National Nurses United

Books_FNL with art 8/20/10 6:03 PM Page 19 Onward and Upward carry out a doctor's orders, Stenrose explains how the RN's own assessments and subsequent suggestions heavily influence those orders. After all, the RN is the one constantly at the patient's bedside. And when a doctor is not around, RNs must sometimes jump in to save a life and inform a doctor later. Ultimately, every story is a discussion of what it means and what it takes to be a strong advocate for patients so that they not only receive the best medical treatment possible, but receive it with dignity and compassion. My only criticism of the book is that Stenrose, a California Nurses Association member, does not mention the role that collective action with coworkers through the union must surely have played at some point in her career in advocating for patients. She also does not critique the overall, profit-driven healthcare system. Otherwise, Stenrose's book is quite an accomplishment: informative, thoughtprovoking, colorful and full of dialogue, and inspiring to read. —Lucia Hwang organize, comparing her zeal for "nurturing" them to her affection for animals during her childhood on the farm. And readers will tire of the constant references to Polk's physical beauty: her "glamor," "wide smile," "strawberryblonde hair," and Imelda Marcos-esque penchant for shoes and hats. Then again, as an old boyfriend of mine once let slip in an unguarded moment, "union chicks are hot." And who, really, can argue with that? —Felicia Mello Inside the ICU: A Nursing Perspective By Melody Stenrose, RN; Seaboard Press M any registered nurses are very good at what they do. But not as many RNs are very good at explaining what they do. And it's the rare RN who can reflect and write eloquently about every aspect of what she does—from the clinical care she provides, to the emotional support she gives patients and their family members, to the larger ethical considerations of her profession. Melody Stenrose is one of those nurses. Stenrose, an intensive care unit registered nurse for nearly 30 years, said she wrote Inside the ICU to demystify the practice area for other nurses as well as for the average person. For years, she had been regaling her husband after every 12-hour shift with life-anddeath tales; he suggested to her one day that she write them down as a book. Years later, after much persistence navigating the world of book publishing and even securing her employer hospital's approval, she finally did. Through the stories of actual patients she has cared for over the years, Stenrose discusses topics as varied as organ donation; the end of life; obese, paralyzed, and homeless patients; the role of nurses; and being a patient herself. We learn about Jim, a patient in the late stages of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) disease, who could barely move any part of his body besides his feet. Stenrose rearranged Jim's entire ICU room, including moving most of the equipment, so that the call pad could be positioned near his foot. We learn about Ronald, an 87-year-old man who was resuscitated against his wishes because neither he nor his family had told the medical staff early enough. Ronald was finally allowed to die in peace, but not before Stenrose had to go through four different doctors to get the Do Not Resuscitate order written. In the book, Stenrose often juxtaposes stories from earlier in her nursing career with those that came later, to highlight lessons she has learned and how she has evolved as an RN. One particularly important chapter, titled "Who Calls the Shots?," gives the reader great insight into the incredible autonomy as well as responsibility of the registered nurse's scope of practice. While it's true that nurses J U LY | A U G U S T 2 0 1 0 Normal At Any Cost: Tall Girls, Short Boys, and the Medical Industry's Quest to Manipulate Height By Susan Cohen and Christine Cosgrove; Tarcher any parents claim they will do everything within their power to shape their children in a way that provides them with the greatest opportunities in life. But what happens when that quest for success drives parents to forever alter the physical attributes of their daughters and sons who are predicted to be too tall, or short, to meet societal norms? And what happens when parental fears about their children's height are encouraged and enabled by medical and pharmaceutical industries that stand to gain prestige and profit from experimental treatments designed to inhibit or enhance physical growth? In Normal at Any Cost: Tall Girls, Short Boys and the Medical Industry's Quest to Manipulate Height, Susan Cohen and Christine Cosgrove chronicle decades of medical attempts to alter the height of young girls and boys through the controversial use of hormones. The book raises thought-provoking questions about how society defines what is normal, the intersection between scientific breakthrough and medical ethics, and the ability of the pharmaceutical industry to manufacture and market treatments that are really in search of a disease. Cohen and Cosgrove open the book with stories of prepubescent girls growing up in the 1960s and 70s whose parents worried that their tall stature would be socially disadvantageous and would prevent them from finding suitors. Seeing media reports of a new M W W W. N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N AT I O N A L N U R S E 19

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