title: Looking for a good book. Reading and teaching with psychiatric practitioner memoirs.
abstract: Memoirs can be more interesting to read than textbooks and are frequently just as informative. Many people have written excellent memoirs about their own or family member's psychiatric illness. However, psychiatric practitioner memoirs have the advantage of showing how an enthusiastic but novice clinician develops into a skilled practitioner, something students are usually eager to understand. Twenty-nine memoirs by psychiatric practitioners (nurses, advanced practice nurses, psychiatrists, and psychologists) were reviewed and critiqued for clinical accuracy and relevancy, positive role-modeling, advocacy, a promotion of a positive image of nursing, and suitability for use in teaching undergraduate nursing students; of these, 3 are outstanding books written by nurses ( The Comfort Garden: Tales from the Trauma Unit by Barkin and Tales from the page Chronicles and The Pager Chronicles Volume Two by Rancour) and one by psychiatrist(Psychward by Seager). An annotated bibliography of all practitioner memoirs reviewed is provided.
authors.affiliation: Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY, USA. jmasters@bellarmine.edu
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Masters
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing / Q000193:education*; D013664:Teaching Materials