false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176677944m/643907.jpg 643907 2 In today's era of high-technology medicine, Suzanne Gordon, editor of books such as <I>Caregiving: Readings in Knowledge, Practice, Ethics, and Politics</I>, brings us the story of three nurses who work to humanize the experience of receiving medical care. We meet Nancy Rumplik, an outpatient nurse in an ambulatory clinic, as she prevents a nearly fatal allergic reaction to a course of chemotherapy. We meet nurse practitioner Ellen Kitchen, who provides home care to an 88-year-old man who does not want surgery for his prostate cancer. And we meet Jeannie Chaisson, a medical clinical nurse specialist, whose work continues after her shift ends as she helps a husband and daughter come to terms with a loved one's desire to stop treatment and succumb to death. Through their accounts Gordon tells us much about the health care system and about the nursing attention that allows people to tolerate the painful treatments and difficult choices that accompany high-technology medicine. <P> While <I>Life Support</I> draws attention to the often invisible work of nurses, it also highlights their plight in a health care system that increasingly focuses on the bottom line. Gordon painstakingly makes the point that it is not just surgery, ventilators, and dialysis machines that offer life support in the health care system. She shows how these nurses create an environment in which high-technology medicine can thrive, but that is not devoid of human care and concern. We learn how experienced nurses teach their colleagues, smooth over insensitive treatment by doctors, tend to illness, and bring dignity to death when treatment no longer works--all of which are roles that could not necessarily be filled by lower-paid, less-experienced personnel. In chronicling the work of Rumplik, Kitchen, and Chaisson, Gordon brings a story of the soul of America's health care system. <I>--Amy Sessler</I> 630072 1997 Life Support: Three Nurses on the Front Lines total:31|5:7|4:8|3:13|2:3|1:0| 31 112 53 4 5 0 false false Mon Feb 23 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 09 18:29:32 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 25 11:00:24 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Thu Apr 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 12 04:12:53 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 02 16:00:52 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 18 19:11:11 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 20 17:23:26 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Thu Aug 28 06:08:15 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 27 10:00:18 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 28 06:08:15 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sun Nov 29 05:58:54 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 29 05:58:54 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Tue Nov 24 07:10:19 -0800 2009 Wed Sep 23 09:30:44 -0700 2009 Tue Nov 24 07:10:19 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Thu Sep 17 14:26:20 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 17 14:26:20 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Aug 25 06:03:38 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 06:03:38 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri Aug 21 14:15:26 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 21 14:15:26 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Thu Aug 20 18:03:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 23 13:12:18 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Aug 20 00:14:55 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 20 00:15:19 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Jul 12 20:16:50 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 20:16:54 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat May 23 18:06:29 -0700 2009 Sat May 23 18:06:29 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sat Mar 07 18:30:28 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 07 18:30:28 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Mar 03 15:31:23 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 15:31:23 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Feb 20 17:36:25 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 20 17:36:25 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Mon Feb 23 14:59:17 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 27 15:56:30 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 23 14:59:17 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jan 20 12:54:00 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 20 12:54:00 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Jan 18 11:19:37 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 11:19:37 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sun Jan 04 10:01:22 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 10:01:22 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=643907