eShop USA > Books > Nursing Against the Odds: How Health Care Cost Cutting, Media Stereotypes, And Medical Hubris Undermine Nurses And Patient Care (The Culture and Politics of Health Care Work)
Nursing Against the Odds: How Health Care Cost Cutting, Media Stereotypes, And Medical Hubris Undermine Nurses And Patient Care (The Culture and Politics of Health Care Work)
List Price: $19.95Our Price: $13.57 You Save: $6.38 (32%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 610.730973
EAN: 9780801472923
Edition: 1
ISBN: 080147292X
Label: ILR Press
Manufacturer: ILR Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 512
Publication Date: March 09, 2006
Publisher: ILR Press
Studio: ILR Press
Related Items: Featured Listmania!
Editorial Review:
In the United States and throughout the industrialized world, just as the population of older and sicker patients is about to explode, we have a major shortage of nurses. Why are so many RNs dropping out of health care's largest profession? How will the lack of skilled, experienced caregivers affect patients? These are some of the questions addressed by Suzanne Gordon's definitive account of the world's nursing crisis. In Nursing against the Odds, one of North America's leading health care journalists draws on in-depth interviews, research studies, and extensive firsthand reporting to help readers better understand the myriad causes of and possible solutions to the current crisis. Gordon examines how health care cost cutting and hospital restructuring undermine the working conditions necessary for quality care. She shows how the historically troubled workplace relationships between RNs and physicians become even more dysfunctional in modern hospitals. In Gordon's view, the public image of nurses continues to suffer from negative media stereotyping in medical shows on television and from shoddy press coverage of the important role RNs play in the delivery of health care.
Gordon also identifies the class and status divisions within the profession that hinder a much-needed defense of bedside nursing. She explains why some policy panaceas—hiring more temporary workers, importing RNs from less-developed countries—fail to address the forces that drive nurses out of their workplaces. To promote better care, Gordon calls for a broad agenda that includes safer staffing, improved scheduling, and other policy changes that would give nurses a greater voice at work. She explores how doctors and nurses can collaborate more effectively and what medical and nursing education must do to foster such cooperation. Finally, Gordon outlines ways in which RNs can successfully take their case to the public while campaigning for health care system reform that actually funds necessary nursing care.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Wish I would have known
I read the book and am going to graduate from a nursing program in June of '08. I was so disenchanted as to what went on in the book as I see it going on when I am in clinicals. I probably wouldn't have picked nursing as my number one profession after being in the hospital setting and it should be a read the first quarter of new nursing students. The book is very factual, as to what I have witnessed thus far. It is a shame it has to be the almighty dollar when it comes to health care. This country ... Read More
Rating: - Significant read for both healthcare providers & the public!
I recommend this book to everyone I meet. It does a fantastic job of highlighting the nursing experience, while examining ALL of the factors that challenge our healthcare system today. I am a nurse and found many of the anecdotes to be all too relatable. I think EVERYONE should read this book!
Rating: - Nursing against the Odds
This a a very good, and easy to read nursing text book. It flows well because of the real life stories and examples that all of us at the bedside can relate to. It makes you think about what you do, and what you say. How these things can and do impact patient care, and relationships with staff, patients, facilty, etc. We are such a necessary part of the bigger picture, and this book helps support and encourage us to be the best that we can be and to stand up for what it right and good in nursing ... Read More
Rating: - A must-read for any nurse!
A great read. A non-nurse has figured out the professional issues that keeps nursing subserviant to nearly every other health profession. I realize that holding hands and singing "Kum Ba Ya" won't help - but we need to open our eyes and see what can be accomplished with working together for the betterment of the profession and the health outcomes of patients. Political power, education, solidarity will help to increase the credibility and respectability of nurses. If you are a nurse, join the ANA - it's ... Read More
Rating: - A "Must Read" for nurses!
Suzanne Gordon's "Nursing Against the Odds" hits the nail on the head! From her description of present day uniforms to her description of the combat-like nursing duties, she has identified the problems with the nursing profession. I could not put this book down once I started and have promised to loan it to other nurses. It's not often that I comment aloud while reading a book but Ms. Gordon has a literary method of phrasing that evokes the proverbial "Aha" every few minutes. Great reading and thought ... Read More
Related Categories:
| |
 |
