Best Reads for Nurses Who Need to Decompress

The early mornings, the late nights, the patients, the coworkers. You love your role as a nurse, but you also cherish every single second of your free time. When you do have a moment alone to clear your head and get ready to take on another crazy day, there’s nothing like a great book to help decompress. It’s fun to get lost in a story and forget anything that may be bothering you. While there are many great pieces of literature about nursing, we’ve put together a short list for you to reference when you need something light, humorous, or inspiring. So find a quiet corner (if you can) and reward yourself for all the hard work you do by curling up with a great book.

1. Bedlam Among the Bedpans: Humor in Nursing by Amy Y. Young. Breeze through this collection of over 100 funny and creative stories about nursing. You’ll have a good laugh and relieve some stress with relatable stories about the situations many nurses face every day. This is a good book to have on hand for short breaks and a good conversation starter with friends.

2. Best of Nursing Humor: A Collection of Articles, Essays, and Poetry Published in the Nursing Literature by Colleen Kenefick. This book is a comprehensive collection of writings focused on nursing and related fields within the last 20 years. Decompress a little by reading some light-hearted stories about the relationships between nurses and their colleagues, physicians, patients and patients’ families. This enjoyable read touches on the spectrum of a nurse’s career in an entertaining way. 

3. What’s So Funny About…Nursing? by Karyn Buxman. Why not take a break to remind yourself why you love your profession so much? They say that laughter is the best medicine, and this book promises to help you use humor to survive and thrive in nursing. Pick up this book if you’re looking for some tips on work/life balance and a great way to help brighten up your day.

4. Amazed and Amused: How to Survive and Thrive as A Healthcare Professional by Karyn Buxman.

Another top recommended book by Buxman, this book was written to provide amusement, humor, and an openness to appreciating life’s absurdities. This is an insightful read when trying to relax and reflect on your own life as a nurse and how to enjoy it the best you can. This read can help leave you refreshed and give you a revitalized perspective when you walk back into those hospital halls.

5. Chicken Soup for the Nurse’s Soul: 101 Stories to Celebrate, Honor, and Inspire the Nursing Profession by Mark Victor Hansen, Nancy Mitchell-Autio, LeAnn Thieman, Jack Canfield. Last but not least, you cannot go wrong with a book from this series. If you haven’t delved into the Chicken Soup realm, you’re in for a treat. This collection of stories is put together to touch the hearts and souls of everyone who reads it, but especially nurses. You’ll fly through these pages and hopefully find the stories interesting and inspiring.

What books do you like to read to help decompress after a long workday? Share your ideas in the comments below with others in the nursing community!

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