From the moment I first walked onto a hospital ward I just beamed from the inside out. I had found where I belonged.

It is hard to describe to non-nursing folk what it really means to nurse. A bulk of society believe we wipe bottoms, give needles and make beds but these are the tasks I barely notice myself doing.

Being a nurse is the most privileged profession I can think of:

• To care for others too unwell to care for themselves, to wipe that bottom and keep their dignity intact.
• To not judge the alcoholic who has destroyed their own liver and yet still cannot stop drinking, but to hold them, respect them, comfort and nurture them.
• To value and cherish the elderly who have dementia and can no longer remember who they are let alone where they are.
• To hold a hand, stroke the brow and whisper words of affirmation and love to another human being as they take their final breath on this earth.

Each one of these moments is exquisite and real and a reminder of what a privilege nursing is and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Every day I get to go home and know I made a positive difference to someone else’s day. It doesn’t get much better than that.