Foreword to the Cornell Edition by Claire M. Fagin, R. N., Ph. D., F.A.A.N.Preface
CHAPTER 1: The Tapestry of Care
CHAPTER 2: Nancy Rumplik - The Care of Strangers
CHAPTER 3: Jeannie Chaisson - Not on the Charts
CHAPTER 4: Ellen Kitchen - A Special Visitor
CHAPTER 5: Nancy Rumplik - The Meaning of Illness
CHAPTER 6: Jeannie Chaisson - A Mentor of Their Own
CHAPTER 7: Ellen Kitchen - Collaborative Care
CHAPTER 8: Nancy Rumplik - A Good Enough Death
CHAPTER 9: Ellen Kitchen - Final Checkups
CHAPTER 10: Jeannie - Chaisson A Good Enough Death II
CHAPTER 11: Unraveling the Tapestry of Care
CONCLUSION: Preserving the Tapestry of CareAfterword to the Cornell Edition
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index

"A beautiful, profound, and profoundly important book.... Gordon's message is simplicity itself: sick people need skilled, humane, and insightful care that keeps their interests paramount. Registered nurses have historically provided that care, but now their ability to fulfill their crucial role faces the greatest jeopardy in the history of the profession.... Life Support belongs in the august company of Silent Spring, The Other America, The Feminine Mystique, and other pivotal works with the power to shape the nation's consciousness."-Washington Post

"In this enlightening, involving, in-depth book, Gordon interweaves the history and philosophy of nursing with on-the-job observations of three nurses at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital. Gordon lets the nurses speak for themselves, effectively illustrating their commitment to their profession and involving readers in real-life dramas."-Publishers Weekly

"For patients, physicians, nurses, and health policy analysts, Gordon's passionate and accessible account of the impact of managed care on skilled nursing provides clear grounds for concern."-Health Affairs

In this book, Suzanne Gordon describes the everyday work of three RNs in Boston-a nurse practitioner, an oncology nurse, and a clinical nurse specialist on a medical unit. At a time when nursing is often undervalued and nurses themselves in short supply, Life Support provides a vivid, engaging, and intimate portrait of health care's largest profession and the important role it plays in patients' lives. Life Support is essential reading for working nurses, nursing students, and anyone considering a career in nursing as well as for physicians and health policy makers seeking a better understanding of what nurses do and why we need them. For the Cornell edition of this landmark work, Gordon has written a new introduction that describes the current nursing crisis and its impact on bedside nurses like those she profiled in the book.

Suzanne Gordon is an award-winning journalist. She is Visiting Professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing and Assistant Adjunct Professor at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing. She is the author of Nursing against the Odds, the coauthor of From Silence to Voice, and the coeditor of The Complexities of Care, all from Cornell. Claire Fagin is Leadership Professor Emerita, Dean Emerita and Interim President Emerita at the University of Pennsylvania.