Nurse: A World of Care

Initially, when gazing at this book's cover photograph, one's eyes focus on a nurse who is reaching delicately toward a mother feeding her newborn. Soon one's eyes are drawn toward the window in the background and into the outdoor courtyard beyond which clothes are hanging to dry, and one quickly realizes that if nothing else, Nurse: A World of Care promises a vivid and artistic portrayal of nurses around the world.

Opening the cover, 3 photographs practically jump off the page to poignantly illustrate the book's themes: “To Nurture,” “To Care,” and “To Be a Nurse.” The dozens of images contributed by Karen Kasmauski (whose photographs have been featured in 30 articles for National Geographic) capture nurses around the world doing what they do best: interacting in meaningful relationships with patients, families, and communities. To be sure, some of the images of nurses are touching and reveal a tenderness and compassion that may bring forth tears, particularly those that remind readers of the deprivation and misery experienced by the millions of persons living in impoverished nations. But one also sees images of nurses in the developed world—the nurse helping an expectant mother in her home in Appalachia or nursing students tending to migrant workers in fields in southern Georgia. Each photograph creates a sense of intrigue that urges the viewer to hurry along, turn the page, and see what is next. Indeed, this book provides a rarely seen worldwide tour of images that communicates the passions, successes, setbacks, and joys that are all part of being a nurse, no matter where in the world nurses practice their art and science. When reaching the book's final photograph, which shows the eyes of an infant and a young nurse fixed warmly on each other, readers will likely find themselves thinking, “Thank God there are nurses.”

If that thought does not come through, then go back and reread the forward provided by Jimmy Carter that eloquently describes the universal if invisible truth about nurses: they hold the power to make a difference. The former president tells readers that the significance of this book is that

It is about the kind of work nurses around the world do every day—that my mother did in our small community in Georgia and in a village in India. It serves to remind us that nurses embody what is most precious in humankind. When the world at large comes to value the contributions of nurses, it also will embrace its most vulnerable people, those whom nurses seek to serve. (p 7)

But this book offers far more than a “coffee-table book” collection of quality photographs. Cleverly interspersed among this photographic montage is an informative narrative spread over 5 chapters that highlight the past and future of the nursing profession. With clarity and economy, writer Peter Jaret and senior editor Marla Salmon begin by reminding readers of the history of nursing, providing snippets of the contributions of nurses starting with Hippocrates in the fifth century BC, through the middle ages, and into the relatively more recent past, calling attention to Dorothea Dix, Superintendent of Army Nurses during the Civil War; poet Walt Whitman, who volunteered as a nurse to care for wounded soldiers in Washington; and of course Florence Nightingale, the most famous nurse of all time. Following this, readers learn about the advances of the 21st century and the new roles and responsibilities assumed by nurses around the world. The narrative journey continues with a rich discussion of the innovations in health care delivery made by nurses, particularly in community health and midwifery, and how research in recent years has established the link between nurses and the safety and quality of patient care.

Readers are advised to take a deep breath before beginning chapter 3, where the topic shifts to describing the worldwide shortage of nurses and how it is affecting the health of millions of individuals and constraining the economic prosperity and development of many nations—especially those located in Africa, where the human immunodeficiency virus/AIDS epidemic places overwhelming challenges on nurses, physicians, and governments. Unfortunately, all too often such conditions result in nurses migrating to other countries in search of a better life for themselves and their families, which often worsens conditions in the countries left behind. The book does provide a balanced discussion of the many vexing problems associated with nurse migration—problems that will undoubtedly escalate over the ensuing decade, when the shortage of nurses is expected to increase and reach an unprecedented level.

Fortunately, the narrative that accompanies the nearly overwhelming collection of global imagery ends in chapter 5, with a guardedly optimistic look forward. Included among the positive developments are brief descriptions of improvements in the relationships between organizations and nurses, new technology that eases some of the physical burdens associated with nursing, and the increase in the number of foundations and private-sector organizations implementing projects that strengthen the profession at all levels throughout the world. Particularly reassuring are the following words, found in the next-to-last paragraph of this long-overdue book about the world of nursing:

As the profession looks to the future, the fundamental values that have long guided nursing will serve as its compass. Nursing is both an art and a science, a health profession and a calling, a set of skills and a sacred mission. Nurses work with their hearts, hands, and minds. They are healers and counselors, teachers and consolers, tending not just the body but the spirit. . . . Nurses care about individuals and families and communities, about babies not yet born and those in the last hours of life, about social justice and the right of everyone to a fair chance at a healthy life . . . but even when there is no hope for a cure, when all they can do is offer compassion and consolation, they care.

This collection of photographs, together with the narrative that explains them, will undoubtedly leave one with a profound respect for nurses, an understanding of how the nursing profession has evolved, and the challenges that lie ahead. This book will foster a deeper awareness of how critical nurses are to the well-being of persons everywhere.