Good Books!

The Language of Kindness…A Nurse’s Story, by Christie Watson

For personal reasons, I was very eager to read the recommended, The Language of Kindness…A Nurse’s Story, by Christie Watson.  Watson is a tremendous writer; compassionate, tender but funny and brutally honest when necessary.  Her twenty years experience spans a plethora of nursing specialties within the NHS in London- from Emergency Room, Surgical, Neonatal ICU, Oncology, and Psychiatric, and more.  She intertwines specific cases and patients (and is not squeamish about the gory details) with the cold, hard facts about funding (or lack of), professional burn-out and the often unrealistic expectations of medicine and medical technologies.  She makes a strong case that the compensation and support nurses receive is often subpar considering the sacrifices, both physical and emotional, required in this profession. Also addressed is the interesting population demographics of which countries export nurses to western societies. (Anyone who has been in a NYC hospital has undoubtably been cared for by nurses from the Philippines).  Worth the time and an informative read, this book, “shows the joys and the difficulties of looking after people at their most vulnerable, and makes an urgent plea: as a society we have to care better for the nurses who care for us.” (Dr. Gavin Francis) I couldn’t have summarized it any better.