nursingforsocialjustice

I am so slowly drawing to the close of the thesis component of my Master of Psychiatric nursing program. My thesis research was on acute adult mental health nurses experiences of administering chemical restraint. It’s a phenomenological study. It’s a pretty cutting edge research topic in Canada…which seems appalling considering…

In recent months I have been struggling with the direction that is being taken in inpatient psychiatry, particularly the places in which I have practiced (and currently practice). It seems that care is getting more and more prison-like, more regimented and structured, where the emphasis of ‘good care’ is risk-aversion…

There was a time when, for us to interact with other people we had to go out. Now, we can sit at home and use social media. We filter friendships and tend to surround ourselves with people that share our values and beliefs. There is value in being able to…

I have a dream that we can get there together. That we will grow in our autonomy and clinical decision making abilities. I have a dream that we can all be better.

Is it weird that sometimes the expectations that we have for our patients are the same no matter what? Is it even weirder that they are sometimes determined by our personal values and beliefs instead of what we could see as ethically good? And by weird I mean confusing and…

Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration Adolescent Mental Health Open Mind BC Assessment Extrapyramidal Symptoms Rating Scale Substance Use BC Centre­ on Substance Use Online Addiction Training Program The Online Addiction Medicine Diploma will help ensure providers have access to evidence-based education to help improve care across the province.…

Anosognosia:  Impaired ability or refusal to recognize that one has a sensory or motor impairment or, in some cases following a massive stroke and hemiplegia, even to recognize part of one’s body as one’s own. Also spelt anosagnosia. See also Anton’s syndrome, agnosia. [From French anosognosi, named in 1914 by…

We are constantly filtering our experiences for things that are similar to our worldview. It seems illogical to hate someone so much for thinking very strongly about one thing because of our strong belief that we are right. It takes a lot of effort to try and see where the…

The Vancouver Downtown East Side is a tough place to work right now. I think it is important to take a step back and fully embrace the reality that if we are not taking care of ourselves then we really cannot provide competent care to anyone else. I think that…

“So never lose an opportunity of urging a practical beginning, however small, for it is wonderful how often in such matters the mustard-seed germinates and roots itself.” Florence Nightingale (Cook, 1914)   It can be easy to forget about the baby steps that are necessary in order to get from…