How many times have you heard someone say “pain is what the patient says it is”? I have heard this a lot of late, so much so that I am beginning to question it’s credibility. It was in 1968, over 50 years ago, that McCaffrey defined pain as “it’s whatever the experiencing person says it…
Category: Personal reflections
2020 – A year for us (take 2!)
This time last year I wrote a blog called “2020 .. a year for us!” in which I shared my hopes for the year of the nurse and midwife, I wrote: “What a time and opportunity to reset and think again …. 2020 year of the nurse. What better time for me as a nurse…
The Nursiest Nurse
Think of the Nursiest Nurse you know … you know the one … the one who we all want to be like, the Nurse who is knowledgeable, confident, courageous, and is the best Nurse you have ever met. Now imagine that Nurse tells you that they want to leave nursing … this is what happened…
I don’t care about the rules
Every so often I write a very personal reflection and this blog certainly meets that criteria … this is a blog about something that is immensely important to me. As a mum of three children with dyslexia and the wife of someone with dyslexia and having dyslexia myself life can be exhilarating and frustrating in…
The code and me!
One of the great things about being involved in WeCommunities is the fantastic student leaders we have had join us over the years. Students tend to get involved with “We” and help lead the communities for a short amount of time … but boy do that have a huge impact. The other day I was…
It’s not easy being green
The problem with single use plastic is something that has been infiltrating our news streams, our Twitter stream, the radio and the old telly box and it’s something that as a mum, a nurse and a human being on planet earth that has given me cause to question how I use plastic. Did you know:…
Life, Death & Daddy Long Legs
Yesterday I went to a funeral of a childhood friends mum, I hadn’t seen her in a while but my friend reached out to me and I felt that I should go. Someone once said to me that funerals are for the living not for those who have died and it’s very true as I…
Looking after ….us !
Last week I spent a day at the Chief Nursing Officer for England’s Annual Conference (#TeamCNO) and whilst tweeting in the lead up to the conference I challenged Sam Sherrington and Kath Evans to write a blog about one thing that resonated with them during the conference. Kath has already written her blog post HERE…
Kindly disagreeing
I have spent quite a while thinking about this blog post, it’s a tricky one to write as finding the right words is important. I love social media and I love nursing …. but there is a huge negative to being an active and vocal nurse on social media in that sooner or later someone…
The wonder of social media
Over the last week or so I have been carefully constructing a blog around unkindness in social media spaces …. this is not that blog …. but I am telling you this, dear reader, because it gives a little context. The reason I have been constructing a blog around unkindness is because I have seen…