Healing Canadian Healthcare

"A compelling read that’s aimed at a Canadian audience but will draw in anyone with an interest in practical aspects of...
A Canadian nurse with nearly 50 years’ experience sends out an alarm call to the general public about the future of her profession.
In this slim volume, Boucher gives readers a lot to unpack. She starts by briefly covering nurses’ duties (because, as she notes, “Even most colleagues I’ve talked to admitted that they didn’t fully understand what nurses do until they began their studies”) before describing various nursing specialties. She then turns to the profession’s benefits—competitive salaries, good benefits, and making a difference in people’s lives—as well as its challenges, including stress, and the fact that nursing shortages make everyone’s job more difficult. After briefly describing the education and training required, Boucher moves on to the most urgent issue for those on the job: avoiding burnout. One of the biggest problems that nurses face, she asserts, is the managerial practice of “floating,” in which they’re “moved from the departments they normally work in to an area that lacks adequate staff.” It can be demanding, and Boucher notes some simple ways to alleviate its difficulties, such as a uniform, hospital-wide color-coding system, so that every nurse knows what shelves contain which items in every department. The book finishes with a short chapter on what laypeople can do to help, and ends by challenging readers to “work together to elevate the nursing profession and cement its future.” All too often, when an expert writes about their work, the result is so dry or mired in jargon and technical detail that outsiders find it nearly impenetrable. However, Boucher’s prose is refreshingly engaging and thoughtful throughout. Her chapter on improving job retention particularly stands out; in it, she offers real-world examples of what has worked in real-world hospitals—the color-coding, for instance, in currently use in Ottawa—and then theorizes how ideas could go further and be more helpful. It quickly becomes evident that Boucher has thought about these issues in depth and that she cares for her fellow nurses deeply.
A compelling read that’s aimed at a Canadian audience but will draw in anyone with an interest in practical aspects of healthcare."

"Kathleen Boucher’s Healing Canadian Healthcare is a heartfelt and practical look at the crisis gripping Canada’s nursing system. Written from the front lines by a nurse with decades of experience, the book lays out the scope of the problem, an alarming nursing shortage that predates the pandemic, and offers straightforward, actionable ideas to increase nursing enrollment and retention. The book explores what nurses really do, the highs and lows of the profession, what’s required to enter and stay in it, and how the public can get involved. It’s both a call to action and a guide for anyone who wants to understand or help fix a system under strain.
What stood out to me the most was the raw honesty in Boucher’s voice. Her writing isn’t polished in a literary way; it’s real, lived-in, practical, and personal. That gave it power. She doesn’t sugarcoat the exhaustion or emotional toll that nurses face, nor does she rant or assign blame unfairly. Instead, she offers stories that hit hard, like the night she worked a ward with thirty patients and two nurses, or how shame stopped a patient from mentioning he couldn’t afford medication. I was moved. I felt both rage and admiration. Boucher’s knack for weaving human moments into a policy discussion makes this book something more than just a proposal, it’s a plea from someone who’s seen too much to stay quiet.
What’s especially effective is the book’s consistent use of “call to action” moments at the end of each chapter. These reminders keep the reader engaged and focused on solutions. The structure is clear and easy to follow, making the content approachable for a wide audience. Many of the ideas Boucher shares, like improving orientation for floating nurses or color-coding supply rooms, are practical and immediately actionable. They may seem small, but they’re smart, realistic steps that can create real change when widely adopted. What I appreciated most is the book’s grounded optimism. You finish it not overwhelmed, but empowered, reminded that your voice can help shape the future of healthcare.
I’d recommend Healing Canadian Healthcare to students considering nursing, to policymakers who have lost touch with the bedside, and to any Canadian who wants to understand why our system is teetering. This isn’t just for anyone who might influence a future nurse or help one stay in the job. It’s a book about hope, and it made me care more."