Book description
Joan Woodcock always dreamed of becoming a nurse. And in 1966 the dream
came true. From her very first day as a naive sixteen-year-old cadet,
standing nervously outside the matron's office, this is Joan's story of
an eventful career spanning over forty years in NHS nursing. Working on
hospital wards, casualty units and out in the community, as well as
stints in a prison and a police unit dealing with sexual assault, Joan
has seen it all. In this moving memoir she gives an honest, revealing
account of a challenging, unpredictable and ultimately rewarding life in
nursing. From an early encounter with a horrific axe injury, to the
patient who swallowed their suppositories, to daily dealings with
difficult patients and all kinds of bodily fluids, Joan shares memories
of laughter and tragedy, and of the now defunct matron system that at
one time instilled nurses with such high standards of professionalism
and patient care. Joan Woodcock was born and brought up in Blackburn,
Lancashire, to hard-pressed working class parents. Hospitalisation at
the young age of four inspired her to become a nurse, and at 16 she
started as a cadet nurse, before beginning formal nurse training two
years later under the traditional matron system. Despite the strict
discipline and harsh training regime, Joan qualified as a State
Registered Nurse in 1971. Her career spanned 41 years, and included
positions in hospital casualty departments, GP practices, the prison
service, Marie Curie cancer care homes and in the Sexual Assault
Forensic Examination Centre for Lancashire Police - as well as a brief
moment of fame on national TV. Joan took early retirement in 2008 to
spend more time with her family and her beloved pet spaniel Gino.
