Hi there! I’m Nurse Joy. Welcome to my Incredibly Easy blog!
To be honest, I’m not the most technologically gifted nurse on the planet—or even on my unit—but when my publishers asked me to contribute some ideas to an exciting Authors’ Blog site they were preparing, I couldn’t say No.
“But what do I talk about?” I asked myself. “Where do I start?” I suppose “At the beginning” is as good a place as any…
Incredibly Easy! books
The Incredibly Easy! story began about 12 years ago when my publishers released several reference books to help nurses conquer their fears about difficult clinical topics. Let’s face it: Many nursing topics can be challenging to master, and some nursing books aren’t very reader-friendly in their presentation of information. Our goal was to publish books that combined easy-to-understand text with lots of crystal-clear illustrations and charts, clever memory joggers to help readers recall key facts, and generous doses of humor featuring myself and my cartoon friends—like Mr. Heart, Mr. Brain, Mr. Lungs, and a tall, skinny guy we just call “Skelly.” Can you guess which body system he stands for? LOL!
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Incredibly Quick! books
The Incredibly Easy! books were such a hit, my publishers asked me to develop what they called a “spin-off series.” I thought they meant a spin-off TV series, like “CSI: Miami,” and I was all set to pack my bags and fly to Hollywood, but they wanted another book series! They told me they needed a series that would help my “core audience”—hard-working nurses like you who needed to find information fast. Hey, no problemo! The Incredibly Quick! books are compact 4-color beauties featuring lots of quick-reference charts, graphs, and illustrations; protective spiral-top binding; color-coded tabs; and pages you can write notes on and clean off later with an alcohol wipe. (Yes, it really works. I tried it myself!)
Incredibly Easy! Pocket Guides
So when the Incredibly Quick! books started selling like tickets to a Madonna concert, guess what my publishers wanted next? Right! Another spin-off series to help readers like you! So we had a brainstorming session and decided on a simple format we thought nurses would really appreciate: We combined the most crucial clinical information in bulleted text with appealing illustrations, flowcharts, and tables and added some recurring logos for good measure. And it fits right in your pocket! How incredibly easy is that, eh?
Incredibly Visual! books
Around this time we started hearing from readers who called themselves “visual learners”—they told us they could learn better if they could see the concepts, not just read about them. So we created these stunning 4-color books, which are jam-packed with exciting photographs, illustrations, and other visually stimulating graphics that tell a story, explain an idea, or reduce a highly complex clinical concept to its simplest form so that it can be easily learned, understood, and remembered by all. (And the jokes in these titles are some of my best material!)
Incredibly Easy! Workouts
I had a basketball coach in high school who liked to shout “No pain, no gain” as my teammates and I ran laps, huffing and puffing around the basketball court after practice. So when my publishers asked me to develop a series of workbooks filled with practice exercises, I wanted the “exercise” to be incredibly pain-free. Incredibly Easy! Workouts feature over 150 enjoyable practice exercises to help readers understand the topic at hand. Begin each chapter with a brief outline review and then maneuver through the exercises at your own pace, including crossword puzzles, matching games, labeling activities, mazes, and more. Throughout each book, my cartoon friends and I offer coaching and encouragement, and you’ll also find inspirational quotes from the famous and the infamous.
Incredibly Visual! Pocket Guides
That brings us to my most recent spin-off series. If you’re like me, you sometimes want to have your cake and eat it, too. I mean, why have the cake if you can’t eat it, am I right? That’s why I convinced my publishers to take the best elements of two great series above and create Incredibly Visual Pocket Guides! These compact, carry-anywhere references use appealing 4-color photos and illustrations and brief, easy-to-read text to present must-know clinical concepts any nurse can understand. Holding special appeal for visual learners, the information is easy to learn and recall because the visual images leave a lasting impression, and most topics are covered on a single 2-page spread.
Whew! Well, that’s the end of my first blog. Write and let me know what you think about it, or about any issue in nursing that’s important to you. In the meantime, my shift starts in 10 minutes, so I need to get back to my patients. Have a joyful day!
Joy
