These books have been reviewed in Donna’s monthly e-newsletter Nursing Connections™.
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101 Global Leadership Lessons for Nurses: Shared Legacies From Leaders and Their Mentors Nancy Rollins Gantz, RN, MSN, PhD, MBA, NE-BC, MRCNA, editor This book covers challenges that face healthcare leaders, such as communications, negotiations, resource management, and work-life balance. |
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6 Shortcuts to Employee Engagement Vicki Hess, RN, MS, CSP This book is a treasure trove of easy to implement, high-impact ideas for healthcare leaders struggling to keep employees engaged. Most leaders really do want to improve employee engagement – they just don’t have an effective method that works along with (rather than in addition to) all the other priorities in their day. |
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A Daybook for Beginning Nurses Donna Cardillo, RN, MA This perpetual daybook offers 365 motivating tips and quotes from the bestselling author and speaker. Click here. |
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A Daybook for Nurses: Making a Difference Each Day Sharon Hudacek, RN, EdD A Daybook for Nurses features daily quotations, stories, poems, and inspirational thoughts especially for nurses. |
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African American and Cherokee Nurses in Appalachia: A History, 1900-1965 (Contributions to Southern Appalachian Studies) Phoebe Ann Pollitt Few career opportunities were available to minority women in Appalachia in the first half of the 20th century. These women created unprecedented networks of care, managed nursing schools and built professional nursing organizations while navigating discrimination in the workplace. |
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American Nightingale: The story of Frances Slanger, Forgotten Heroine of Normandy Bob Welch American Nightingale is a biography of a World War II army nurse who was one of the first nurses to wade ashore on Normandy beach. |
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And If I Perish: Frontline U.S. Army Nurses in World War II Evelyn M. Monahan and Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee And If I Perish tells the story of Army nurses who served in the war against Germany. |
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A Practical Guide to Finance and Budgeting: Skills for Nurse Managers KT Waxman, RN, MBA A Practical Guide to Finance and Budgeting breaks down the confusing financial side of healthcare so that nurse managers can get the job done. |
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Assumed Dead Eleanor Sullivan, RN A nurse sleuth solves mysteries that crop up in a hospital ICU. |
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B Is For Balance Sharon M. Weinstein If you’re trying to juggle the world, B is for Balance (2nd ed.) is for you. This book is about the individual nurse, the professional, the multi-tasker, the be all things to all people leader. This edition focuses on balance and the need for each of us to live longer and live well. |
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Beautiful Unbroken: One Nurse’s Life Mary Jane Nealon In this memoir, Nealon tells how her younger brother’s diagnosis with a rare form of cancer shaped her nursing career. |
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Becoming Influential: A Guide for Nurses Eleanor Sullivan, RN This book teaches nurses how to build the skills they need to gain and use influence. |
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Becoming Nursey: From Code Blues to Code Browns How to Care for Your Patients and Yourself Kati L. Kleber, BSN, RN Nursing isn’t a career; it’s a calling. Learning how to be a great nurse at the bedside while maintaining your sanity at home is no easy task. This book talks about how to realistically live as a nurse, both at home and at the bedside.. with a little humor and some shenanigans along the way. |
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Bellhaven Margaret Hawke, RN, MA In 1965, Kate Bannion accepts a staff nurse position at Bellehaven Nursing Home after her husband is injured on his fishing boat during a coastal storm. Kate soon grows attached to those she cares for and finds herself worried by Bellehaven’s disrepair and the state of the nursing care given. |
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Care of the Difficult Patient: A Nurse’s Guide Peter J. Manos and Joan Braun This guide to dealing with difficult patients was cowritten by a doctor and a nurse. |
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The Complexities of Care: Nursing Reconsidered Sioban Nelson and Suzanne Gordon The Complexities of Care: Nursing Reconsidered is a book of essays linked by a central theme: The reputation of the nurse as an angelic caregiver trivializes the expertise and demands required for the work. |
