Candace Calvert's Critical Care ~ Reviewed

Critical Care
By Candace Calvert
Published by Tyndale
ISBN# 978-1-4143-3543-9
293 Pages

Back Cover:

After her brother dies in a trauma room, nurse Claire Avery can no longer face the ER. She’s determined to make a fresh start—new hospital, new career in nursing education—move forward, no turning back. But her plans fall apart when she’s called to offer stress counseling for medical staff after a heartbreaking day care center explosion. Worse, she’s forced back to the ER, where she clashes with Logan Caldwell, a doctor who believes touchy—feely counseling is a waste of time. He demands his staff be as tough as he is. Yet he finds himself drawn to this nurse educator…who just might teach him the true meaning of healing.


Review:

This book reminds me of ER the TV show and/or Grey’s Anatomy without all the sexual content. The author, Candace Calvert, was an ER nurse. She takes you into the heart of the Emergency Room drama where hurting people are brought for help; where decisions are made to save a life from death.

Nurses and Doctors are real people working hard, trying to do the best job they can under very stressful conditions. Not everyone is cut out for the stress level of the ER room.

Logan, whose head of ER says to a nurse in his dept; “This is what we do, Erin. Tough comes with the territory. And death is always a factor. Do you see me crumbling here? The only kind of help we need here is more staff, more warm bodies. Real nurses. Not administrations’ attempt at some touchy—feely counseling.”

Sarah says to Claire, “I’m a nurse… I do what needs to be done. Then I come back the next day and I do it all again. Except for those lucky days when I get to do it for two shifts in a row… that’s today.”

Claire Avery has this to say about her struggle about working in ER, “… couldn’t shake the irrational certainty that the very new ambulance stretcher would be carrying someone she loved, some one she’d be unable to save…”

Where does God fit in all of this? Many of the characters in the ER are asking themselves that very question. Logan says, “What was he supposed to do when everything around him tumbled into chaos? Pray? Let God handle it? Right! “He couldn’t do that.

Then there is the humorous side of ER. Erin the head nurse says this to her nurses, “I’m giving myself permission to feel lousy to the tune of a Zillion calories. Anyone what to join me?” Sometimes you just have to laugh.

Candace gives you a behind the scenes look from her perspective as an ER nurse - its eye opening! Nurses are not perfect they are real people with real struggles, who put themselves on the line to save lives every day. Often times it’s a thankless job that demands more than they have to give. I really loved how the author shows real people struggling with God even in the face of death.

This is such an action packed, heart-felt, really gripping story. I just couldn’t put it down. It’s not easy for a Dr. to give family the heads up about their loved ones condition in the hospital. Not every story has a happy ending.

I really look forward to more stories from Critical Care unit. You will to.

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent
Book Club Servant Leader