Oh (Dear) Matron

Tulips and the winter moon: beautiful things I have seen this week

What makes a good nurse?

Best ask someone who has been on the receiving end for decades, so with his prior consent, I will quote my neighbour on the ward having formed a connection as you do where there is shared distress (empathy) & basic needs are being met:

“A quality nurse knows your needs before being asked”

(Mark: 2013)

In thinking about this post to the blog, I was taken back almost thirty years to my time as a trainee then staff nurse on a busy surgical ward, trying to manage the night shift in high bed occupancy North London General Hospital. Where I struggled to cope with balancing the demands of the increasing:

i)                 Technical aspects

ii)                Managerial aspects of the role/shift that had been insidiously, then relentlessly introduced since I started my training (in 1983 prior to the introduction of Project 2000 in 1986 the year I qualified and began practicing which probably revolutionised training & nursing at this time in its history)

iii)               Trying to meet the basic care needs (ADLs) of the highly dependent post operative patients who I felt responsible for.

I wrote to the Nursing Times about my dilemma, & though I did not give details of my place of work, I was duly hauled in by the ‘matron’ who told me about how in “in our day, we rolled up our sleeves and got on with it”.

At the time, I felt as if my distress was ignored and left invalidated. Feeling inadequate and uncared for, I promptly sought support  elsewhere and found  a group (the ‘Radical Nurses’ which I think  had set up in the early  1980’s  culminating in the “Defend the NHS”:March & rally on the 22^nd September 1982 with an estimated 120.000 taking part). This group I joined, which happened to meet locally where I was living at the time. I continued as a staff nurse (general) as my colleagues were fantastic nurses, dynamic, professional & caring

 ‘Oh dear matron’. [All current Nurse Leadership)

I do wonder whether this struggle has continued throughout the last three decades and currenly continues for others.If so, what are its consequences and hope to explore and stimulate debate via the blog. I am interested in exploring a number of themes
1) What are  the core nursing roles and how do we balance our core roles with ever increasing expectations increasing managerial/technical (medical)procedures demanded/expected of the profession?
2) Does the current reward/progress/advancement arrangements favor managerial/technical over core nursing care?
3) Is this this future and are new recruits keen for this?
       

What is nursing and what makes a good nurse

·        Nursing Values

·        Nurse Theories

·        Nursing Models

·        Supervision for Nursing

·        The Nursing Process

·        Valuing  rewarding, nurses
I would like to stimulate a parallel discussion within Mental health Nursing
i 

Please leave your thoughts below!

NH 17/1/2013