Life and Death in Intensive Care

By: Joan Cassell

Narrated by: Laura Jennings

Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Life and Death in Intensive Care offers a unique portrait of the surgical intensive care unit (SICU), the place in medical centers and hospitals where patients with the gravest medical conditions - from comas to terminal illness - are treated. Author Joan Cassell employs the concept of moral economies to explain the dilemmas that patients, families, and medical staff confront in treatment. Drawing upon her fieldwork conducted in both the United States and New Zealand, Cassell compares the moral outlooks and underlying principles of SICU nurses, interns, doctors, and surgeons. Using real life examples, Life and Death in Intensive Care clearly presents the logic and values behind the SICU as well as the personalities, procedures, and pressures that characterize every case. Ultimately, Cassell demonstrates the differing systems of values, and the way cultural definitions of medical treatment inform how we treat the critically ill.

©2005 Joan Cassell (P)2017 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Cassell's book deserves a wide audience both in and beyond medical sociology." ( The American Journal of Sociology)

"A valuable addition to our growing understanding of our technology - and bureaucracy - intensive hospital system." (Charles E. Rosenberg, Harvard University)

Insightful and Interesting

What did you love best about Life and Death in Intensive Care?

The real life intensive care experience is well displayed in this audiobook. I really enjoyed learning the vast medical terminology as applied to the unique setting.

Any additional comments?

"This review copy audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost."

Interesting

Interesting and informative. Especially for someone like me who didn't know most of this. Definitely worth a listen.

The narrator did a good job.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Life and Death in Intensive Care

Life and Death in Intensive Care
: Joan Cassell

A good look at critical care, comparison between American and New Zealand SICU units, doctors, nurses and administrations.The language was a bit stiff for non-medical people, but it will make you think.


The narration was well done by Laura Jennings.



"I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator."

A Little too.... Clinical

I started out liking this book immensely. The differences between an American style healthcare system (the USA) and a socialist one (New Zealand) was compellingly drawn... at first.
It begins with the nurses, their roles, their frustrations. Then is moves on to the residents, and the fellows. Each has a different role to play, and I was fascinated by the historical information of how hospitals have changed their workloads and expectations.
And yet, about halfway through the book, New Zealand only received token mentions here and there, only as a contrast to how the SICUs were run in the USA. It became more like a doctoral thesis on the American system of healthcare. One chapter was dedicated exclusively to New Zealand and how things are done there, but by the time I got there, I had listened to hours of often repetitive information, and so many "subjects" that I couldn't keep them straight.
The narrator did an admiral job with the material she had; I would listen to another one of her narrations.
Perhaps this will be a book I pick up again. If you read the first half, it's compelling and readable. After that, I'd pick it up another day.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.