It has been a long time since I 'put pen to paper' (so to speak)...truth is, I am so slow at doing what little I can, that I just couldn't face starting what is in fact a herculean task. Sorry for myself? Yes!
Not that I've been short of opinions!
Some time ago, I was horrified by the news of the suggestion that nursing students should first spend a year on the wards doing basic tasks. My horror was not at the suggestion itself, but that it needed to be made in the first place! Admittedly, it is a long time since I trained as a nurse, and I am aware of the possibility of looking back with rose-tinted spectacles, but I remain convinced that nothing beats learning 'on the job'. My recent experience of being on the receiving-end of nursing-care have proved to me (if proof were needed) that possession of a University degree in nursing is no guarantee of making a good nurse. 'Basic Nursing Care' (such things as help with eating, drinking and keeping clean) does not change down the years: and it is this that, according to many current criticisms, has 'fallen by the wayside'. It isn't glamorous, but Nursing, without it, cannot be true nursing. I do not believe that it can be treated as an academic subject; only bits of it can be taught, though it can be developed and the foundations built upon. Careful selection is imperative; I maintain that many are 'slipping through the net' because they don't have the qualifications for a degree-course, while totally unsuitable people undergo nurse-training because they do. The majority of kind and caring 'nurses' (some qualified, some not) I encountered while I was a patient, did not have a degree.
I could bash on about this endlessly, and doubtless the debate will continue ...
So, now that I am on the receiving-end and my disabilities make me so vulnerable, the basic kindness and care are spotlighted, and have become increasingly vital.
...Even when life is hard, and things are getting me down, some subjects still get me 'hot under the collar' !...
