If we discovered one of our loved ones,
was terminally ill,
I have no doubt we would trade in all we own,
in order to try to save them.
It would be impossible to put a price,
on any of our families lives.
How much is any life worth?
When I was a student nurse.
I worked forty hour weeks,
and was paid £50 per week.
My boyfriend, was a newly qualified accountant.He earned up to £25 an hour.
I loved nursing but,
would be lying if I said this did not bother me!
The value placed on a life,
was made very clear to me,
as I returned to the wards on day duty,
after a difficult week of nights.
My first day back was a Saturday.
My shift was 7.30am until 2.30pm.
I was looking forward to finishing,
as my boyfriend had travelled up to Dublin for the weekend.
Just as I was walking off the ward,
I remembered a message I had forgotten to give a patient.
As I headed up to visit this patient,
for some reason I was drawn to the bathrooms.
There I discovered a gentleman,
who was dressed and waiting for discharge,
collapsed on the floor.
He had had a cardiac arrest.
I began resuscitation,
and the team arrived and worked on him.
It was over an hour later,
when he was finally moved to coronary care,
that I got to go to my waiting boyfriend.
That gentleman went on to make a very good recovery.
But it made me think.
If I had been on duty,
I would have been paid 50p for helping to save his life!
On a lighter note,
I’ve discovered I have a nose for money.
I eventually left that well paid job,
and pursued another more lucrative career,
that of a stay at home mother.
Now I blog.
Maybe someday I’ll also make money writing!
photo credit: _Dinkel_ via photopin cc
photo credit: Amber B McN via photopin cc
I don’t think things have improved much since your nursing days – may be better for those working in private care hospitals but think NHS nurses are still underpaid for the work they do
P.S. if you find a way to make money from blogging, let me know 😆
I dont think I will be in touch anytime soon!