The joy of the bedpan, of course it can not be the nurses fan,
But for the child, woman or man,
It certainly has its place,
When after its use it brings a smile to the users face.
Gone is that day
of that cold, silver, metal pan
Patients sticking and not wanting to lay,
Replaced by a green plastic style
Much softer wouldn’t you say?
Incontinence, frequency
Bedpans and urinals are a part of our day,
With gastro and diarrhoea
Do not leave them too far away.
The joy of the bedpan is not all that the nurse has to give,
There are the stories that the elderly would like to re-live.
The child also has his story
And the nurse marvels at the glory,
Of each telling, regardless of age,
And is grateful, as it is like turning a page,
As each patient has their say,
This is how we spend our day.
The nurse has the opportunity to work in various wards,
Different specialties from orthopaedics to neurology, a sense of moving forwards.
There are many illnesses and operations to learn about
And if in any doubt,
There is always someone to ask
In order to complete the task.
Due to the many different people that the nurse meets,
Not only patients but colleagues that we greet,
Each day there is a variety,
Of people in our society.
Who we talk to and learn more
About the different ways that people think and do things, be the rich or poor.
With the different nationalities in the world, that covers many shores,
We learn more about their customs and cultures.
Then there are the practical side of things,
Meanwhile hopefully the pan is not getting any dings,
There is the variety of drains be it a vac or a chest,
We are always striving to do our best.
There might be the child who is needing her antibiotic,
While another nurse is attending to a patient with a walking stick.
There is the man who is asking for his dentures so that he can eat,
Another lady who is in rehab and yearning for her seat.
In this era of computers,
It helps us out as it has a calculator,
As we work out the medication as it is in milligrams
Then also we learn about the many programmes.
Some of the areas use the computer to make notes and assess,
And then give details of the patients progress.
In the life of the nurse and different shifts,
That gets talked about as much as the pan and the lifts,
We all wonder at ways to stay positive during the night,
At times we yearn to see the light.
But then we think of the ease of parking the car,
And the times when the patient thinks that we are a star.
Take a look at how far we have come,
Veils are a thing of the past for some,
Machines to count drops and pumps to deliver,
Whatever the change, I’ll love nursing forever.
