Buy This Book: Nurses on the Run: Why They Come, Why They Stay

In Nurses on the Run: Why They Come, Why They Stay, editor Karen Buley, RN, BSN, presents the personal stories of 25 women and men who've devoted their lives to caring for us as we get born, grow up, give birth, crash, burn, break, and -- if we're lucky -- get old. The collection of essays is an examination of what calls people to this emotionally and physically demanding profession and why they stay with it while so many feel the need to walk away. Both joys and frustrations are many.

Each story is gripping and surprising in its own way. The stories come from obstetrics, hospice, oncology--everything from pediatrics to geriatrics--but have in common the generous spirit and humor necessary to survive the job. (In her essay "Nursing in the Big House", prison nurse Sara Stassen writes, "Walking back to the control bubble, I felt like a nurse in the Wild West...a gun-slinging sheriff walking though town after killing an outlaw.")

A nurse for 31 years (and a regular contributor to various publications including Family Circle and American Nurse), Karen Buley concludes with a call to action to combat the current nursing shortage. A portion of proceeds will fund nurse educator scholarships.


Personal PS: This is my beautiful aunt, Ethel Lonnquist Tanner, a great nurse and tremendous lioness of a woman, whose full life ended last week at age 88. My dad's big sis was an amazing caregiver, quilter, musician, and mom.