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Conspiracies of Kindness: The Craft of Compassion at the Bedside of the Ill Michael Ortiz-Hill This book is written for anyone who takes the matter of compassion seriously. In such a time as we live, I dare say nothing is more important. Simple-minded and stubborn, this book proposes that compassion is a craft and thus can be learned and practiced like cultivating crops or raising animals. |
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Cooked: An Inner City Nursing Memoir Carol Karels, RN A suburban teen attends nursing school at a tough inner-city, public hospital. |
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Critical Care Candace Calvert A nurse trying to make a fresh start at a small hospital finds herself first clashing with and then falling for a compelling ED doc in this medical/Christian romance. |
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Critical Care: A New Nurse Faces Death, Life, and Everything in Between Theresa Brown An oncology nurse details her first year on the job. |
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Daily Miracles: Stories and Practices of Humanity and Excellence in Health Care Alan Briskin, PhD, and Jan Boller, RN, PhD For two years, a group of nurse leaders at a community hospital came together to discuss ideas about caring and compassion. Daily Miracles was the result. |
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The Death Class – A True Story About Life Erika Hayasaki Written by a journalist about the unorthodox college class on death taught by nurse Norma Bowe and the surprising life-changing, and sometimes life-saving, effects on her students. |
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Does Change Have To Be So H.A.R.D.? Julie Donley, RN This book explains how your thinking creates the obstacles to change and gives eight strategies needed for making the changes you want. |
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“Do No Harm” Applies To Nurses Too! Renee Thompson, DNP, RN, CMSRN Readers will learn practical ways to respond to the two types of bully behavior (overt and covert); how bullies choose their targets; specific steps to stop the bullying; sample responses to common attacks and a few bonus tips for managers and nurses who may be inadvertently contributing to the problem. |
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Dressed to Keel Candy Calvert A murder mystery aboard a cruise ship with ER nurse sleuth Darcy Cavanaugh. |
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Eat THAT Cookie! Make Workplace Positivity Pay Off…For Individuals, Teams, and Organizations Liz Jazwiec, RN An ED nurse explains how to create a positive workforce in negative times. |
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Encounters On The Front Line Elaine Harvey, Writer, Registered Nurse, Healing Touch Practitioner Encounters on the Front Line is a nurse’s journey that begins in a Cambodian refugee camp after the horrific Khmer Rouge regime. Nearly three decades later Elaine returns. She meets the people on the front lines – the human rights activists, the caregivers, and those who needed care, inspiring her to explore the challenges of service. |
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Entrepreneuring: A Nurse’s Guide to Starting a Business, 2nd Ed. Gerry Vogel, RN, MSN, and Nancy Doleysh, RN, MSN This primer for the nurse entrepreneur covers all the basics, including identifying your entrepreneurial potential, finding a niche, starting a business, marketing a nursing business, financing your business, and surviving and growing in business. |
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Falling Together – How To Find Balance, Joy and Meaningful Change When Your Life Seems to be Falling Apart Donna Wilk Cardillo, RN In this personal journey, Donna Cardillo shares how life can shake us to our very foundation. A funny, big-hearted self-help memoir that takes on issues like divorce, caregiving, and burnout – and many women’s biggest enemies of all, fear, insecurity, and self-doubt. Click Here |
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Fast Facts for the Triage Nurse: An Orientation and Care Guide in a Nutshell Lynn Sayre Visser MSN, BS, RN, CEN, CPEN, CLNC, Anna Sivo Montejano MSN Ed, RN, CEN & Valerie Aarne Grossman BSN, RN, MALS This is a concise, user-friendly orientation guide and reference for new and seasoned nurses, paramedics, preceptors, educators, management teams, and anyone else in triage situations. It features a consistent format with pithy information guidelines covering key processes and practices Triage Nurses use daily. |
