Liz Read – My Shift That Made a Difference

I feel so lucky to belong to a profession that I am so passionate about and to get to work with service users and colleagues that inspire me every day, which means that when I look back over my career to date there are so many shifts that stand out in my mind. Some of these memories are wonderful, some are incredibly sad, some frustrating, some hilarious, but all of them shaped who I am as a nurse today and I am thankful for every single one.The shift that immediately came to mind when I thought first about this was a number of years ago when working as a staff nurse in a medium secure CAMHS service. I was the primary nurse to a 15 year old girl who had experienced a lifetime of trauma and had been in services for many years. She had been considered very high risk for a long time, but she was working so hard and doing very well with us and she had just been granted community leave. It had been more than 2 years since she had been out of the confines of the hospital and understandably, she was extremely anxious. We did a lot of work around managing this anxiety and took things very slowly. The first few times we went out we just sat together just outside the front door. The next few times we found a bench on the hospital grounds where we could sit, talk, and laugh together. During one of these times she told me that she had never been to a playground or park. It was something she had heard others talk about and seen on the TV but never even seen one in person. So, we made a plan…

One of the best shifts of my career to date was the day we made it to the local park. We started (sheepishly) on the swings. We sat next to each other and slowly started swinging back and forth however it wasn’t long until this turned into a competition of who could swing the highest! We spent just over an hour in the park that day. Swings, slide, roundabout, climbing frame… we did it all! We both had fun and laughed more than either of us had in a long time. It was this young lady’s first ever time at a park, at 15 years old, and it was such a privilege to be able to share that with her. To be part of a memory that would last for a lifetime.

Being a mental health nurse isn’t always about formal treatment, therapies, medication, etc. but often about the shared humanity that we have with the people we work with. When I am having a tough day, I think back to days like this and remember just how much of an honour it is to do this job.

Liz Read, Matron – CAMHS ED Liaison.