EBOOK
Where Night Is Day
The World of the ICU
James KellySeries: Culture and Politics of Health Care Work(0)
About
Where Night Is Day is a nonfiction narrative grounded in the day-by-day, hour-by-hour rhythms of an ICU in a teaching hospital in the heart of New Mexico. It takes place over a thirteen-week period, the time of the average rotation of residents through the ICU. It begins in September and ends at Christmas. It is the story of patients and families, suddenly faced with critical illness, who find themselves in the ICU. It describes how they navigate through it and find their way. James Kelly is a sensitive witness to the quiet courage and resourcefulness of ordinary people.
Kelly leads the reader into a parallel world: the world of illness. This world, invisible but not hidden, not articulated by but known by the ill, does not readily offer itself to our understanding. In this context, Kelly reflects on the nature of medicine and nursing, on how doctors and nurses see themselves and how they see each other. Drawing on the words of medical historians, doctor-writers, and nursing scholars, Kelly examines the relationship of professional and lay observers to the meaning of illness, empathy, caring, and the silence of suffering. Kelly offers up an intimate portrait of the ICU and its inhabitants.
Kelly leads the reader into a parallel world: the world of illness. This world, invisible but not hidden, not articulated by but known by the ill, does not readily offer itself to our understanding. In this context, Kelly reflects on the nature of medicine and nursing, on how doctors and nurses see themselves and how they see each other. Drawing on the words of medical historians, doctor-writers, and nursing scholars, Kelly examines the relationship of professional and lay observers to the meaning of illness, empathy, caring, and the silence of suffering. Kelly offers up an intimate portrait of the ICU and its inhabitants.
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Reviews
"This book is a must read for all nursing and medical students. Here, critical care nurse Kelly shares his experiences in an ICU in New Mexico over a 13-week period. He also perfectly describes the experiences of the ICU patients and their families-what they see, do, and reflect on during this time. Lastly, he discusses his interactions with physicians, and explains how nurses and doctors collabor
Choice
"James Kelly's telling of life in an ICU provides a unique perspective on the daily realities of critical care professionals.... He seamlessly integrates the complexities of critical care and of the organizational politics surrounding the ICU. Experienced and novice health care professionals will find this work to be entertaining, humbling, and thought provoking, while lay readers can learn from t
Citation from from the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award Committee
"This revealing personal account blends the day-to-day drama of life in the ICU with a fascinating history of medicine, hospitals, nursing, and intensive care-told through the eyes of Kelly, a critical care nurse at Lovelace Women's Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, over a twelve-week period in the ICU… The evocative language puts the reader in Kelly's shoes-in the halls and bedsides of the ICU
Jessica Bylander, Health Affairs