A Call Girl with Her Clothes On: True Tales from a Night-Shift Hospital Operator

by Cozette Zimmerman

What happens when a college student finds herself in need of some extra cash, and she only has time to work at night? Starting in 2019, author Cozette Zimmerman took a fairly generic part-time job working nights as a hospital phone operator while working full-time on her college degree. In that job, she soon discovered that sometimes, at three o?clock in the morning, people really just need a better adult to tell them what to do?and her role was to be that better adult. For the first eight months, the calls were fairly regular and routine?well, as routine as a medical emergency in the middle of the night can be. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and changed everything. A Call Girl with Her Clothes On shares hilarious true accounts of working with patients during medical emergencies before and in the midst of a global pandemic. These short stories recall conversations and events that have stayed with Zimmerman, leaving her to wonder about the fate of the world.

76 pages, Paperback

Published July 14, 2021

Reviews

[Rielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book caught me off guard in the best way. Cozette Zimmerman takes something as ordinary as a hospital operator job and turns it into a series of moments that feel funny, heartbreaking, and strangely comforting all at once. Her late-night stories feel so real that I found myself imagining the voices on the other end of the line.

When the pandemic hits, the tone shifts just enough to remind you how quickly life changed for everyone, yet she still manages to find humanity in the chaos. It’s honest, emotional, and unexpectedly warm.

A quick read, but one that stays with you. I loved it.

[Camila Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Night Shift: Tales from a Hospital Phone Operator

When college student Cozette Zimmerman takes a night job as a hospital phone operator, she expects nothing more than routine calls and quiet shifts. But as the nights stretch on, she quickly learns that the hospital never truly sleeps. From confused callers to midnight emergencies, Zimmerman becomes the calm voice in chaos, the “better adult” people turn to when life unravels at 3 a.m. Honest, witty, and unexpectedly heartfelt, The Night Shift captures the humor, exhaustion, and humanity that thrive in the quiet hours of the night.

[Sheila Cox · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not worth it or funny

I’ve had much more funny phone calls on my personal phone than this book describes. This was not the “hilarious” book promised, nor was it worth the price I paid, and I’d like my money back.

[Cozette Zimmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, short, a cute read for people who have worked in customer service, particularly during the pandemic