Phrase by Hector Castañeira
saturated nurse is a series of 9 books written by the Galician nurse and author Héctor Castiñeira. Under the pseudonym "saturated nurse", The writer used to publish entertaining anecdotes on his social networks about those events that take place in a public health institution. In 2015 he came out of anonymity after publishing his second book: The time between sutures.
Hector's first book —life is serum (2013)—, was self-published, and had a great impact. Since then, this internet personality has been contacted by publishers all over Spain: "I went from not having a publisher to even being able to choose between several thanks to that publication and the reception," says the author..
Synopsis of the first book of Saturated Nurse
life is serum, stories of a saturated nurse (2013)
This work narrates the daily life of Saturnina Gallardo, a Spanish nurse who works for a public medical institution. Through a ironic humor, and even black, Gallardo recounts situations associated with health work. It is a work that, despite being known by all, has many unexpected, funny and interesting anecdotes with which all readers can identify.
It is a novel that vindicates these health professionals. In it, primacy, above all, good humor. However, there are also reflections and teachings that are related to nursing, such as the use of blood pressure cuffs, why work clothes are called pajamas, or even the size of pills. saturated nurse It has iconic phrases that anyone can enjoy:
- "The good vein is always in the other arm";
- "The patient who protests the most is the one who is best";
- "Never believe what the patient says the doctor has said"
About the context of the work
An anonymous past hidden between networks
The story of the fictional and viral character saturated nurse started in an account Twitter over a decade ago. With a large dose of good humour, irony and vindication towards the health sector, An anonymous person recounts anecdotes that occur on a daily basis in hospitals. Years later, fans of the account and his own family would find out that the person behind saturated nurse It was no one more than the health worker Héctor Castiñeira.
Woman, because that's how it should be
The author decided to present the stories from the point of view of a character female because of the following statement:For a question of majorities, since around the 90% of nurses in Spain are women”. However, the main reason for the creation of Saturnina Gallardo was to make humor through these stories, in addition to generating a little awareness regarding the health professions.
an unexpected shock
Over time, he was followed not only by people and personalities from the world of hospitals, but also by professionals. and people unrelated to those trades. "The moment I see that not only people from the health sector follow me, but all kinds of profiles, is when I decide to take the opportunity to start spreading the word," the writer alleges.
the year of truth
In 2015, the world that knew Overloaded Nurse was in for a big surprise. when, with excitement and fear, Héctor Castiñeira decided to reveal his true identity. "I felt a bit like Clark Kent and Superman with this double life," the author scoffs. And it is not for less, because not even his own family knew that he was a well-known personality on the internet, since his success reached him from anonymity.
Héctor Castiñeira was afraid of how readers might take the fact that he was the author of the books, coupled with how this would affect his working life. However, at the 2015 Book Fair, where it was presented to the world for the first time, the success was absolute. "What they asked me the most was if I was really a nurse, in case the deception was double," recalls the Galician.
The begining of everything
in his first book, Life is serum, Castiñeira compiled the most famous entries from the parent blog of this story, and decided to self-publish her work with the following paragraph as a back cover: “Welcome to the world of Enfermera Saturada. A world where delirium is mixed with humor, sometimes black and always very fine, and where the day-to-day life of the hospital always surpasses fiction”.
His second book, A life between sutures, was published in 2015, and since then, the author has released a title every year. Among these, the book corresponding to the season by Covid-19 was the hardest to face. From there also come a vast collection of anecdotes that, later, would be reflected in the next volumes of the series.
saturated nurse is inspired by the author's experiences as a health professional. But, to date, the character is a reference for many more professionals.
An author with unparalleled empathy with his readers
With the years, thanks to its notoriety, fans of this work began to write to the author. Hector Castiñeira received the funniest anecdotes, moving and strange things that could have happened to her followers in the health sector inside a hospital, and these were honored in her following books, where the adventures of Saturnina Gallardo continue.
About the author, Héctor Castiñeira López
Hector Castaneira
Héctor Castiñeira López was born in 1983, in Lugo, Galicia, Spain. He is a health professional, nurse, writer, internet personality, and health communicator who signs his books as saturated nurse. In his books, Castiñeira often uses humor to tell his stories. The author says that: "Humor does not heal wounds, but at least it makes them more bearable."
Currently, the nurse lives between Lugo and Madrid, and collaborates with institutions and media such as El Mundo, Antena 3, TVE and Radio Galega, where he exposes his points of view and teachings on nursing. Through his accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and his blog, Castiñeira shares anecdotes every day, lessons and emotions that the world of hospitals can offer, in addition, of course, to entertain his fans with his particular way of writing.
Other books by Héctor Castiñeira
- The uvis of anger (2016);
- Midsummer Night Serum (2017);
- The patient always calls twice (2018);
- The silence of the droppers (2019);
- We nurses: stories of days that changed us forever (2020);
- The gatekeeper between Ibuprofen (2020);
- Nurse Pride: Neither Heroes nor Villains, What We Always Were (2021)