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Florence Nightingale Today: Healing, Leadership, Global Action Barbara Montgomery Dossey, RN, PhD, AHN-BC, FAAN; Louise C. Selanders, RN, EdD, FAAN; Deva-Marie Beck, RN, PhD; and Alex Attewell, BA, AMA The authors interpret the historical record of Nightingale’s life and work. |
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From Sun to Sun Nina Angela McKissock, RN In its 21 stories, Nina Angela McKissock explores the tender mercies of hospice care and brings readers the profound lessons she has learned about the art of dying. Her book is an open-minded reflection about the mysteries of life and death. |
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The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder Charles Graeber After his December 2003 arrest, registered nurse Charlie Cullen was quickly dubbed “The Angel of Death” by the media. But Cullen was no mercy killer, nor was he a simple monster. He was a favorite son, husband, beloved father, best friend, and celebrated caregiver. Implicated in the deaths of as many as 300 patients, he was also perhaps the most prolific serial killer in American history. |
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The Heart’s Truth: Essays on the Art of Nursing Courtney Davis This inspirational collection of essays showcases the joys, fears, and intimacies shared by a nurse and her patients. |
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Heartstrong: Living with a Dying Heart: A Memoir Anita Swanson Heartsong takes readers on an often humorous, sometimes sad journey through the best of Western medicine, complemented by a sampling of alternative and Eastern support systems—and through Speake’s evolving relationship with God—as she navigates this transition. |
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Health Literacy in Nursing: Providing Person-Centered Case Terri Ann Parnell
A great understanding and a new perspective on how to talk to patients in the health care field. It’s an amazing resource to boost your skill in health literacy. |
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Health Matters: A Pocket Guide for Working with Diverse Cultures and Underserved Populations Sharon Hudacek, RN, EdD and Michele Yehieli, DPH, and Mark A. Grey, PhD Health Matters provides information on the role of culture in health and gives tips on interacting with more than a dozen cultural groups, including Arab Muslims and Southeast Asians. |
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Healing Zen: Awakening to Life of Wholeness and Compassion While Caring for Yourself and Others Ellen Birx, RN, PhDAwareness and meditation can help restore energy, build endurance, and fill our lives with compassion and joy. | |
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Helping You Heal: A Book About Nurses Sarah Wohlrabe This book helps youngsters learn what nurses do to help patients stay healthy. |
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Holistic Assertiveness Skills for Nurses: Empower Yourself (and Others!) Carolyn Chambers Clark, EdD, ARNP, FAAN Helps nurses interested in changing their attitudes and behaviors so they obtain greater personal and professional satisfaction. |
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Holistic Nursing, A Handbook for Practice – 7th Edition Barbara Montgomery Dossey & Lynn Keegan This book focuses on ways to enrich holistic care to improve patient outcomes through evidence-based practice and research, and new integrative health and wellness assessments. |
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The Imagine Project: Stories of Courage, Hope and Love Dianne Maroney, RN The Imagine Project shares the inspiring stories of ordinary people who have persevered through extraordinary experiences. |
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Impaired: A Nurse’s Story of Addiction and Recovery Patricia Holloran, RN Impaired chronicles a nurse’s journey from addiction to advocacy for nurses suffering from addiction. |
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I Wasn’t Strong Like This When I Started Out: True Stories of Becoming a Nurse Lee Gutkind, editor In this collection of true narratives, nurses remember special “firsts,” like births and deaths, reflect on what keeps them in the profession, and struggle against burnout and bureaucracy to serve their patients with skill, empathy, and strength. |
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The Joy of Nursing – Reclaiming Our Nobility Juliana Adams, BSN, MSN, MA
This month’s highlighted book is provocative and riveting as the stories from new nurse to intuitive experienced nurse unfold. Far more than a memoir it is a rich journey from novice to expert, a concept with historical roots for all who enter this profession.
