"The Magic Stethoscope" is a book targeted to children ages 8-12 to attract them to a career in nursing. The book evolved through a collaborative project in which 14 nurses in a "Nurses as Writers" class built diverse relationships within the university and wider community to enhance awareness of the nursing shortage. Through research, the students found that there was very little children's literature portraying the excitement of a nursing career. "Cherry Ames," popular with children over twenty years ago, is not the image of nursing today. "The Magic Stethoscope" explores the wide range of career opportunities that the profession of nursing has to offer. Each nurse wrote a chapter reflecting her individual nursing experiences, reflected through the eyes of two children, Josie and Michael, who travel from one adventure to another via a magic stethoscope. The children see a seriously injured teenager arrive by helicopter, follow a forensic nurse as she gathers clues, learn how nurses use chemotherapy for children with cancer, and experience many more adventures. Children's drawings are used though out the book to highlight the nursing experiences of each chapter. Through this collaborative project, the students learned the entire process of publishing a book, from the writing, to the editing, printing, and selling, and discovered a new appreciation for the unique nature of their profression. They view this project as an opportunity to "give something back to nursing" and hope that the book will inspire children, both boys and girls, to eventually pursue a nursing career.
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