"Mirthful Memoirs of a Male Nurse"
     Vince Migliore

Paperback, 86 pages, 10x8 inches

    Now available  $9.95

Buy at:  CreateSpace.com

Buy at: Amazon.com

Mirthful Memoirs of a Male Nurse is an enjoyable peek into the profession of nursing from a man's perspective. Sobering, humorous, and insightful, this book is designed for anyone interested in a medical career.

"This may sting a little bit."

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"I walked into the medical library at Stanford. With a white lab coat and a stethoscope around your neck everyone thinks you’re a doctor. That’s a powerful advantage, not just for getting into the doctor’s lounge or the library, but also having so much clout talking to family and patients. Oftentimes I would not dispel the illusion, especially when the patient needed a lecture on taking care of himself."

   As a nurse, the body takes on a different meaning. Actually, it begins to lose the associations you’ve had with it previously. Nudity is no big thing.

   I have a patient with an abdominal scar. I need to change the bandage and cleanse the open part of the wound. It extends right down to her pubic bone. As a nurse, I’m more concerned about keeping a clean sterile field and assessing the dimensions and conditions of the wound. I have to remember things so I can chart them accurately and report to the doctor when the procedure is done. I have a relatively new nursing assistant with me, and I have to make sure she doesn’t reach across the sterile area. I have to make sure I have all the right supplies: bandages, gloves, tape, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol swabs, scissors, and Q-tips. I have to unwrap the sterile packages in an orderly fashion and lay them out within reach.

   “I’m not shy” the patient quips. “Modesty went out the window days ago.”

   She winks at me. I hadn’t even thought about the nudity part, and I’m relieved that she is secure enough to joke about it. I guess this is the first time she’s had a male nurse change her bandage.

   Chest tubes can be disgusting. After lung surgery patients are put on a machine that creates a vacuum to help drain the mucus and fluid that accumulates in a collapsed lung. It’s the nurses’ duty to empty that container every so often. After a while it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to be cleaning out the drainage jar with one hand while you’re eating a cheese sandwich with the other!