A  Nurse’s Life tells the remarkable story of one woman’s devotion to a life of care in the medical profession. Beginning her career as a midwife, Geralyn later became an authority in palliative care, but throughout her goal has always been about understanding what it means to truly care for another person. That is precisely what she does in this book: portray the essence of nursing.

After years in the hospital wards Geralyn decided it was time for a change and volunteered to work for Concern Worldwide in a two-year post among the most needy in Bangladesh. Here she learned first-hand about the link between poverty and health care. Upon her return to Ireland she returned to academia and enrolled in an MsC programme at Trinity College Dublin. Eventually she became Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at Trinity.

Interspersed between her highly entertaining personal stories as a nurse, Geralyn expounds on many of the key issues in the nursing profession today: the changing nature of nursing and environment of care; challenges in providing person-centred care in the hospital setting; the essential qualities needed to be a good nurse; the problematic doctor/nurse/administration relationship; the future of nursing and possible ways to address the current challenges; and much more. 

More recently, Geralyn experienced nursing from the other side when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour that while benign meant surgery, radiotherapy and several new chronic conditions as a result. This has given her a deeper, first-hand understanding of nursing and the extraordinary reality of compassionate care.

Professor Geralyn Hynes is an Associate Professor in Palliative Care in the School of Nursing and Midwifery in Trinity College Dublin. She was awarded MSc and PhD degrees from Trinity College, and the Fellowship of the Faculty of Nursing from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Following experience in general nursing and midwifery, she worked overseas in development and developed an interest in action research. She has recently retired to her home town in County Kilkenny.