You Can’t Chart Moral Injury

What They Don’t Teach You About Being a Nurse

By: Orlando Rivera

Narrated by: Rebecca Nowak

You’re not burned out. You’re morally injured.

Nurses are leaving the profession in record numbers — not because they couldn’t handle the job, but because the job stopped protecting the people who do it.

You Can’t Chart Moral Injury is the book nurses have been waiting for — and the one healthcare leaders can’t afford to ignore.

Told through journal entries, reflections, and searing commentary, this powerful work gives voice to the trauma, silence, and survival that define modern nursing. From the patient you never forgot, to the policy that forced you to cause harm, to the tears you wiped away before walking into another room — this book puts into words what so many have carried alone.

Written by Orlando Rivera, a nurse, paramedic, and healthcare executive who has served at every level from the bedside to the boardroom, this book pulls no punches — but it also offers a path forward. For nurses. For administrators. For the system itself.

Whether you’re a new grad questioning everything, a veteran nurse quietly shutting down, or a CNO searching for the truth behind your turnover — this book is for you.

If you’ve ever said “I can’t do this anymore,” but showed up anyway — you already know why this book matters.

©2025 Orlando E Rivera (P)2025 Orlando E Rivera

Wow

This is insightful, reflective, reassuring, hopeful and sympathetic to nursing and nurse leadership. A book worth reading and giving to leadership.

Powerful, Honest, and Necessary

Orlando Rivera’s You Can’t Chart Moral Injury is one of the most honest depictions of nursing I’ve ever heard. This isn’t just another “burnout” book. Rivera makes it clear that what many nurses face is deeper: moral injury, when the system forces you to choose between your ethics and your duties.

Told through heartfelt journal entries and sharp reflections, he captures the emotional toll of caring for patients in a system that often works against both caregivers and those they serve. As someone who’s been a nurse, a paramedic, and a healthcare leader, Rivera offers a rare, 360-degree perspective. He doesn’t just tell you what’s wrong; he offers a path toward healing and change.

The narration brings his words to life, making you feel like you’re sitting across from a colleague who truly gets it. For new nurses, it’s a reality check; for seasoned ones, it’s validation. For leaders, it’s a wake-up call.

If you care about nursing, healthcare, or just understanding the human cost of the profession, this listen will stay with you long after it ends.