The essence of nursing care continually exposes nurses to suffering. Although they bear witness to the suffering of others, their own suffering is less frequently exposed. This slim volume attempts to give voice to the suffering that nurses witness in patients, families, colleagues, and themselves. By making this suffering visible, the authors wish to honor it and to learn from it. The audience includes nurses in all phases of training and practice - from students to educators to clinicians - in the wide array of settings and specialties in which nurses care for patients. The book offers nurses' colleagues in other professions - social workers, psychologists, chaplains, ethicists, and physicians - a rare window onto what it means to practice nursing. Drs. Ferrell and Coyle are also the editors of Textbook of Palliative Nursing, 2nd ed (Oxford, 2006). Independently, they have worked more than 50 years in oncology nursing, caring for patients and working to improve the quality of care that patients receive.

1. Suffering and the Practice of Nursing 2. Ethical and Theological Perspectives on the Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Nursing 3. Contextual Analysis of Patient Suffering 4. The Suffering of Nurses 5. What is the Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Nursing

Betty R Ferrell, Nessa Coyle

"This is a remarkable book...It should be required reading for all nurses as it is a reminder that dispensing pills and hanging IV bags are the things that get us to the bedside but the truly important part of our work is what we do once we are there, honoring and supporting the suffering patient."--Doody's, a 5 star review |k No