Suzanne Gordon is an acclaimed journalist and author who illuminates the complexities of healthcare delivery and systems. Her writing delves into the critical examination of how patient care can be improved and explores the challenges and opportunities within the healthcare landscape. Gordon focuses on providing a sharp critique of current practices, offering insights into pathways for more effective and humane medical systems. Her work is valued for its depth and real-world relevance.
The book delves into the multifaceted challenges faced by veterans transitioning to civilian life, addressing their physical, emotional, and psychological struggles. The authors scrutinize the effectiveness of various advocacy groups and the Department of Veterans Affairs, highlighting ongoing debates about healthcare quality and access. Additionally, they explore generational and political divides among veterans, especially in the context of significant events in 2020. Ultimately, the work advocates for a new agenda that connects veterans' services to wider social programs that benefit all citizens.
The book explores the intricate issues surrounding the current nursing shortage and its impact on the health care system. Through investigative reporting, the author examines the causes of this crisis and presents potential solutions to address the challenges faced by healthcare professionals and patients alike. With a focus on the implications for patient care and the healthcare workforce, it aims to inform readers about the urgent need for reform in nursing and health care policy.
The narrative centers on the vital roles of three nurses at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital, showcasing their dedication to patient care in various settings, from home visits to oncology units. Ellen Kitchen advocates for the elderly, Nancy Rumplik provides emotional support to cancer patients, and Jeannie Chaisson mentors new healthcare professionals. The book critiques the impact of hospital restructuring and managed care on nursing quality, highlighting the challenges posed by understaffing and the shift of care responsibilities to families, while encouraging consumer advocacy for better care standards.
Dispatches from the Front Lines of Policy Making and Patient Care
124 pages
5 hours of reading
Focusing on the challenges faced by eight million veterans, the book explores the intricacies of federal policymaking and healthcare delivery within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Through a series of insightful dispatches, the author sheds light on the ongoing struggles and reforms in veterans' healthcare, emphasizing the importance of understanding the system's impact on those who have served in the military. Gordon's work combines personal narratives with critical analysis, revealing the complexities of providing adequate care for veterans.
How the Va Delivers Health, Healing, and Hope to the Nation's Veterans
464 pages
17 hours of reading
Focusing on the Veterans Healthcare Administration, the book provides an in-depth examination of its treatment of patients with service-related injuries over five years. It highlights how the VHA often outperforms private sector institutions in primary and geriatric care, mental health services, and end-of-life support. The narrative also addresses the contentious public debate surrounding veterans' health care, contrasting the experiences of VHA patients and caregivers with the views of politicians advocating for privatization.
The U.S. healthcare system is now spending many millions of dollars to improve "patient safety" and "inter-professional practice." Nevertheless, an estimated 100,000 patients still succumb to preventable medical errors or infections every year. How can health care providers reduce the terrible financial and human toll of medical errors and injuries that harm rather than heal? Beyond the Checklist argues that lives could be saved and patient care enhanced by adapting the relevant lessons of aviation safety and teamwork. In response to a series of human-error caused crashes, the airline industry developed the system of job training and information sharing known as Crew Resource Management (CRM). Under the new industry-wide system of CRM, pilots, flight attendants, and ground crews now communicate and cooperate in ways that have greatly reduced the hazards of commercial air travel. The coauthors of this book sought out the aviation professionals who made this transformation possible. Beyond the Checklist gives us an inside look at CRM training and shows how airline staff interaction that once suffered from the same dysfunction that too often undermines real teamwork in health care today has dramatically improved. Drawing on the experience of doctors, nurses, medical educators, and administrators, this book demonstrates how CRM can be adapted, more widely and effectively, to health care delivery. The authors provide case studies of three institutions that have successfully incorporated CRM-like principles into the fabric of their clinical culture by embracing practices that promote common patient safety knowledge and skills.They infuse this study with their own diverse experience and collaborative spirit: Patrick Mendenhall is a commercial airline pilot who teaches CRM; Suzanne Gordon is a nationally known health care journalist, training consultant, and speaker on issues related to nursing; and Bonnie Blair O'Connor is an ethnographer and medical educator who has spent more than two decades observing medical training and teamwork from the inside.
