I’m a bit cheesed off with nursing at the moment. My last few agency shifts have left me feeling deflated, like I was just going through the motions and ticking all the boxes on the endless paperwork, just waiting for my shift to end. Nothing is challenging me anymore. I feel stuck.  I met up with some of my mates from nurse training this week in our usual haunt and, as always, we got onto the subject of work. We always do this and it gets to be a bit of a ‘who’s got the biggest balls’ competition - honestly, if I said I had a pet elephant, one of them would say they had a box to put it in.  So, I turned up dressed to kill in my usual sloppy jumper and even sloppier jeans. I’ve been toying with the idea of buying a pair of those skinny jeans but can’t quite get my head round skinny anything in a size 16, and anyway, I don’t want to look like the pet elephant if you get my drift. I digress.  They were all there waiting for me and drinking cocktails that resembled th...

Why the hell did I agree to do the night shift at the Sunshine Nursing Home? The only night shift I usually do finishes at the kebab house with a massive student special with extra chilli sauce.  Charisma from the Nursing Agency rang me at 4pm, just as I was about to settle into a very comfortable afternoon watching Tipping Point and dunking choc chip cookies in my builder’s tea. Apparently it was urgent and the manager at Sunshine Nursing Home had asked for me in person. Flattery will get you everywhere and before I knew it and against my better judgement, I said yes.  That was it. My comfortable afternoon was over. I had been booked in for the night.  I arrived bright and early at the home, and it was a very different feeling coming in of an evening. It was a bit weird seeing all the residents in their night clothes and getting ready for bed. I couldn’t believe how chilled it all was; everyone was quiet and the staff served hot chocolate and other drinks for t...