"This book should be read by every nurse manager. Nursing students and faculty will benefit from reading it as well."--Nursing Education Perspectives "Dr. Forman's book is revolutionary and courageous in that it brings to light negative issues that exist in nursing management and patient careÖ.Her use of plain, day-to-day language and methods will ultimately bring reform to health care at the bedside." —Deborah M. Tascone, MS, RN Regional Executive Director North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System "The vignettes provide great examples that could lead to rich classroom or workshop discussions. Perfect for leadership/management courses and in health care organizations..." Diana Mason, PhD, C, FAAN, RN Editor Emeritus, American Journal of Nursing Professor of Nursing, Rudin Chair, Hunter-Bellevue College of Nursing Too often, both nurses and patients witness major breakdowns in the health care system-ineffective communication, unrealistic nurse-patient ratios, tension among staff, abuse of authority, and most importantly, managers drawn away from patients due to administrative duties. This inspiring guide presents engaging, real-life stories of nurses, managers, and leaders who have experienced failures of the system firsthand, and have been motivated to critically examine, address, and resolve them. This collection of narratives includes practical methods, models, and strategies that nurses can apply to enhance and expand their own practices. Readers will gain a wealth of insight on how to overcome narrow-mindedness and egocentrism, to improve their management, leadership, communication, and organizational skills, and ultimately to bring real reform to health care practices and patient care. Key features: Presents stories of actual management issues and how nurse leaders/managers, nursing staff, and patients have handled them Identifies harmful trends in the health care system that can be analyzed and remedied Encourages nurse managers to shift the prevailing "system-centered" orientation to one that is "patient-centered" Provides a phenomenologically based leadership/management model for resolving nursing issues institutionally and individually Includes methods for addressing cultural and religious barriers among staff An engaging, enjoyable read, this book will empower readers to learn from these narratives and to dramatically transform the health care system at large.