Tahira Dawoodji is a Research Nurse in the Inpatient Research Delivery Team at Salford.
“I’m just the nurse, it’s what I say when people ask. I should say I came into the profession because I wanted to care and look after patients or have an inspirational backstory about finding my calling. The truth is I was 22 and I needed to pay my rent, the third page of the Uni prospectus was nursing, I’d never been a patient person but I’d seen ‘Call the Midwife’ and thought “yeah I can do that, save the day and round off the evening with tea and cake”.
“I never realised I was pushing forward into a career where I’d reach people who would be otherwise isolated from care or that my suspicions and doubts could safeguard those who were on the edge of breaking point because … I’m just the nurse.
!I never thought I’d be the voice for those who had been silenced for so long … because I’m just the nurse.
“I’m still fighting for all those who need me even when they say … I’m just the nurse.
“Everybody clapped during lockdown – I wanted to cheer for all those patients who had shaped me into the person I am today, people during my career who have given me the strength to keep going even when I wasn’t so sure myself.
“I’ll point you in the right direction when you’re looking lost in the corridor … because I’m just the nurse.
I’ll smile when I meet you at all your appointments, let you hold my hand even tighter during those difficult procedures … because I’m just the nurse.
“When all is said and done, I’ll contact your relatives for you … because I’m just the nurse.
“Mask up, gloves on, apron donned I’ll be here to take the load, ease the pressure make the difficult days a little easier …because I’m just the nurse.”