How will I shape the year of the Nurse (and Midwife!) #NurseBloggers

I came across a tweet this week from ‪@BloggersNurse‬ asking … ‘how will you shape the year of the Nurse?’ What a great challenge!

So here goes…

I’m really excited by the potential of celebrating the year of the nurse and midwife in 2020. It offers an opportunity to demonstrate clearly the contribution nursing brings to the health and wellbeing of society at a global level.

It’ll be my 32nd year of being a nurse in 2020. I started my RGN training in October 1988 in Cardiff and ever since I have been challenged and stimulated by being part of an amazing profession that focuses on serving others, through the provision of competent and compassionate care, supporting individuals, families, and communities in achieving optimal health and quality of life.

My buckle (as was the fashion then) which my parents bought for me when I qualified proudly displayed the Welsh 3 feathers ‘ich dien’ ‘I serve’, it’s a motto that has been a golden thread throughout my career.

One of the things I most enjoy as a nurse is being part of a healthcare team, the variety of people we work with to meet needs is vast, porters, domestics, caterers, admin staff, maintenance staff, scientists, AHPs, medics, managers, the list is endless! Its the collaboration and partnerships with others whilst embracing the nursing contribution to meet people’s needs of all ages, their families/carers and communities that 2020, the year of the nurse celebrates.

Whilst I loved general nursing it became clear that Children’s nursing was my real passion and after 2 years on a general paediatric ward at Cardiff Royal Infirmary, I left for London, to study at the Charles West School of Nursing becoming a Registered Sick Children’s Nurse (RSCN). As a result my nursing career has focused on child health.

So in the year of the Nurse I’m really keen that we amplify and celebrate the contribution nurses make to neonates, children, young people and their families/carers, whether in the community as health visitors, School Nurses, Community Children’s Nurses, Continuing Care Services, Children’s Hospice and respite services, or in mental health settings, in hospital settings in EDs, outpatients, theatres, PICUs, on wards. Nurses who focus on the care of children really are everywhere, serving 25% of the population alongside their families/carers. I am always particularly inspired by the range of Clinical Nurse Specialists who focus on expert care provision to neonates, children and young people with complex and ongoing health needs, including those supporting safeguarding and providing nursing leadership to children who are ‘Looked After’ by local authorities.

So along with many others I’ll be amplifying the contribution of nurses in child health in the year ahead. I’m hoping other Nurses working with Children will share their professional journey in 2020 and inspire others with the amazing difference they make to society.

So I’m asking fellow Nurses who work with Children in all areas of practice to write a blog, it doesn’t need to be long, please share the role you do and why you love it, I’m happy to publish it here on my blog site if you’d like 😉.