Gordon you shimmering old fish raging raging against that inevitable tide   Though I explained as you strained to let loose through the catheter “I bloody know what it’s there for… but why don’t YOU listen!”   Crude conniving cantankerous pale as a ghost frightened as all hell of that withering of control   Your […]

A Poem for Nurses, That’s what you see. A poem for the community, Where stories are free.   This poem, is a poem, Both short and succinct. Without names or identities, No clues to be inked.   Care in the community, Is our career aim. It’s diverse, eclectic, With people, none the same.   Their […]

On top of the bed lies a frail form A little old lady wrinkled and worn Wide eyed and frightened her bewildered gaze Stared up at me through a shadowed haze.   Around and about us confusion is rife As Doctors and Nurses fight for her life Surrounded by gadgets, science to prove Suffering in […]

I remember as a very junior nurse in the early 1970s being very embarrassed about asking a patient if they had “opened their bowels” , ” used their bowels” , “gone to the toilet” , ” had a poo ” , ” evacuated their bowel” ….which was an all important question we were obliged to […]

It was September 1998 and a beautiful day in Sydney. The sun was shining and it seemed a perfect day to be singing at a wedding. Nothing out of the ordinary about this wedding. Lovely back drop of Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Bride and Groom were very happy. I didn’t know either of them but […]

The baby cried, and Annabel smiled A new life has just been born And tears of joy were wiped away While the pain was all but gone Annabel blessed the little bundle And placed him in his crib Then offered the new mum something to eat After removing her running drip   Down the corridor […]

RN training doesn’t prepare you for everything! I thought my nursing training was very comprehensive. I trained in a large teaching hospital at the time of 12 week stints on general wards, set modules and clinical time in each speciality, with the emphasis on teamwork, patient care and academic study. After a variety of nursing […]

I’d like to talk about power and humility. These two words for me are the drivers of Mental Health Nursing. Power and Humility encapsulate the test of our understanding of established principles of hope, nurture and empowerment of individuals in our care. Perhaps like no other specialty, power and humility converge in Mental Health Nursing […]