After working in more than eighty healthcare facilities during a nursing career spanning nearly four decades, Teresa Stroud has witnessed moments that are heartbreaking, inspiring, frightening, humorous, and unforgettable.
In her new memoir, “Through the Eyes of a Travel Nurse,” Stroud invites readers behind hospital doors to experience healthcare from the perspective of a nurse who spent years entering unfamiliar facilities, adapting to new environments, caring for vulnerable patients, and speaking up when something did not seem right.
Stroud did not originally plan to become a nurse. As a mother of three searching for a practical path toward employment, she entered college while balancing family responsibilities. At times, she studied in the bathroom because it was the quietest place in the house.
Through determination, faith, and support from her family and church, she earned acceptance into a highly competitive nursing program. Stroud graduated with an associate degree in nursing in 1985. Her class became the first at the college to achieve a 100 percent passing rate on the state board examination.
In 1989, she accepted her first travel-nursing assignment. What began as a professional opportunity soon became the defining journey of her career.
“Travel nursing may not be for everyone, but it has worked for me,” Stroud writes.
Throughout the book, she takes readers into medical-surgical units, psychiatric hospitals, adolescent treatment programs, detoxification centers, university hospitals, research assignments, and community facilities.
Her stories reveal the courage, flexibility, sound judgment, and compassion required of nurses. Some situations called for immediate clinical action, while others required patience, careful observation, teamwork, or the willingness to challenge unsafe practices.
Stroud does not present a romanticized picture of healthcare. She discusses staffing challenges, inconsistent procedures, poor communication, workplace tensions, and the consequences that may occur when patient concerns are ignored. She also honors the professionals who demonstrated compassion, competence, and integrity.
One of the book's strongest messages is that nurses must be willing to do what is right, even when it is uncomfortable.
Drawing from her experience as a bedside nurse and legal nurse consultant, Stroud shows how a missed warning sign, incomplete documentation, communication failure, or unsafe decision can affect a patient's outcome.
Rather than discussing patient safety only through policies and theories, she illustrates it through real situations. Her experiences remind readers that nurses are often the people closest to patients and may be the first to recognize an important change.
Faith is also central to Stroud's journey. She credits God with providing opportunities, guiding her toward assignments, and giving her strength during frightening or uncertain moments.
Her commitment to learning continued long after she earned her first nursing degree. In 2019, at age sixty- nine, Stroud completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing with magna cum laude honors, proving that growth does not have an expiration date.
“Through the Eyes of a Travel Nurse” will resonate with nursing students, travel nurses, healthcare professionals, administrators, patients, and families. It offers practical lessons for those entering the profession while giving general readers a better understanding of what nurses experience during their shifts.
More than a collection of hospital stories, the book is a personal account of perseverance, service, ethical responsibility, family sacrifice, and the lasting impact one nurse can have on countless lives.
Readers are encouraged to discover “Through the Eyes of a Travel Nurse” and experience healthcare through the eyes of a professional who continued answering the call to care, wherever the road led her.
About the Author
Teresa Stroud is a registered nurse, experienced travel nurse, nursing leader, and legal nurse consultant.
Her career spans nearly four decades and includes work in more than eighty facilities across psychiatric nursing, medical-surgical care, adolescent treatment, detoxification, research, and other clinical settings.
Book Information
Title: “Through the Eyes of a Travel Nurse”
Author: Teresa Stroud
Publisher: The Ewings Publishing
Softcover ISBN: 979-8-90301-253-4
Hardcover ISBN: 979-8-90301-254-1
eBook ISBN: 979-8-90301-255-8
To learn more or purchase the book, visit The Ewings Publishing at www.theewingspublishing.com.
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