No one likes to think about being hospitalized, yet thousands of people daily find themselves facing that very dilemma. Compounding the inconvenience is the fact that few people ever take time to consider how they can avoid dangerous – sometimes deadly – infections or medical errors. Lynne Golonka, Ed. D., a registered nurse, and her husband Joseph Golonka, M.D., bring their “insider knowledge” to the masses in the new guidebook, Hospital Battlefield: A Field Manual for Survival (now available through AuthorHouse).While considering the national nursing shortage one day, Lynne was struck by the thought that most patients and families are not privy to information about how to avoid costly additional medical care. It seemed logical to share her insight and that of her husband with the general public.
“Everyone hears that they should ask questions about medical issues, but how can one ask if one doesn’t understand the system or the nuances concerning your care?” she asks. “I have taught Nursing 101 to beginning nursing students for many years… My husband has taught medical students, interns and residents about the core issues of care. We have taught the beginning practitioners; therefore, we believe we can also share this knowledge with the health care consumer.”
One of the book’s goals is to present complex issues in simple terms. This equips patients and families with the tools needed to have meaningful, knowledgeable interactions with health care providers. The battle metaphor effectively captures the reality and seriousness of the life-and-death experience that is hospitalization, and the Golonkas’ access to cutting-edge medical journals provides readers with the most current information available. In addition, sample questions to caregivers are provided throughout the book to give readers a template for developing their own line of interrogation for their medical provider. A host of editorial cartoons, drawings and clinical tales round out this reader-friendly guide that should be on every bookshelf.
Lynne wrote the first three of the book’s four parts with constant editing by Joseph for content, medical accuracy and language. Joseph wrote Part Four, Insurance Company Skirmishes, with “ongoing, loving support” from Lynne.
More information is available at www.hospitalbattlefield.com.
AuthorHouse is the premier publishing house for emerging authors and new voices in literature. For more information, please visit www.authorhouse.com.
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