नातिओंल नुर्स्सेस डे

The above title says : 'National Nurses Day' but for some reason the computer changed it into a language I don't recognise. Anyway I will continue and have an argument with the lap-top later.
At the hospital I work in, to celebrate good old Florence Nightingales Birthday on the 12th May, an internal nurses conference was held. I gave a presentation about the storytelling work I have been doing. I ended the presentation by reading something I rather like from the philosopher Henry D. Thoreau (1817 - 1862)
'.....I see this art every time I walk into an environment where a nurse is busy 'creating' the day for an other person. They busy using the light, space, sound words, movement and touch to deliver the message of care. And like true artists they are willing, indeed they see it as essential, to share their performance with others.
It is something to be able to paint a picture, or to carve a statue and so make a few objects beautiful. But it is far more glorious to carve and paint the atmosphere in which we work to affect the quality of the day.....'

I think that storytelling helps me a great deal to create a space for patients where they in turn can be creative and think about things in a different way.

The feed back from the presentation was good. In fact the very next day I had a 'phone call inviting me to go to a rehabilitation unit to start a storytelling club and to do a presentation at a conference for rehabilitation some time later this year.
At the conference the head of nursing from Partnerships in Care gave a talk and shared with us how we face a time of 'slash and burn' as the economic situation continues to be poor. Mental Health is the 'Cinderella' of the health agenda and that is where the first financial cut are made. As nurses we were told to keep our eye on the horizon and spot a band waggon in the distance and get on it. The band wagon I spot is storytelling, and I'm already on it. I think PiC are being wise by joining and supporting me in that. There support does continue as they have just this week agreed to give me finical support to attend the 'Storytelling for Health' symposium in Glasgow next month, which I am looking forward to a great deal.