Inside the ICU

Book excerpt: WHAT REALLY GOES ON BEHIND CLOSED DOORS IN THE ICU? Whether you are a patient, a family member looking for information, a nurse in search of mentoring, or simply have an interest in medical drama, you will find the true stories in this book fascinating and intriguing. These real-life events provide an inside glimpse into what really happens in the intensive care unit of many hospitals. The author reveals what nurses endure on a daily basis in order to save lives. She shares what really happens when the doctors are not available. She describes her never-ending quest in assuring that the best interests of patients are secured. She provides the readers with information and knowledge they can use on a practical, real-life basis. Each chapter addresses a different, thought-provoking dilemma, based on real patients and true events. Jordan was brain-dead when his family made the dramatic decision to donate his organs. Peter, all seven-hundred-pounds of him, taught the staff a lesson in discrimination, caring, and respect. Ronald and Ivan were both dying, but each had a different end-of-life experience based, respectively, on their families differing wishes. These, and other accounts of real-life events, will bring the reader onto the front lines of the intensive care unit, and help provide insight for making health-care decisions for themselves, someday. This book will also entertain the reader who is looking for medical drama. It will capture the interest of nurses, new and experienced, and will encourage them to provide undiscriminating and compassionate care for all their patients. Finally, it will encourage all of us to think about our own choices in health care. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will remember. But most of all, readers will learn that what they do can make a difference, in life and in death, both outside and Inside the ICU. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Melody Stenrose RN, MSN, CCRN, has worked in a variety of intensive care units since 1980 where she has been a staff nurse, a charge nurse, a critical care educator, and a nursing supervisor. Melody was born and raised in California where she currently lives with her husband. Together they raised their three sons. Throughout her years of nursing, she has served as a mentor to less-experienced nurses and thrives on sharing her knowledge. She strives to maintain a high quality of care for her patients and encourages other nurses to follow her example. She has gained the respect of both nurses and doctors who she works with by providing unconditional compassionate care, even in the most stressful situations.