Four Patients' Lives - The Shift - Twelve Hours

Great book, truly inspirational. This book was a required read for our foundation class and I'm glad that I was able to read it. Theresa is truly an amazing and caring professional. Once I started reading I couldn't stop. The patients she cared for suddenly became my patients. Again great book!

What do you get when you marry an English Professor and an oncology nurse? A great book with insights into the day in the life of an oncology nurse. Ms. Brown's compassion and dedication are commendable. Death is never an easy topic for discussion or for books, but The Shift brings a difficult subject into our focus with grace. I would rate this book up there with Eric Lindner's "Hospice Voices".

This quick read is really worth it. It documents a 12 hour shift in the oncology section of a hospital from a nurses point of view. One will have much more empathy for nurses after reading this account. The author has a Ph.D in English and as a result, the book is very well written.

Coming from a family of nurses I enjoyed this book and intend to share it with them. I'm sure they will relate to the daily workload in the day of a nurse. I would recommend this book to anyone in the profession or patients

This story kept my attention the whole time. I am a nursing student and I love reading about the day in the life of any nurse. The way she explained particular things was very enlightening and helpful.

I absolutely loved this book. Theresa Brown is a gifted writer. Not only is she a nurse, but she has a PhD in English and is a former university English professor. By the time I finished the book, I felt I not only knew her intimately, but also her patients.I am a retired nurse and a former nursing professor, so when I read the details of her 12 hour shift, I could relate to all that she did. However, I don't think you would need a medical background to feel like you were right there with her with every decision she made and every task she performed. The book is entertaining in that it gives a real feel for what decisions nurses must make on a typical day in the hospital.It not only covers routine tasks she performed, but the emotional toll that nursing requires and the responsibility nurses have for being an advocate for a patient. This is one of the best books I have read in a long time.

I teach pre-program nursing students and this book should be required reading for them. It offers a clear and realistic view of what a nurse does during her shift at the hospital, and how the hospital carries over into the rest of her day. I particularly enjoyed the chapter about poop, as it presents in no-nonsense language the full spectrum of nurses' duties, obligations, and preoccupations. A great read!

The intense personal story clings to me after reading Theresa's book. She "left it all" on the page in her book. She freely gives of herself in telling about those she cares for and those that she works with.