I attended an inaugural lecture by my supervisor, Professor Bridget Johnston. Having just started my PhD I was so pleased to have had the opportunity at the beginning of my course to see Professor Johnston speak about her life, career and research.
Professor Johnston began by giving us an insight in why she became a nurse and followed this up with her personal life and introducing her family. As nurses, we are always so professional, it is nice to know the personal lives of one another as well: Nurses are also humans! So, I will tell you the reason why I became a nurse:
I have a brother who is a year older than myself. Growing up, I always looked up to him and naturally (as the younger sibling), I would always try and spend time with him - as apparently, he was the 'cooler' one. He always told me he thought I’d make a great nurse. A couple years on, my younger brother got admitted to hospital for Pneumonia and this was the first time I had been in a hospital setting and saw nurses at work. I remember thinking 'wow, do they ever sit down'... However, I also remember how touched I was by how kind and well they were looking after my brother. At this point, I decided I wanted to do this and be there for people the way they were for my brother. Nursing was always a career path I had in mind, but it wasn't until a personal experience happened that I took the plunge to do it and it is now something I would never look back on. I cannot imagine myself in any other career and I have my big brother to thank for seeing it in me.
Back to the topic! In hospitals, nurses can be so run down with work and so busy that it can sometimes be difficult to find time to know their patients on a personal level. Even a smile or a 'how are you', can make someone’s day and shows them that you are not just there to do your job, you are there for them. A diagram was shown that represented the nurses and patients’ perceptions of an expert nurse in palliative care (Johnston, 2002). They divided into five categories:
Personal Characteristics: Warmth, compassion, sense of humour
Relationship with patient: Knows me as a person, spends time with patient
Knowledge: Knowledge of pain and symptom control, personal and professional experience
Good Communication Skills: Listening and someone to talk to
Providing Comfort: Knowing the patient’s needs, attention to details.
This was developed by Professor Bridget Johnston and is a great indicator of the expert palliative care nurse.
This lecture was eye opening to the possibilities we have as nurses to impact health care. Also, to having a great and inspiring role model who I am very pleased to call my supervisor.
