天美传媒

For there,
below the drape,
a landscape,
not a patient, begins to take shape.鈥�

Molly Case鈥檚 poem, 100 Years, celebrates a century of the RCN by weaving key dates from the College鈥檚 history into the story of a nurse witnessing open-heart surgery for the first time.

Molly鈥檚 powerful Congress debut in 2013, when she read Nursing the Nation, brought a standing ovation. That poem, a powerful affirmation of the profession鈥檚 purpose and resilience in the face of many challenges, went on to become an internet hit, with over 380,000 views on YouTube.

Molly was still a student at the time. Three years on and now a cardiac nurse at King鈥檚 College London, she was specially commissioned by the RCN to mark its centenary 鈥� and 100 Years is the result.

鈥淕etting a commission was fantastic,鈥� Molly said. 鈥淭he RCN allowed me to explore 100 years how I wanted. So I started telling the story in a raconteur style, seeing it through the nurse鈥檚 eyes while peppering it with milestones from the RCN鈥檚 history.鈥�

Those milestones include the First World War, the College鈥檚 new Library of Nursing, opened in 1945, and the 1981 pay campaign: 鈥樷��a siege of voices and thousands of marching feet鈥︹��