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Are you considering a career in nursing? Or perhaps you’re a student nurse struggling to find some confidence, a mid-career nurse needing a bit of inspiration, or a seasoned professional looking back at the highs and lows of work that you love.

In every case, Chicken Soup for the Nurse’s Soul and its companion, Chicken Soup for the Nurse’s Soul: Second Dose: More Stories to Honor and Inspire Nurses, can provide a daily dose of insight and inspiration. Plus, they can often supply just the laugh you need to keep going.

Nursing as a calling

With their familiar blend of funny and/or moving stories, inspiration quotes, and respect for their readers, these two entrants in the Chicken Soup franchise do a great job of getting to the heart of what makes nursing such an incredibly rewarding career.

But they also touch on the challenges nurses face, from cranky patients to crankier doctors, from lower back pain to an aching heart brought on by the loss of a favorite patient.

Both of the books are organized around themes (“The True Meaning of Nursing,” “Defining Moments,” “Miracles,” “Beyond the Call of Duty,” etc.) within which are generally 10 to 15 vignettes of about two to five pages each. Two of the authors – Nancy Mitchell Autio and LeAnne Thieman – are nurses, and it shows in both their choice of stories to tell and the empathy revealed in those stories.

Ready for some nursing inspiration?

If you’re currently taking courses toward your nursing certification, such as advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), pediatric advanced life support (PALS) certification or basic life support (BLS) certification, these may be just the books to inspire you during your study breaks. And if you’re thinking about a career in nursing, the stories recounted here will affirm all of the reasons you’ve wanted to join the nursing profession – the ability to care for others, to bring skills and knowledge to improve others’ lives, to share the camaraderie of working with colleagues who share your passion.

Chicken Soup for the Nurse’s Soul: 101 Stories to Celebrate, Honor and Inspire the Nursing Profession, by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Nancy Mitchell Autio, and LeAnne Thieman. HCI, 2001. 384p. ISBN 1558749330.

Chicken Soup for the Nurse’s Soul: Second Dose: More Stories to Honor and Inspire Nurses, 2d ed., by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and LeAnn Thieman. HCI, 2007. 288p. ISBN 757306217.