontline managers." —Eloise Balasco Cathcart, coordinator, Graduate Program in Nursing Administration, New York University

comfortable income, it is more than just a salary. Eternal rewards are reflected when a nurse aids in the alleviation of a patient’s pain, leads a dying patient in a prayer of salvation, or has the opportunity to assist in the welcoming of a new life into this world. I challenge you to keep your heart and mind open to this possibility for your life as you:Discover the physical, emotional, and spiritual sacrifice of nurses, and how a nurse can offer himself or herself in service to aid patients in vulnerable states of lifeRead real life examples of sound nursing in action and the amazing impact you can have on patients and their familiesLearn the differences between a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), and more! It is my prayer that as you read this book, you will search your heart, cultivate a deeper, more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, and close the book knowing whether God is calling you to this incredible, humbling profession called nursing. Never forget we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

A New York Times bestseller. “A funny, intimate, and often jaw-dropping account of life behind the scenes.”—People Nurses is the compelling story of the year in the life of four nurses, and the drama, unsung heroism, and unique sisterhood of nursing—one of the world’s most important professions (nurses save lives every day), and one of the world’s most dangerous, filled with violence, trauma, and PTSD. In following four nurses, Alexandra Robbins creates sympathetic characters while diving deep into their world of controlled chaos. It’s a world of hazing—“nurses eat their young.” Sex—not exactly like on TV, but surprising just the same. Drug abuse—disproportionately a problem among the best and the brightest, and a constant temptation. And bullying—by peers, by patients, by hospital bureaucrats, and especially by doctors, an epidemic described as lurking in the “shadowy, dark corners of our profession.” The result is a page-turning, shocking look at our health-care system.

I have always had people who knew my mother tell me that someday someone should write a book about that woman. While I sometimes had the inclination to write her story, I never seemed to find the time. However, I was forced to have a spinal fusion and the recovery period meant months away from my golf game. I now had the time to write my mothers story, which turned out to be my story as well. Because this would be a totally new venture for me, I was looking for help and input from many directions. Undoubtedly, Martha, my wife, was my biggest helper and supporter. I want to thank her for putting up with Jane and her bizarre ways all those years. Martha also has a degree in English, which came in very handy when editing the book. Next I would like to acknowledge our four children, Mark, Michael, John, and Shannon. They all had to deal with Jane. They reminded me of some of Janes eccentricities which are mentioned in this book. Most of all, I want the kids to know that I sincerely regret that Jane was not a better Grandma to them. Grandmas are wonderful people and our kids missed out on that joy in life. I appreciate the input of Rosie Browning, our friend and accomplished teacher of English, who read the first draft and made many suggestions that I welcomed and incorporated into the book. I would also like to thank Sandi Faber for her contribution and editing skills. Many thanks to Dee Domingo, our neighbor and computer guru. I could not have put this book on a flash drive without her. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge all of my friends who gave me such positive encouragement. My friend Jeanie Williamson suggested the title, and Nancy Campbell, my former secretary, shared some of her memories with me. Every story about Jane in this book is true and is written exactly as remembered by folks who dealt with her directly. To my brother-in-law Jerome Carrigan, my nephew Jay Carrigan and his wife Lisa, my niece Michele, and certainly John Nelson, I just want to say thanks for remembering.