TORONTO, April 24, 2007 – Ontario nurses will honour one of their own tomorrow during a launch to promote the publication of a new book called The Making Of A Nurse.

The book, written by RN Tilda Shalof, tracks her journey from the time she was a child taking care of her sick parents to her current position on an Intensive Care Unit team in one of Ontario’s largest hospitals.

Shalof says her experience as a caregiver was her introduction to the profession. She describes the book as an honest account of life in a hospital and the events that have shaped her vision of nursing over 25 years working in three different countries.

 “I would like to congratulate Tilda on the publication of her second book which, like her first, gives us a picture of the challenges, hopes, triumphs and complexity of nursing care.  We are proud that Tilda will tour Canada and abroad, sharing the knowledge, compassion and dedication that she and thousands of other nurses possess,” says Mary Ferguson-Paré, President of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO).

“We know that Tilda’s book will inspire many other nurses to tell their own stories,” says RNAO Executive Director Doris Grinspun. “Tilda has an exquisite ability to articulate nursing practice in all its intensity and her book sheds light on the impact of health policy on the working lives of nurses and their patients,” Grinspun adds.

Shalof’s previous book, A Nurse’s Story (McClelland and Stewart, 2004) was a national bestseller and was translated into French, Chinese and Japanese.

 WHAT:

• The official book launch of “The Making of a Nurse” by author and RNAO member Tilda Shalof

WHERE:

• 158 Pearl Street, Toronto

WHEN:

• 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., Wednesday April 25

WHO:

• Tilda Shalof, author and RNAO member
• RNAO President Mary Ferguson-Paré
• RNAO Executive Director Doris Grinspun

The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) is the professional association representing registered nurses wherever they practise in Ontario.  Since 1925, RNAO has lobbied for healthy public policy, promoted excellence in nursing practice, increased nurses’ contribution to shaping the health-care system, and influenced decisions that affect nurses and the public they serve.