Reflections on Doctors: Nurses' Stories about Physicians and Surgeons

As an RN with 30 years experience, I was deeply touched by the variety of themes in this anthology. It is rare to read a book that portrays the partnership between physicians and nurses in such an honest and compelling manner. Congratulations to the editor, Terry Ratner, RN, MFA, for her hand-picked selection of essays which kept me turning the pages and at the completion wanting more.

As an avid reader and nurse for over twenty years, I found Reflections on Doctors to be enlightening and compelling, as it touched on topics that have been ignored for years--communication and trust between nurses and doctors. It's rare to find essays about nurses that don't dramatize their relationship with physicians, but instead portray an accurate description of what goes on behind closed doors. This is just the beginning of an "open door" policy by nurses, who are also proficient writers and the new voices for our profession. This anthology needs to be required reading for nurses, doctors, and nursing and medical students. It's a book to be cherished and shared.

I found this to be an interesting, easy read. The book contains many short stories from nursing professionals and how they each have a unique story. I didn't find it to be negative as the other reviewer noted. I especially liked the short story by Carolyn Lounsbury, LPN, "Ms. Manners".

I received this book as a gift. Being an RN for 34 years, I found so many of these Nursing Stories validated my Nursing experiences. The story that I was most affected by was "Refusing Doctors' Order" by Karen Klein, RN. Though fortunately this is not common in my nursing practice, those events of my career that stand out the most are when I have advocated for a patient. "Smart enough not to be a doctor" By Pamela F. Gonzalez RN says it all about how I feel about my profession. This is great reading for any Nurse, Student Nurse or other healthcare professionals. Kudos to the nurses who have shared their stories. I loved it.

I loved this collection. I was expecting more negative stories, but was impressed about how even the negative comments on doctors were for the most part turned around for the good. These are great to read after a bad day at work, to remember why you got into nursing, and to reflect on the privelege we have as nurses to be a part of patients' lives.