The Standard of Nursing & Russell watch

 As I planted out broad beans this afternoon, I listened with interest to London Talk Radio's Julia Hartley-Brewer. She was endeavouring to discuss the standards of the modern UK nurse, which I thought was interesting given the number of non UK nurses presently practicing in London..However I digress...
Much of the conversation was given over to the age old debate of bedside nursing versus degree nursing which I am sure makes interesting radio time (especially once the horror stories of "bright nurses" refusing to wipe an arse or a snottynose started to surface) but personally I feel that the presenter and the general public failed to touch upon why nurses are perhaps not viewed as they once was.
Ok alot of people's perceptions and expectations of nurses in this modern day and out dated nhs ,I feel are a little unrealistic at times. Three trained nurses and a couple of health care workers cannot hope to work miracles on a 32 bedded orthopaedic ward on theatre day without looking as though they have been ravaged constantly by an over zealous house officer......but there is an expectation by everyone that they indeed look as though they are a cross between Audrey Hepburn in The Nun's Story and Mary Poppins.

Having said this, I have been witness to some atrocious behaviour from nurses that will inevitably let the side down despite the emphasis of top heavy nursing qualifications nowadays.
Sloppy communication skills, lack of personal grooming, and moreover a kind of modern day informality are just three things that I feel fuck up nursing standards today......In the acute sector nurses are not everyone's mate....and they are not,(in my mind) autonomous professionals that don't have to think about "old fashioned but necessary professionalism.......and what I mean by professionalism is that they need to "look" disciplined

Today many nurses look sloppy...this goes hand in hand with a more liberal and relaxed attitude to everything from shop service to being given your tea and bun in a cafe.........yes we are churning out bright young things that hopefully will question their practice but are we instilling in our nurses a discipline and professionalism required and wanted by the patients?

I would say no to this.......and believe me, my nursing career comes from a rehabilitation perspective where a relaxed and non conforming approach to nursing care was not only encouraged but vital to get our young patients through hospital; yet I still think that we can learn a few lessons from the starch and terror days of pre project 2000 nursing.

Funnily enough I was reading Cro's Blog today. He had written an interesting and amusing piece about his mother who was a red cross nurse. It reminded me of a story I was told by a patient of mine in York who described an incident when he was a child in war torn Singapore.
He told me that when the Japanese pushed forward to surround the city, there was a general call to evacuate the European population. and the civilians and nursing sisters where lined up on the dock sides ready to be placed upon the few ships destined for Australia.
I remember how he described the scene when bombers attacked the city and how the Europeans dived to cover as the planes strafed the harbour. Only the army nurses in their clean white uniforms, starched hats and capes stood their ground in two stiff lines as the planes roared over...and the sight of them (all young girls in their 20s) rallied the panic of the civilians on the dockside.

Now I tell you this story, not that I am expecting nurses in a district general to provide to act with such unblinking (and to some foolhardy) old fashioned military stiffness...no ,of course I am not, but I do think there is a place for a more precise,less relaxed professionalism amongst nurses as a whole.....a little strach in everything wouldn't hurt..........
We need the informed and the bright degree nurses, oh yes of course we do....we need nurses that think outside of the box.....we also need those bedside nurses that can wipe a brow and hold a hand and wipe an arse......can we please have a nursing profession that perhaps will also look as though they could snap to attention (straighten their aprons-just a little please) when matron comes a clip clopping around the ward.................or am I an old fashioned prissy fart?

Russell (centre) with Winnie (left) and Jo (right)

Anyhow........enough already...
When I have been outside in the lovely sunshine, I have kept an eye out for newbie Russell the goose. He looks happy enough. slightly battered by his previous bullying gander ( various feathers pulled and broken) but generally he's a handsome chap indeed.........
The girls seemed to have somewhat shyly accepted him.....so far!