Nursing in Society.
Nurses become nurses to make a ‘fundamental difference in the lives of others’ regardless of their field or branch of Nursing, this is I feel and hope a universal truth. In a time of uncertainty and one which has brought such disruption to the lives of everyone, disruption which has caused such loss on so many levels the need for compassionate Nursing has never been more important. At such a time what do we think people want from their Nurses, well the pandemic has not changed what patients want, they want them to care and be at heart human and humane. They want their Nurse to connect with them and to put them first. Patients want a high standard of care and they want and deserve convenient access to that care. Can we say Nurses want anything different? Well unsurprisingly Nurses want many of the same things as their patients, to offer comfort and assistance and to be there when they are needed most. They want to have closer contact with their patients and deliver high quality excellent care. They want to be a role model for others, and they want to learn to continue to move the profession forward, and in that way, to always make that difference.
What do we mean by good care or good Nursing?
We can consider several core elements.
- A person-centred philosophy which considers the physical, psychological, and emotional needs of the patient and those who care and support them.
- Humanity and compassion coupled with effectiveness and efficiency.
- Safe effective and timely care.
- Support and advocacy for the patient and their carers.
- Effective teamwork to create seamless pathways of care for the patient (Mabel and Griffiths, 2008).
Is this possible in the current climate?
We know Nursing has been taxed, services have been reduced and at times decisions have had to be made by Nurses that they would perhaps not have normally considered. This has brought the concept of moral injury to the forefront of the conversation about health care delivery. We must remember to ask, however, have we as a profession stayed true to that fundamental truth ‘to make a difference in the lives of others’? We as a profession can I feel, hold high our heads and say yes, this truth has not been tarnished we have been resolute in our mission to make that difference. Can we say this has been any different in Mental Health Nursing? Again, services have been reduced, in some cases closed, work has been conducted at a distance and with PPE. Many services have moved rapidly to online provision, a difficulty as patients with mental health problems are often among the most socio-economically marginalised in society, often having difficulty accessing and using technology. Again, can we say we have strayed from our core truth? As with all other fields of Nursing the answer is no, we have not strayed from that core truth, rather we have adapted our practice precisely in order to continue to ‘make that difference in the lives of others’.
Making a difference in the days and months to come.
Mental Health Nurses as the weeks and months go by will need to step forward, those individuals with an already pre-existing Mental Health condition will likely need assistance as lock down eases and the pandemic becomes a thing of the past and not the present. Those who have suffered during isolation both young and old and all those in-between are likely to be vulnerable to experiencing common mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. There will be those impacted due to the lose of loved ones and those suffering from the variety of mental health conditions as a result of contracting COVID such as depression, anxiety and trauma related conditions. Also, of course there will be those individuals who staffed all the various ‘front’ lines including our Nursing, Medical and AHP colleagues who when they stop and take stock will need the support, and expert psychological treatment that a Mental Health nurse and multidisciplinary Team are uniquely qualified to provide. Above all we as Nurses will all continue to make a difference in the lives of others.