Blogs

From Crisis to Crisis

Roger Watson, Professor of Nursing at the University of Hull, shares his views on the problem of retaining nurses in todays staffing crisis. Cast your mind back to a time when there was not a crisis in UK nursing…still thinking? If you were unable to recall such a time then neither was I, and I have been involved in nursing for over 40 years. We never have enough nurses in clinical practice and, whatever we do, nothing seems to work. There was a period in the 2000s when we recruited enormous numbers to university programmes (the ‘boom’) , until that proved too expensive and the government decided we could no longer sustain it (the ‘bust’) thus going, in the ...
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As 2019 comes to a close, nursing students across the UK will be moving forward in their chosen career. Many will be in their final few months of their training, whilst others will have just embarked on their three-year journey. Whichever stage of their training student nurses are at, they have entered perhaps one of the most challenging and yet exciting times in recent nursing history. New nursing standards, within the UK, are replacing old, global nursing is high on the agenda and 2020 has been declared the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife by the World Health Organisation. The nursing profession has much to celebrate. There is now strong evidence to indicate ...
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On 6 th November 2019 I presented my work on the Importance of Narrative in Nursing at the Phi Mu Chapter, Northern Hub meeting at Manchester Royal Infirmary. My presentation began with a short précis of the novel ‘The Death of Ivan Ilych” by Leo Tolstoy, which told the story of a man who instead of cultivating love, compassion and kindness in his life instead chose to cultivate a life of obsession; of success and of social trappings, and as he is forced to confront his own death, he realises the impact this has had on his family and his own life. Ivan Ilych is fortunate, he is cared for by his peasant servant Gerasim, who above all else, provides care and ...
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Taking on a Taboo

Dr Amy Hunter shares her passion for incontinence research and the valuable support she has received being a member of Phi Mu Chapter. Researching incontinence is a passion, but it’s not one everyone shares. This blog discusses the journey so far in taking on a taboo and how Phi Mu has been instrumental to this. Undertaking research on a topic which might not be perceived as exciting by society or by health professionals comes with challenges. It’s something I learned early on in my PhD journey, when a representative of my funding body couldn’t understand why understanding more about attitudes to continence was fundamental to providing better care. From then ...
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In May this year, the World Health Organization declared 2020 as the year of the nurse and the midwife. This is an amazing opportunity to showcase the wonderful work that nurses do both nationally and internationally and ensure the public recognise what a great contribution we make to nursing care. That’s not all for on 28 th June, a new global initiative was launched; the Nightingale Challenge, which seeks to encourage global employers to provide development opportunities to a group of young nurses and midwives during 2020. Why not ask what your organisation is doing to support this? As a new decade dawns it offers great opportunities for all UK nurses ...
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Transitioning from student to registered nurse can be a daunting experience. Rachel Lichtensztajn.. newly registered nurse reflects on this challenging and very rewarding time in her career. Nothing prepared me for the sheer feeling of terror on that first shift of a busy hospital ward of mixed medical acuity. No longer a student, no longer supernumerary, I was part of the registered nursing team. I was assigned a bay with seven patients, and - in my mind - expected to perform at the same level as the other three nurses who had years of experience behind them. I remember thinking 'I'm not a real nurse, I'm just pretending'. 'Is it written all over me?' ...
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The Value of Writing

Nurses, it is with confidence and a sense of pride that we should aspire to have our voices heard through writing for publication. Gone are the days when the only way to receive recognition was to write in peer reviewed journals. Today in this electronic world of the internet, social media, including blogging and vlogging, to name but a few, we no longer need to be constrained by the limited word count and the often-lengthy wait for peer review. Instead we can free ourselves from the chains that bind us and step into the world of publishing. There are many scholars and academics however who would disagree, and in reality, writing for the peer reviewed high-profile ...
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On 19 th July Dr Kirsten Jack presented her work at a concurrent session at the Sigma: Phi Mu All-England Chapter Annual Conference on the importance of ensuring that as nurse academics we encourage meaningful reflective practice. Being an advocate of reflective practice, I was alarmed when one of our undergraduate nursing students described it as something more commonly associated with cheese. I admired her honesty, she was speaking from the heart, and I knew that she was not the only student who felt this way. Often, reflective templates, a requirement of the undergraduate nursing programme, were left only half written and I knew that many were completed ...
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As a registered nurse and nurse educationalist I realise the true value of mentors who have helped me to gain personal and professional insight, have empowered me to challenge my firmly held perfectionist traits and ultimately enabled me to become a truly reflective practitioner. Mentors can help to expand nursing scholarship. Mentorship provides a unique opportunity to explore and develop positive relationships, work confidently with others and foster links between the art and science of nursing. Quality mentors support the assimilation of learning into professional practice. They are committed to the values and direction of nursing and underpin this through ...
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As we celebrate the 70 th birthday of the NHS, a new campaign has been launched to transform perceptions of nursing and midwifery. The aim of this campaign is not only to raise the profile of nurses and midwives, but also to improve recruitment and retention. ‘Transforming Perceptions of Nursing and Midwifery’ was launched in May by Professor Jane Cummings, the Chief Nursing Officer for England, and includes twelve 30-day challenges to keep the momentum going for a full year. You can register for the challenges here: https://nhs70.crowdicity.com/category/26150 The next challenge is to write a blog, and so I’m using this blogging challenge to celebrate this ...
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Promoting Nursing Scholarship

Having presented at the Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) 4th Biennial European Conference at Anglia Ruskin on 4 th June I can speak personally of the buzz that was all around us and the great opportunity it presented to network. At such events nurses can often feel motivated to take on new roles and maintain new contacts made. Sadly however, as we move back into our everyday lives this commitment can soon fade. So why not make it this year that you do something different. Maintain those contacts, take on that role and support other nurses. One of the key note speeches made by Dr Elizabeth Madigan on the first full day of the conference told of the many ...
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