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The Journey Called You: A Roadmap to Self-Discovery and Acceptance Julie Fuimano, RN This practical “life manual” teaches the importance of learning how to reveal the essence of who you are so you can more deeply enjoy the unique gifts you have been given. |
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Kate: The Journal of a Confederate Nurse Kate Cumming Cumming’s journal gives readers a look behind the lines of Civil War action and insight into medical practices and hospital systems of the times. |
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Labor Pains: The Birth Stories of Nurse O’Neill! Rita Batchley, RN Labor Pains invites its audience to join Paige O’Neill RN, a labor and delivery nurse, who brings babies into the world for a living but can’t seem to have another of her own. |
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Leave No Nurse Behind: Nurses Working with Disabilities Donna Carol Maheady, ARNP, EdD In Leave No Nurse Behind, 11 nurses who defied disability tell their personal stories of courage and determination in the face of stigma and discrimination, proving that nurses with disabilities have the ability to successfully fill the jobs that so desperately need filling during this national nursing shortage. |
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Legal, Ethical and Political Issues in Nursing, 2nd edition Tonia Dandry Aiken This book, written by a nurse attorney, covers key concepts related to nursing practice, standards of care, and the law. |
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Making a Difference: Stories from the Point of Care, Volume 1 Sharon Hudacek, RN, EdD Making a Difference is a compelling collection of personal experiences told by nurses around the world that paint a true picture of how nurses impact the lives of patients from the moment life begins to the moment it ends. |
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The Making of a Nurse Tilda Shalof, RN A lifelong caregiver describes how she became the capable ICU nurse she is today. |
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Men in Nursing: History, Challenges, and Opportunities Chad E. O’Lynn and Russell E. Tranbarger Nurses Chad O’Lynn and Russell Tanbarger offer a unique insider’s view to how men work, succeed, and survive in nursing. |
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My Grandma Is A Nurse Candy Campbell, DNP, RN, CNL,FNAP Children from many cultures are introduced to some of the important and exciting work that nurses do.This book is a good resource for pre-school aged children. |
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The Nerdy Nurses Guide to Technology Britteny Wilson, RN, BSN The Nerdy Nurse’s Guide to Technology provides the tools nurses need to improve their practices, further their careers, and solidify themselves as assets to their employers. |
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Nightingale Tales: Stories from My Life as a Nurse Lynn Dow, RN In the 1950s, nurses served as handmaidens to the physician; by the start of the new millennium, they had become admired independent practitioners. Nightingale Tales is a peek into that transition, as told by a nurse who lived it. |
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No Gain! No Pain! A Mindful Approach to Weight Management Franciene Marie Zimmerman, RN, PhD This comprehensive self-help book that explores issues of self-love, body image, body sensing, and weight management rather than weight loss. |
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Notes on Nursing Florence Nightingale From the best-known work of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), the originator and founder of modern nursing comes a collection of notes that played an important part in the much-needed revolution in the field of nursing. So much of Florence’s words and wisdom are still applicable today as nurses face even bigger challenges and opportunities than ever before. |
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The Nurse’s Etiquette Advantage: How Professional Etiquette Can Advance Your Nursing Career Kathleen D. Pagana, RN, PhD The Nurse’s Etiquette Advantage is a must-read for all nurses who want to boost their confidence and credibility and avoid embarrassment in their personal and professional life. |
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Nurses Making Policy: From Bedside to Boardroom Rebecca Patton MSN RN CNOR FAAN, Margarete Zalon PhD RN ACNS-BC FAAN, Ruth Ludwick PhD RN-BC CNS FAANWritten by those in the know-exceptional nurse leaders in practice, education, and politics-this is a practical, “how-to” book written to help advanced students and nurse leaders develop health policy skills to advocate for patients from the bedside to the larger political arena. |
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Nurses on the Run – Why They Come, Why They Stay Karen Buley, RN The stories in Nurses on the Run illustrate what drew us to nursing – and more important – why we stay. |
