I Wasn't Strong Like This When I Started Out: True Stories of Becoming a Nurse

I love this book! I received this book from a nurse while I was in nursing school, but did not read it until my first few months as a nurse. These short stories helped me get through some of my toughest days, and brought me strength when I was doubting myself. Some are better than others, but overall the variety and different experiences were a perfect mix. I have since given this book to several new nurses and nursing students that I've mentored; I hope they have also found the inspiration and strength from this book!

Great book. I was sucked into buying this book after relating to the the small portion available under the "look inside" tab on Amazon. I would highly recommend this book to anyone in the medical field, as well as to people who either know a nurse or want to be one. As a student nurse, I am finding that I relate to a lot of the stories, and it is comforting to know that someone went through much of what I am going through now. Sometimes it feels like a struggle, and reading about other people's experiences help.

I enjoyed reading others journeys getting into the field of nursing but the book wasn't what I expected. In certain ways, it feels some of the stories are outdated. One story mentions how CNA is below a nursing student and a certain task wasn't her job, and yeah the position is, but many schools are now requiring hours of CNA work for nursing applications and in a way, I felt belittled as a working CNA! In another story, a creative type got into nursing school by acing an interview!!!! If only that were my case. On the other hand, there were some inspiring stories that are making me look forward to getting some experience under my belt to pursue volunteer work abroad.

My Mother recently passed, after over two months in the hospital and a few days in hospice. I was fortunate to be able to temporarily leave my job to be with her and got to know some incredible nurses, who helped immeasureably in preserving her quality of life (whatever that was as she was dying from cancer and suffering from dementia.) One CNA, in particular, came to her bedside at the beginning of her every night shift, eliciting a response like that of a kid on Christmas morning woken by Santa Claus. This whole experience made me wonder how these wonderful nurses developed their empathy and understanding, while remaining sufficiently detatched to be good clinicians. This book answered my questions better than I could have ever expected. I call it only a tough read because of my recent experience, but reading it was an uplifting, life-affirming experience.

So far so good, I've read a couple of chapters and really find it intriguing. I'm currently in nursing school but work in surgery as a surgical tech so I find it relatable and understandable. Each chapter is a story written by nurses of a memorable experience.

Everytime I pick this book up I don’t want to put it down. It’s raw and real. It’s satisfying to read other nurses thoughts. I feel validated for some of the emotions I feel. It’s a great book and I would definitely recommended it to anyone!

THE BOOK IS FOR A BIRTHDAY PRESENT.

5 stars for nurses in first year out of school, high school students interested in nursing,For a seasoned nurse with many years expert, most of the chapters were engaging and well written.For my demographic, lost interest, some authors seemed very naive.

Arrived quickly and was exactly as described

Libro molto bello che racconta le storie difficili e le esperienze nell essere un infermiere. Lho trovato molto motivante, Spedizione al top come sempre

Eye opening book . Can be hard to read, nurses are amazing people that are under appreciated . I truly thank you for all off your hard work

Contained many short stories from nurses all around the country. Was well put together and made me cry several times.

I'm a first year nursing student and had a hard time putting this book down.It's a great collection of essays from all types of nurses with stories from all around the world and many different perspectives.I found this book extremely helpful and insightful.