The Official Website for Author Ann Watt

~Ann Watt ~

 

New! A Heartfelt Story of Compassion and Love

Suspicions warned Ann that something was amiss in Mom’s life. She learned that Alzheimer’s disease was eroding her mother’s mind. Mom’s descent into dementia notified her daughter of one thing: the parent was now the child who needed care and protection.

That horrific disease influenced both of their lives over the following fifteen years. Join Ann on her transformational and emotional journey. Find comfort in the relatable situations as she describes the highlights and low points of those years. Tears you shed while reading Ann’s unforgettable story will cleanse and refresh your heart and soul.


A New Inspirational Memoir
From Author Ann Watt

“They are so lucky.”

“Wow, what a coincidence!”

“You were in the right place at the right time.”

Have you ever said any of those things to yourself or someone else?

Everything happens for a reason, but it’s not because of chance. Believe in God, Not Coincidence is an inspirational book filled with accounts of God’s timely blessings.

Immerse yourself in heartwarming true stories which will increase your faith in God and your belief in the power of prayer. Find encouragement through ordinary events which are transformed into extraordinary situations through God’s benevolence.

God is capable of using any situation for a beneficial purpose. The mini miracles which are described may cause you to reevaluate events which have happened in your own life. You will find yourself believing in God’s wondrous power and impeccable timing.


Thank you to all the current or retired nurses for your service. Best wishes to those of you who are already pursuing a future career as a nurse. Hopefully, some of my audience will be inspired to enter this worthwhile profession or specialize in critical care.

—A.W.

The Bestselling Memoir That Started It All

Did you ever wonder what happens
in an ICU at night?

Is being a nurse in a hospital like what you see on TV or on the internet?

Besides taking excellent care of their patients, nurses enjoyed humor at work before the Covid pandemic. Playing jokes on each other or finding hilarity in absurd situations, we devised ways to amuse ourselves while performing our duties.
Glimpse into the medical career of someone who dares to say life as a nurse used to be fun. Follow my journey from being a student nurse to a critical care RN with 30 years of experience.

Relive with me both the frustrations and camaraderie that I encountered as an RN. Filled with true tales from my life both in and out of the hospital, "When Being a Nurse Was Fun" will cause you to laugh, and may also make you cry.



CLICK HERE to read the review from the Greenfield Recorder.

The Reviews Are In!

“When Being a Nurse Was Fun: Tales From My Life as a Nurse” by Ann Watt is an inspiring, honest memoir about the life and times of the author’s years as a nurse. This accomplished woman started out as a nurse in her twenties and spent over 30 years in critical care nursing. In addition to stories from her nursing career, the author provides a glimpse into her personal life, including her early years as a nursing student when her father passed, and how she helped her mother as best she could, given the stressors of her nursing education. Between these lines, you will discover not just a nurse, but a caring woman who is all too human, and that is just one of the many things I like about this book. Watt explains how even nurses find ways of coping with life and pressure–with a sense of humor that others may not understand or relate to. I also like the before and after comparisons of how life and work were before Covid, and after. I have nurses in my own life, and the care they give can’t be measured. They go above and beyond, sometimes with little regard for themselves.

As the title suggests, Watt describes how nursing was once fun, but then her journey brought challenges and trials, both in her professional career and personal life. In all the stressful times, it’s a relief to read that her connections with fellow nurses helped her through–actually, they helped one another through. Right away I noticed the author’s personable style. It’s like she’s talking to you across your kitchen table. Her warm, funny style is what makes this a book you want to finish in one sitting. Her stories will bring your emotions to the surface, both laughter and tears.

To laypersons, the life of a nurse, doctor, or others in the medical field can seem like a wonderful mystery, but Watt sheds light on these professionals in a practical, emotional way that will leave you with the feeling that these are ordinary people doing extraordinary things to care for others. Watt is straightforward without bashing, funny without being rude. She shows how to find light and laughs in dark, difficult times. For an extremely enjoyable and informative read, especially for aspiring nursing students, you can’t get any better than “When Being a Nurse Was Fun: Tales From My Life as a Nurse” by Ann Watt. - Reader Views, The Book Review Blog


Capturing attention from the start with light-hearted but revealing anecdotes from registered nurse and debut author Watt, When Being a Nurse was Fun is a likable, engaging memoir that demystifies the world of healthcare for the everyday reader. Watt pleases her audience with short, memorably written accounts of her time in the ICU during night shifts in Massachusetts and Rhode Island hospitals, over a career of 30 years. With a clear-eyed prose that is equally digestible and beguiling, stories highlight relationships with co-workers and encounters with patients that run the gamut from shocking to comic to inspiring, especially in instances where patients let Watt know she had made a significant impact on their lives.

The highly valued camaraderie between the nursing staff and doctors is demonstrated with stories about teamwork while providing life-preserving care. Watt sketches quick portraits of a host of characters, as Ann's colleagues prank and bond in colorful ways throughout the years. A sense of regret informs some memories, as when she describes the isolation endured by AIDS patients in the early days of that epidemic, before the development of effective treatments. Elsewhere, delightful stories of encounters with patients who were not on their best behavior. “Nurses are tolerant of other people’s behavior and are sympathetic to the range of emotions patients feel,” Watt writes, and her feeling of responsibility for them each night shift powers the book.

Watt poignantly requests readers to be appreciative of the care that nurses give and sensitive to the difficult situations they continually face, especially in the pandemic era. In a direct, professional style, she communicates the clear break she achieves from work life and home life. Hiking accomplishments on the East Coast, along with extensive travel, demonstrate Watt’s dedication to her own health. That striving spirit, buoyant humor, and a deep respect for her profession makes Watt a strong ambassador for nurses, imparting her wisdom in a warm and entertaining voice. - Book Life Reviews


"When Being a Nurse Was Fun" recounts Ann Watt’s 31-year critical care nursing career, with the aim of encouraging others to enter the field.

Before she moved to an off-hospital e-ICU telehealth position, Watt’s career was primarily spent in a cardiovascular thoracic (heart/lungs) unit. She details how the staff of nurses certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support pulled together when a patient was admitted from the ER or after surgery, dividing their many duties including phlebotomy (blood draws), medications or charting.

Humor often helped Watt and her colleagues handle the demands of patient care, from teasing an intern whose patterned boxers were visible under his scrubs to pranking each other with fake phone calls. She recalls a busty nurse leaning over a cardiac patient in need of resuscitation. As the nurse performed emergency CPR, her cleavage bounced with each compression. The patient awoke, and, with big eyes, asked "Am I dreaming?"—eliciting laughter from everyone in the room.

More seriously, the author provides helpful information for new or potential nurses about working holidays and night shifts, providing patient hygiene (she's "seen it all"), handling interns, residents and sexist patients, and learning to deal with dying patients and their loved ones.

Watt’s style is conversational, as if sharing stories among friends, often for a laugh. Her recollections are vivid, realistic, and instructive as she transforms from a naive young nurse to one determined to fight for her own mental health via job changes while also standing up to other medical providers or her own institution to ensure the best patient care.

While general readers might enjoy some of her stories, the book is principally for those new to the field or considering a nursing career. This audience will appreciate learning of the challenges and the triumphs of providing critical care for vulnerable patients. Also available as an ebook. - Blue Ink Review




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