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Nurse: Past, Present and Future — The Making of Modern Nursing Kate Trant and Sue Usher Nurse: Past, Present and Future examines the culture of nursing, looking at its historical development and current status internationally. |
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Nurses Beyond Borders: True Stories of Heroism and Healing Around the World Nancy Leigh Harless, ARNP In this anthology, nurses share their experiences working outside the United States. |
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Nursing, The Finest Art: An Illustrated History M. Patricia Donahue, RN, PhD, FAAN This beautifully written and illustrated coffee table book is filled with photographs, art, and images that chronicle our long, rich history. |
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Nursing School 101 Amy Rose Taylor, BSN, RN, Nursing School 101 is THE guide for getting into, through, and out of nursing school and into a job that you will really love! Inside the book is advice and information from read nurses who know what it’s really like to step into this sometimes challenging – but always rewarding – career of takin care of others. |
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Phoenix Leadership: The Executive’s Strategy for Relevance and Resilience. Val Gokenbach, DM, RN, MBA, NEC-A, RWJF Today’s healthcare leaders are facing challenges unlike ever before. New healthcare laws, reimbursement models and regulations unnerve even the most senior of leaders resulting in increasingly shorter tenures of those in leadership positions. |
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Pivotal Moments in Nursing: Leaders Who Changed the Profession, Volume II Beth P. Houser, RN, DNSc, FNP-C, CNAA, and Kathy N. Player, RN, EdD The authors weave historical events and remarkable storytelling into engaging and personal glimpses into the lives of 11 nurse leaders who made pivotal changes in the profession. |
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The Path We Tread: Blacks in Nursing Worldwide 1854-1994 M. Elizabeth Carnegie, RN, DPA, FAAN This is the third edition of the award-winning resource that examines more than 140 years of black nurses’ contributions to the field. |
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Ready, Set, Go Lead! Nancy Dickenson-Hazard, RN, MSN, FAAN Features information on leadership readiness for students and practicing nurses to assess their behaviors, adaptive competencies, and preparedness to assume leadership roles. Each chapter includes the description of a leadership concept, followed by an illustrative story, assessment questions, and fun and thoughtful exercises for the reader. |
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Rapid Access Guide for Triage and Emergency Nurses: Chief Complaints with High-Risk Presentations NEW!
Lynn Visser, MSN, RN, PHN, CEN, CPEN and Anna Sivo Montejano, DNP, RN, PHN, CEN This pocket-sized gem of a book is for any healthcare professional! The book highlights concerning clinical findings for each body system to help with quick identification of life-threatening or high-risk situations. Essential first-line questions and action steps for various chief complaints are covered. Icons used throughout the book help the user identify key tips, pediatric and older adult content, as well as other perils of wisdom. |
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The Real Healthcare Reform: How Embracing Civility Can Beat Back Burnout and Revive Your Healthcare Career Linda H. Leekley and Stacey L. Turnure Real healthcare reform lies in curing the “disease” of bullying, backstabbing and belittling among healthcare employees that’s plaguing the workplace. |
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The Richest Woman in Babylon and Manhattan: With Seven Timeless Remedies to Cure a Lean Purse Annette Tersigni, RN Two stressed-out women meet the “Richest Woman in Manhattan” and learn how to get and keep money. |
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Rooted in the Mountains, Reaching to the World: Stories of Nursing and Midwifery at Kentucky’s Frontier School, 1939-1989 Anne Z. Cockerham and Arlene W. Keeling The stories and experiences of the early Frontier graduates provide a fascinating glimpse into a part of nurse-midwifery history that hasn’t received much attention. |
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Safari for the Soul Jan Boal A woman’s quest takes her across the globe on an inspirational adventure that most only dare to dream about. In answering her call, Jan believes the Universe provides signs and guidance in following her path. |
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Save the First Dance for You: The Complete Nurse’s Guide to Serving Your Profession, Your Patient, and Yourself Doris Young, RN, PhD Using a dance instruction metaphor, the book offers practical and coping techniques for nurses facing the challenges of today’s hectic healthcare workplace and demanding home lives. |
