A leap year time to refresh

 I’m writing now after a period of finding it difficult to keep up the blog following mum’s death in late 2022. I have found myself wondering where time has gone as two Christmas times have gone by since then. Now is a time to try again, in doing so I want to update you with news of change.

I am getting closer to relinquishing my registration as a nurse. It was approximately 46 years ago I eventually decided working in shops, offices, and potentially being an accountant were not for me. I’d already thought about nursing and delayed starting training by about a year. The pressure to go to night school to take up accountancy from my BBC boss led me to re-apply for nurse training.

Now I have given up direct nursing and managerial roles I plan to retire from my paid role in the health sector. The recent opportunities to make a difference have come in a variety of ways. I’ve seen a young, committed person develop into a nurse enjoying working in palliative care. Not the first I’ve seen; they have worked so hard on the long route to registration giving me hope for nursing’s future. I’ve seen services develop around @AnneRobsonTrust Butterfly volunteers being with the dying in our Acute trust. I’d started negotiations over this before the pandemic. So glad it’s come to fruition. My time as a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian @NatGuardianFTSU has also been one of developing the space in which people can come forward to tell their stories, as well as influence the Trust to invest further in the role in the coming year. It has been a valuable time personally too.

So, come the end of March 2024 I will no longer be a Registered Nurse. It feels the time is right to let go and step back. I want to use my energy in other ways though not all clearly defined yet. One change will be the end of @PhilBallRN on X (Twitter) as I’ll keep up with @philipraball where I can still comment and share without misleading anyone. Feel free to switch by the end of March or stop following as you wish. My other social media channels are not likely to alter if you follow them.

Thank you to followers of @PhilBallRN – there have been chats and sharing of some awesome experiences. It’s been a place where friendships have been forged, mainly through @WeNurses and associated communities. Whilst being a retired nurse sounds old, I don’t feel that way, and I’d like you to feel free to keep in touch as I want to keep learning, laughing, and loving what I do. And it will help me with fresh blog ideas too.

 

My last International Nurses Day 2023

 

It’s International Nurses Day, 2023

It is a sudden watershed for me. Since December last year I have not been in a nursing role, as I now work part time as a Freedom To Speak Up Guardian. A role that is not without challenges it has its positives too. It often feels like I’m nursing the Acute trust I work in.

This piece is more about me and Nursing. It started in the late 1970’s when I had tried different kinds of work, (shops and offices) and needed to find something I thought I could stick at. The initial enquiry about nursing arose form a suggestion by a lady called Eileen I worked with in a catering job. By the time commuting to an office at the BBC[1] began to pall, I applied for a training place and was given an interview. Accepted, by both parties my training started in 1978. My learning has not stopped since.

Early on I recognised the Nursing was a ‘home’ for me, and that I might be able to stick at it in the long term. Working with those near the end of their lives appealed and that was the focus of my career for the last 30 or so years of it, in hospitals and hospices.

I’ve met all sorts of interesting people, in a variety of places, from Richmond House to Kemerovo in Siberia and South Africa. And even now it’s a joy to meet new people and later today I’ll be meeting student nurses to tell them about Freedom To Speak Up.

I have decided though that I will not renew my registration as a Registered nurse when it is due for renewal next. Nursing has been a great place to be and is something I remain interested in. With other calls on my time, I want to be able to give attention to family and friends as well as myself.

I pass on to anyone new to anyone new to nursing the one thing I have learnt over my career is to look after oneself. Physical – your feet and back, mentally – recognising depression for example, and spiritually keeping eyes open to opportunities for joy.

Enjoy IND 2023 and give thanks for those who have nursed before us, trained us, developed us and who are going into nursing now.

[1] With Eurovision fever high at present, whilst at the BBC I got to bump into ABBA in the door at Broadcasting House whilst at the height of their fame.

D93 #100WorkingDays The next generation

 I have been conscious that a new generation of professionals are coming along who want to explore their chosen specialities. They bring fresh ideas such as new drugs and therapies. It is exciting to see the enthusiasm and inquisitive nature through the work of places like the Cicely Saunders Institute. I am sure the lantern model of nursing developed at St Christopher’s is another example of new ways of thinking that will influence the future.

At work we have an opportunity to help develop the future when we host students and share our experiences, knowledge, and expertise. At the same time these students are facing real challenges in terms of the financial situation they get into. The system of loans and bursaries places a burden that I was fortunate to avoid. On the day of the first big strike called by the Royal College of Nursing I am reminded of my good fortune to be paid a salary whilst training. I do wonder though if my generation of nurses - that’s those who started as an SRN or SEN were not courageous enough to take on governments about pay and conditions. Did our Unions let us down? 

I understand the strength of feeling about the calls for the strike not being not just about pay. I’ve been in my current role about 4.5 years and the capacity of the care system (that’s NHS, Social care and Independent charities) to cope with the demands has reduced dramatically. Staffing levels are under pressure creating a further strain on all parts of the system. It’s going to be the next generation who will need to find solutions for the problems we face. And that’s important to me as I become more likely to use more of the care system by reason of my age. My grandson will need a care system that will enable him to grow and develop without fear of serious illness or disease impacting his life. And this is a wish common to all parents and grandparents. Ensuring that legacy is still part of my responsibility.