UCC SONM 25 Year Book

UCC / School of Nursing and Midwifery

I am a Nurse

Student Perspective

Four years ago we walked through the door, Open minded and ready to explore. We were excited to begin our new journey, And that is the start of this story.

This is a poem authored by a fourth-year intellectual disability nursing student Laura Jane O’ Donovan. The poem reflects her experiences during the programme.

We met our class and started making friends, Hoping and praying they would last till the end. We stayed quiet not wanting to be a trouble maker, But really thinking ‘Oh please not another ice breaker?’ Before long the lectures began, 4 to 6 on a Friday evening? I was not a fan. Sometimes we couldn’t make it and it felt like a sin, Saying to a friend ‘c’mere will you swipe me in?’. Before we knew it exam timetables were printed, After 3 hour MCQs, out that door we sprinted. Anatomy, physiology it was all so new, Leadership and pharmacology to name a few. Late nights studying without any sleep, Straight into 9 a.m. lectures counting sheep. Articles, assignments, referencing Harvard style, Dropping it in the box at G03 with a smile. Manual handling, fire training and so much more, Learning about things we had never heard of before. Blood pressure, pulse, temperature and respirations, All of this was giving me heart palpitations. The Bristol stool chart that nobody else understands, And who knew there were so many steps to washing your hands. Lunch breaks were spent in Brookfield canteen, Chatting, laughing and getting our daily dose of caffeine. Then trying our uniforms on for the very first time, And looking in the mirror thinking wow don’t I look fine? The vital signs we began to learn, Each one of us taking our turn.

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