nursingforsocialjustice

It’s hard to be open to new things. It’s hard to be open to change when the world seems so bleak and stuck in the same patterns of mistakes. It can feel so lonely sometimes, even though we know we are living in a world with billions of people, even though we know someone is somewhere waiting for us to connect with them. It can feel especially alone being a nurse in 2020 in a syndemic landscape. It can feel even lonelier in some workplaces when it feels like the trauma informed, evidenced informed, person centred practices you want to deliver are not supported. This is how I felt too much of the time in most of the places that I worked.

I am an RN who, has worked in mental health services most of my career. But, the most person-centred, strengths-based care that I have seen does not happen in mental health specific services, which seems curious.

Communication is central to all nurses do. I cannot help but be surprised at how energizing and validating this is to me every-time I hear a nurse who doesn’t work in a service labelled “mental health” say this. Nursing is being with people, in all kind of capacities, to navigate this health/ill experience, to understand what is happening, to suffer with people, to co-create this thing we call healthcare.

Sometimes when I feel lonely as a nurse I turn to nursing associations where I know there are collectives of like-minded nurses who I can connect with to help me feel less alone, and less like this is a never-ending uphill slog.

Canadian Federation of Mental Health Nurses

Harm Reduction Nurse Association

In recent months some colleagues and I have started to put together our like-minds to work on projects to not only feel less alone, but to take action and do something about all these barriers that people face and curious conundrums that prevent evidence from making it to practice. So here we go, on a journey riddled with roadblocks and wrong turns. We are on it together. Which makes the setbacks more tolerable.

Peace,

Michelle D.