These are two of my poems describing nursing experiences. The first portrays interaction with a patient who consistently said, "It don't matter." It traces the development of the relationship and its influence on self-care, culminating in the revelation that the caring of the nurse and staff motivated him to continue living. The second poem confronts the question of the efficacy of the nurse-client relationship with psychiatric patients, posed by a student. It is ultimately answered by a patient stating what I said to him twelve years before.
In relation to selection criteria, this poetry is:
*Significant to nursing practice and education, demonstrating the value of the nurse's role in direct care and in patient relationships. *Appropriate to convention theme. In "Nurses Matter," using the patient's own language rather than correcting it helps us visualize and appreciate him as he is, suggesting we are different but definately connecting. Although not mentioned in the poems, he was an older African American; the patient in the second poem was a Jewish student admitted Christmas eve believing he was Christ. *Scholarly merit. Both poems were read at statewide nursing conferences; one was published in a nursing graduation bulletin. *Aesthetic expression. "Nurses Matter" is holistic, reflecting physical care, education, support, connectedness, mutuality of caring, and the power of validating the worth of all patients. Both poems are "outcome-oriented," demonstrating the significance of the relationship. In one, the patient was targeted; the other offers a serendipitous validation of our impact even when unknown to us.
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