Being very new to the ‘art’ of blogging I pondered long and hard as to what the blog content should focus upon. Then, as we all do sometimes, my mind wandered back and a ‘familiar saying’ made me think for a while.

Having been in the health and social care environment for ‘dare I say it’ thirty four years now, the service demands, political drivers, complex patient needs together with the ever changing care provision landscape, presents, as we are all well aware, on-going challenges. However some things never change.

As a novice general student nurse working in the early 1980’s, my aspirations certainly never included ‘becoming a ‘Lecturer in Continuing Professional Development’ within a University. Indeed, way back then my focus, apart from wanting to care for my patients, included making sure the bed wheels ‘faced the same way’ and ‘the end opening of the patient’s pillow cases were correctly aligned’ so as not to face the entry of the old Nightingale wards. This, if not adhered to would induce the ‘wrath’ of the old fashioned ward sisters. I remember how intimidated I felt, we have come a long way since then.

I feel extremely honoured and humbled that my role as a nurse and midwife has enabled me to be present to support and care for a person’s life at birth and ultimately at death, a true ‘cradle to grave’ experience. To be able to offer this, my then ‘training’ and further qualifications gained, empowered my aim to deliver empathic,  safe, effective patient care and support. I know that is the focus of what everyone within the health and social care environment will also want to do. I remember when I came across this quote many years ago it had a profound effect upon my ‘reflecting’ on my role and equally applies to all students and colleagues whether we are working directly at the’ clinical coal face’ or within the health and social care education arena.

People will forget what you said, they will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel! (Maya Angel)

I wonder if the old fashioned’ Sisters’ mentioned above had ever read this quote, probably not I feel. However it shaped the way I mentored students and now within my teaching role.   Definitely ‘food for thought’, which reminds me I must stop procrastinating and focus upon writing a ‘blog’.

Dawn Suffolk, CPD Lecturer CPD, D.Suffolk@staffs.ac.uk