I had the pleasure last week of meeting a new group of staff beginning their qualified children’s nursing careers, it made me think about how we shape our professional stories? Together we explored our passion for nursing others, the difference we want to make to Child Health by caring for our tiniest babies, to working in special schools supporting children with complex disabilities to flourish and thrive, to working in safeguarding, in ED, Paediatric Assessment units, to working internationally, supporting mental health and working specifically with young people, the list was endless. The opportunities available to Children’s Nurses to make a difference are phenomenal and the enthusiasm to do so displayed by the team was infectious!
So what are tips that can help us fulfil our dreams to improve child health and grow our contribution throughout our careers?
Taking the time and creating the space to think about the future is worth the investment. I love the idea of creating a vision board, drawing or writing down our goals, exploring the path ahead and what will help along the way. Seeking out inspiration, from people, events, visits, books, podcasts etc can all help broaden our horizons to develop this vision. I chatted about the benefits of social media in expanding our professional connections. Continuing to progress growth in our knowledge through pursing masters and PhD programmes are important as we work to enhance nursing practice, all these opportunities are ours to pursue.
Investing in self care through focusing on wellbeing, nutrition, exercise, sleep and having fun, are all important too, so that we focus on creating balance in our stories, we could call it personal social prescribing! Better to do it prophylactically rather than as a reaction when things go wrong. I love running and having just listened to Ian Mortimer’s @IanJamesFM book ‘Why Running Matters’ on @ukaudible, Ian confirms the importance of running, it offers head space to ponder on things, come up with new ideas and importantly work out solutions as well as ensuring we’re physically and mentally fit for our roles.
Life is of course complex, during our careers there’ll be many ups and downs, yet facing our fears, seeking help and giving help to others too, can support us in succeeding, along with plenty of practice and perseverance! No matter what, we are never alone, someone will have always faced similar challenges, we just need to keep reaching out.
So no matter how far we are through our careers together we can keep finding ways to succeed. Continuing to improve children’s health and wellbeing is a important challenge that needs a diverse and talented workforce, Children’s Nurses have an important contribution to make, so let’s continue to step forward, embrace opportunities and shape the future.
As I was reflecting on this blog @LeighAKendall shared this via twitter, it serves as a great reminder, keep trying, take one step at a time, importantly know you’re never alone.
Kath Evans Connecting 