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Saving Lives: Why the Media’s Portrayal of Nursing Puts Us All at Risk Sandy Summers, RN, MSN, MPH; Harry Jacobs Summers Saving Lives shows how negative images about nurses in the media affect real nurses and their patients and what to do about it. |
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Savvy Networking for Nurses: Getting Connected and Staying connected in the 21st Century Keith Carlson, RN, “Savvy Networking for Nurses” is all about building the optimal career for yourself through intelligent, authentic networking. In this book, readers learn why networking is an important 21st-century skill, and how to go about it with enthusiasm and sincerity. |
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Self-Employed RN Patricia Ann Bemis, RN, CEN, LHCRM This book gives nurses the information they need to start and operate a successful small business. |
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7 Summits: A Nurse’s Quest to Conquer Mountaineering and Life Patrick Hickey A mountain climber explores goal setting, motivation, dedication, and the pursuit of challenge in the face of adversity. |
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Tenderly Lift Me: Nurses Honored, Celebrated, and Remembered Jeanne Bryner The book consists of biographical sketches of remarkable nurses, each accompanied by poetry and photographs. |
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Tiny Sunbirds Far Away Christie Watson Watson, a part-time pediatric resuscitation nurse, won the 2011 Costa First Novel Award for this novel about a young girl learning how to be a midwife in rural Nigeria. |
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This Won’t Hurt a Bit: A Lenny Moss Mystery Timothy Sheard A murder mystery set in a hospital featuring a custodian sleuth. |
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Too Busy for Your Own Good: Get More Done in Less Time With Even More Energy Connie Merritt, RN, BSN, PHNT This book provides techniques for reducing busyness and shows how to relax and enjoy the things that really matter. |
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Trauma Junkie: Memoirs of an Emergency Flight Nurse Janice Hudson A flight nurse recounts her daily adventures. |
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Touched by Angels of Mercy Laura Lagana, RN Nurses, patients, and caregivers recount the beautiful and often untold stories of the sacredness and joy of everyday life for a nurse/caregiver. |
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Transforming Nurses’ Stress and Anger — Steps Toward Healing Sandra P. Thomas The book explores the reasons for nurses’ stress and anger and addresses tough issues, such as the anger-depression link, consequences of mismanaged anger, and dealing with anger and abuse from others. |
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Treasures of a Nurse’s Heart: My Mother’s Memoirs of Love and Wisdom for Everyday Life Lisa S. Wagner and Martha M. Smith, RN Treasures of a Nurse’s Heart is a collection of 20 stories highlighting the 50-year nursing career of Martha Smith, RN. |
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The ULTIMATE Career for Nurses: Practical Advice for Thriving at Every Stage of Your Career (2nd edition) Donna Wilk Cardillo, RN, MA The ULTIMATE Career for Nurses: Practical Advice for Thriving at Every Stage of Your Career explores career options and reminds nurses how to love what they do. Click here. |
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UNconventional Nurse: Going from Burnout to Bliss! Michelle DeLizio Podlesni, RNUNconventional Nurse encourages and empowers nurses by addressing burnout, the major reason that nurses are leaving the profession and provides a roadmap to success doing what you love to do. |
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Womankind: Connection & Wisdom Around the World Nancy Leigh Harless, NP A compilation of stories from real women across the world that Harless, a women’s healthcare nurse practitioner, has encountered in her travels. |
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We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of Nurses Trapped on Bataan by the Japanese Elizabeth Norman We Band of Angels tells the story of courage, survival, and the indomitable spirit of 10 navy nurses and 68 army nurses who were captured by the Japanese in the Philippines during WWII. |
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Your 1st Year as a Nurse, Second Edition Donna Cardillo, RN, MA This book helps new and second-career nurses prepare for the challenges of the nursing profession. Click here. |
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Your Last Nursing Class: How to Land Your First Nursing Job: The ultimate guide to landing your first nursing job…and your next Beth Hawkes, MSN, RN-BC This book teaches you little-known tips and strategies to land your first job in the nursing profession. |
