Stories from the Tenth-Floor Clinic

In this thoughtful and compelling memoir, Crane's keen eye for detail brings her stories, by turns heartbreaking and humorous, to life on the page. . . . Crane's passion for helping others is obvious even as she struggles to figure out the best way to do that. An honest, compassionate look at what it takes to care for some of America's most vulnerable citizens. --Kirkus Reviews Crane truly is an inspiration . . . Readers will see her compassion, heartache and ability to admit her mistakes in her emotional writing....I highly recommend Stories from the Tenth Floor Clinic by Marianna Crane to all families, caretakers and those who work with the elderly. --Reader Views Marianna Crane writes with compassion and insight about what it's like to serve on the front lines of the medical profession--treating the most vulnerable among us. Her vivid account is moving and enlightening, a valuable contribution to the literature of social justice. --Philip Gerard, Professor, Department of Creative Writing, University of North Carolina, and author of The Art of Creative Research Nurse practitioners are well known for their willingness to be primary care providers for the 'underserved'--those people who are waking bundles of multiple chronic and acute illness and myriad 'social determinants' of poor housing, little income, and almost no family or friends to call a support system. Society prefers that such patients remain invisible, because acknowledging their existence is too unsettling. It is my fervent hope that Stories from the Tenth-Floor Clinic will find a wide audience of readers who are willing to meet and care about the people nurse practitioners allow into their lives every day. --Marie Lindsey, PhD, FNP, health care consultant and founding member and first president of the Illinois Society for Advanced Practice Nurse Marianna Crane's poignant and compelling stories opened my eyes to the daily health challenges low-income elderly patients face, and the struggles and small victories that nurse practitioners deal with. Crane's real-life qualitative study provides the rich texture missing from the more quantitative studies of needy populations. With empathy, compassion, and wit, Crane makes an important contribution to the literature of a vulnerable population. We, who research these folks, are indebted to the author for her insights and unvarnished truth. --Peter J. Stein, Ph.D., University of North Carolina Institute on Aging, associate director for Aging Workforce Initiatives, retired