With great candor, the author delves into how and why nurses are dismissed and disregarded by many physicians, hospital administrators and the media. This kind of thinking is a sad symptom of a social disease in which there is a collective misperception of reality. Nurses are intelligent, dedicated, ambitious, compassionate, involved and deserving of a good wage. And, I might add, we've developed excellent relating skills. The author does a fine job of weaving the chronological progress of nursing education throughout the chapters of the book.
Experience is invaluable in nursing.
Not all that long ago, the gray god, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA, had a hospital-based nursing school. Every May, Charles St., adjacent to the hospital and home of the nurses' dormitory, would be littered with the peculiar dark uniforms of the new graduates, successfully liberated at last. For me, the centerpiece of the book is the real life depiction of nurses at work. In particular, Suzanne Gordon's description of the home visits of Nurse Ellen Kitchen are very moving. I found myself going along on these visits.