Stories from the Tenth-Floor Clinic

A Nurse Practitioner Remembers

by Marianna Crane

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Description

Running a clinic for seniors requires a lot more than simply providing medical care. In Stories from the Tenth-Floor Clinic, Marianna Crane chases out scam artists and abusive adult children, plans a funeral, signs her own name to social security checks, and butts heads with her staff—two spirited older women who are more well-intentioned than professional—even as she deals with a difficult situation at home, where the tempestuous relationship with her own mother is deteriorating further than ever before. Eventually, however, Crane maneuvers her mother out of her household and into an apartment of her own—but only after a power struggle and no small amount of guilt—and she finally begins to learn from her older staff and her patients how to juggle traditional health care with unconventional actions to meet the complex needs of a frail and underserved elderly population.

A Note From the Publisher

MARIANNA CRANE became one of the first gerontological nurse practitioners in the early 1980s. A nurse for more than forty years, she has worked in hospitals, clinics, home care, and hospice settings. She writes to educate the public about what nurses really do. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Eno River Literary Journal, Examined Life Journal, Hospital Drive, Stories That Need to be Told: A Tulip Tree Anthology, and Pulse: Voices from the Heart of Medicine. She lives with her husband in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Advance Praise

“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

“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

Available Editions

EDITION	Other Format
ISBN	9781631524455
PRICE	$16.95 (USD)

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Featured Reviews

Lindsay D, Reviewer

My Recommendation

Stories From the Tenth-Floor Clinic: A Nurse Practitioner Remembers by Marianna Crane is non-fiction collection of anecdotal stories from her time working as a Gerontological Nurse Practitioner in Chicago. I had the privilege of obtaining an advance readers copy from NetGalley, She Writes Press and Caitlin Hamilton Marketing before this book is published on November 6, 2018. Marianna was one of the first nurse practitioners in the 1980’s to specialize in gerontology and she was given the opportunity to run a Senior Clinic within a senior housing building, in a poorer part of Chicago. The stories track along, detailing various experiences with the residents of the building who become her patients. At first only wanting to tend to their medical needs, Marianna softens and is surprised the effect her patients have on her when she finds herself deeper into their social lives than she ever wanted to be.

The book is a case study on how nursing is so much more than caring for a patient’s medical needs. Nurses care for the whole patient including all of their medical, physical, mental, emotional and social needs. Being a nurse myself, I really enjoyed reading this book and getting to know glimpses of the patients she saw in the clinic. This was a quick and easy read and really reminded me that we have such an impact on our patients’ lives long after we stop caring for them. I would recommend this book to any nurse or human-being who enjoys reading about human relationships and the bonds we form with one another. Be sure to get a copy of Stories From the Tenth-Floor Clinic: A Nurse Practitioner Remembers once it’s released on November 6th!

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Cristie U, Reviewer

My Recommendation

The author provided insight into the many hats that those that work in the health care industry and treat older patients have to perform.  While reading this, I was struck with empathy for this woman who goes out of her way to assist her patients in all aspects of their lives while those that should be doing the heavy work (children or other family members), watch from the sidelines.  It is a growing epidemic in our Country and is going to get worse.  I feel that we as a nation have stopped caring for our elderly and need to go back to the days of looking out for them more.  I was heartbroken reading about some of the author's patients and thankful that they had her to care for them.  This is a great book that raises awareness to a bigger issue, along with great stories of the author's time in healthcare.

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Amanda A, Reviewer

My Recommendation

Thank you to NetGalley, She Writes Press and Marianna Cole for an ARC ebook copy to review. As always, an honest review from me. 

Stories from the Tenth-Floor Clinic is a wonderful representation of the realities of nursing. The author tells stories from her time running a clinic for seniors. She was one of the first gerontological nurse practitioners in the 1980s. A pioneer in the field!

I liked that the book shows the realities of nursing: the good, bad and mundane. The more accurate representations in the media, the better. Certainly no silly stereotypes here. The author told her experiences with authenticity, dignity and respect for her elderly clients. 

While the realities of aging can be unpleasant at times, that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve kindness and human decency. A great addition to the literature and history about the nursing profession.

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V N, Reviewer

My Recommendation

Wonderful and thoughtul book on caring for the elderly. What the author has provided is immeasureable. Wonderful testament to her caring ways and committment to help others. Many blessings to the author. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book. Although I received the book in this manner, it did not affect my opinion of this book nor my review.

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