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Came across this - the most interesting bit for me highlighted in red below Proud to be a nurseNursing and midwifery students, the professional workforce of the future, are our most precious asset. Recently, attending a graduation ceremony, I had a grandstand view of a batch of confident, lively new practitioners – revelling in the opportunity to celebrate their hard-won success, and cheered to the rafters by their proud families and friends. Bling and killer heels topped by mortar boards were the fashion statement of the day!I was there to receive an honorary doctorate of science from Kingston University and St George’s, University of London, gowned and crowned with the interesting headgear in the photo. If you had told me, when I started my career in nursing, that I would ever stand on a platform in the Royal Festival Hall in such grand robes to receive such an honour, or even that such an honour was possible for a nurse, I would never have believed you.Mind you, when I went into nursing I had no real idea of the amazing opportunities and experiences it would bring. I did have an idea that I wanted to help people, and I knew from bitter experience the key role that nurses play at crisis points in people’s lives. I knew I was entering a noble calling. Of all the unusual and challenging things I’ve done, nothing has ever been as difficult as hands-on nursing. It’s one of most challenging and complex of all jobs. We should ban the phrase ‘I’m only a nurse,’ and say instead, ‘I’m proud to be a nurse.’As a practitioner you draw on a massive range of skills, knowledge and experience, and on your values of altruism and social justice, to do the very best you can at that particular moment for that particular patient. You pay a heavy price for your commitment – the work can be physically exhausting, stressful and emotionally draining. You often work lots of unpaid overtime and skip your breaks to get the work done. Then you get home, turn on the TV and see yet another news story complaining about poor care. Our best, it seems, often falls short. The wonder is not why so many people leave our professions, but why so many stay.To be a good nurse requires a rare combination of head, hands and heart. While this seems obvious, many people still think nursing should not be a degree-level profession. They talk about the need for compassion as though it can be separated from skill and critical thinking, and as though developing your knowledge and intellect diminishes your capacity for kindness. Of course we all want to be treated with compassion – but it may cause harm when it is allied with ignorance. Ignorance in healthcare is the antithesis of bliss.Today’s new graduates are ideally placed to challenge these outdated prejudices and tired stereotypes. I hope those wonderful people who paraded past me at the Royal Festival Hall enjoy their first steps on their career path, even when their killer heels are back in the cupboard. ******************************** Please remove this footer before replying. OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH