A very important, but very heavy read.

As a healthcare worker a lot of this book hit close to home and is infuriating.

Everyone should have an awareness of the toxic culture and expectations within the healthcare industry.

A pizza party and posters are not going to fix this serious action needs to be taken.

Excellently researched and presented.

This book was pretty interesting but it felt too much like reading an academic essay. It had interesting facts but didn’t really grip me.

Code White is an in-depth look at violence in Quebec hospitals. It dies in two the cases AN with the author and others believed to be the causes. From long wait times to a broken mental health support system. They present studies, statistics and personal observations. I found this book to be so interesting and it also covered a lot of the broken down public healthcare Quebec has. From those who need immediate surgeries and don’t get them until after the referred wait time to the pour elderly care hospitals available. This book is so good and whether you’re a Canadian citizen or a citizen from any other country I’m sure you will find this interesting and relatable if you spent any time in medical care establishments. I would highly recommend this book to those who love nonfiction books about social situations, healthcare and remedies to fix those issues. Even if you just like to observe human behavior this book will interest you. It was so good that is why I gave it five stars. Not to mention the narrator who did such a wonderful job. I was given this book by Met Galley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Please forgive any grammatical upunctuational errors I am blind and dictate my review, but all opinions are my own.

Going into this I had no idea that the research was primarily conducted in Ontario. I myself am a healthcare worker in Ontario and I learned that a lot of the things I considered normal behaviour from my supervisors is in fact abusive. I'll be putting my foot down in regards to those behaviours from now on.
The second half of the book is probably better suited for policy makers rather than individual healthcare workers.

Quick Take: Violence against nurses and other healthcare staff is rampant and little talked about.

This serious issue needs to come to light. I don’t work in healthcare, so once I started reading this book, I texted a nurse friend of mine and asked her if violence in healthcare was as bad as it sounded in this book. She gave me a resounding YES and said it's a huge problem in the PEDIATRIC hospital where she works.

White Code by Margaret M. Keith and James T. Brophy is about the violence committed against nurses and other healthcare workers (mostly women) every day. The stories in this book are horrifying and should not be allowed to continue. While the research was done in Ontario, I believe many of the takeaways can be applied to the US healthcare system as well.

It includes stories of nurses punched, sexually assaulted, and pushed to the floor. In addition, they are not supported by their hospital and often being punished if they speak out about the violence experienced. Many of the nurses are traumatized but expected to go right back to work.

This much stress in your daily life takes its toll. In addition to increased anxiety and insomnia healthcare staff are burned out. No wonder we have a nurse shortage!

Who is committing this violence? Patients and family members.

Why is this happening?
- Many people with mental illness end up in ER’s due to lack of social services and available psych unit beds.
- Similar to the above, people with drug addictions end up in ER’s due to lack of social services and rehab facilities
- Patient wait times are long which can cause a frustrated patient or family member to escalate behavior

This was written with pre-COVID data. I can only imagine what nurses are dealing with now. I hope that more recognition will come to this issue through this book. I would recommend this book with an interest in the healthcare system and how nurses are treated.