‘Plea from a student nurse’ – A Poem by Helen Corry – 2nd year Adult Nursing Student

NURSE! NURSE! Is the shout from the curtain,
She doesn’t know I’m a student- of that I am certain,

I may not be at the forefront of clinical decision,
But I happened to be there, in her line of vision,

My patient is 90, scared and alone,
She keeps asking: Nurse, nurse, when am I going home?

I sit with her a while, trying to soothe her to sleep,
It’s 3 AM and I am dead on my feet,

She doesn’t understand why she is here,
The dementia has made everything so unclear,

She’s had an accident- the bed’s all wet…
There, there, I say please don’t fret,

Back into bed all clean and dry,
She smiles and whispers “thank you” with a tear in her eye,

Only 4 hours left of this awfully long night,
My mind can’t stop thinking of the assignments I’ve still left to write,

A new day on placement, there’s so much to learn,
Do this and that and that again- I have no time to earn,

Do those jobs, wash this patient,
Don’t think for a minute about becoming complacent,

Because we are watching you, marking you, testing your skills.
Never mind your own worries about paying your bills,

Mr Osborne why can’t you see,
This isn’t like every other degree,

I hold the hands of the sick and dying,
Soon to comfort those left sobbing and crying,

Who will be there in their hour of need?
Or when there’s not enough staff to help someone feed?
I will

Who will be there in the early hours?
Or to assist 8 patients with their daily showers?
I will

Who will be there to clean up the mess?
Or simply make a tea for someone in distress?
I will

Please Mr Osborne why can’t you see,
For all the above it will be me,

I’m exhausted, stressed and emotionally broken,
But day after day they have my devotion,

For I am a student nurse and I care,
I am a student nurse- I will always be there,

I love what I do day in and day out,
Which is why I am here, which is why I will shout,

Mr Osborne please listen to me,
Our future students need that bursary,

It’s not just us nurses but the others too,
We are in this together, begging you,

This is OUR chance we must all unite,
This is OUR future, this is OUR fight!!!!!!