Making the Dean’s List: Literary Recommendations from Baylor’s Well-Read Faculty

Summer 2016 featured dean: Shelly F. Conroy, EDD
Dean of the Louise Herrington School of Nursing

The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours,
Four Patients’ Lives
Theresa Brown

The need for caring and compassionate nurses has never been greater. Caring for those who are hurting and in need of comfort distinguishes nursing as more than just a profession but a lifetime calling to make a genuine difference. Unless you’re a nurse or know someone who is, it’s hard to appreciate how demanding, exhausting and yet incredibly rewarding it is to be a nurse. I love how this book captures each aspect.

Spotlighting a day in the life of a nurse, this book is written through the eyes of a veteran nurse from Pittsburgh working on the frontlines in an oncology ward. We trail behind this seasoned nurse down the hospital hallways during her 12-hour shift while she cares for four patients battling cancer. The reader gains a compelling perspective of a nurse’s professional responsibility and personal fortitude. The book is a New York Times bestseller and also captures the challenges of medicine and the pivotal role of nurses in healthcare.

What I found interesting was that the author has a PhD in English and was originally an English professor as well as a part-time writer for The New York Times. However, she switched gears to go back to school and pursue a full-time career in nursing.

The Six Secrets of Change – What the Best Leaders Do
to Help Their Organizations Survive and Thrive
Michael Fullan

As the old saying goes, the one thing in life that is constant is change. This book pursues the challenge to embrace, leverage and thrive from trailblazing change as a savvy leader. As a practical illustration, the reader benefits from Fullan’s personal experience in education reform in public schools and universities, as well as global work. The book helps to enhance our knowledge of sustaining real change in a logical and proactive approach.

Fullan inspires us to redefine successful organizational leadership by applying his six fundamentals referenced as a “Theory of Action.” He underscores them as the roadmap to an organization’s long-term survival. Readers will find his ideas interesting to consider in their quest for growth.

Becoming Good: Building Moral Character
David W. Gill

Along the same lines as the U.S. Army’s PR campaign, “Be All You Can Be,” the goal to be good, especially in moral character, is a worthy effort. In David Gill’s book, he addresses the challenges many of us face to accomplish this ongoing endeavor.

Incorporating the Beatitudes into his book, Gill frames these virtues as the guidepost to building stronger moral character. This inspiring approach examines the essence of morality and ethics in society and focuses on character formation which requires the work of God, support of each other in communities and a personal effort.

In particular, what I love about this book is that I think its message complements the foundation of Baylor’s strategic plan, Pro Futuris, that reminds us our responsibility to God, to each other in the community and the world continues to lead us. That focus is reflected in our motto at the Louise Herrington School of Nursing: Learn. Lead. Serve. Gill’s book and his message to be the “salt and light” in the world is an inspiration and a challenge.