The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story

by Christie Watson

What I thought nursing involved when I started: chemistry, biology, physics, pharmacology and anatomy. And what I now know to be the truth of nursing: philosophy, psychology, art, ethics and politics.

A&E is frightening. It reminds us that life is fragile—and what could be more frightening than that? A&E teaches us that we are vulnerable and, despite our best efforts, we can’t predict who will trip on a pavement, causing a catastrophic bleed to the brain; whose roof will collapse, leading to the traumatic amputation of a limb, a broken neck, a broken back, bleeding to death; who will be part of a couple married for sixty

Nursing requires fluidity, being able to adapt and push energy in the direction where patients and colleagues need you, even if it is unfamiliar.

Nursing is a career that demands a chunk of your soul on a daily basis. The emotional energy needed to care for people at their most vulnerable is not limitless and there have been many days when, like most nurses, I have felt spent, devoid of any further capacity to give. I feel lucky that my family and friends are forgiving.

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. MARK TWAIN

It turns out my route into nursing is a combination of many influential experiences.

Caring for minds sounds as if it would be easier to cope with than caring for bodies.

“mental-health nurses must use different methods of engaging people, and work in a way that promotes positive relationships focused on social inclusion, human rights and recovery; that is, a person’s ability to live a self-directed life, with or without symptoms, that they believe is meaningful and satisfying.” I like the idea

Reflective practice—like all nursing theories—has a number of different models and ideas, but essentially it is the process of making sense of real events. It is widely regarded as some kind of emotional protection for nurses who are paying the cost of caring for vulnerable people, and it helps the nurse to understand her own personality, life story and memories and how they influence events.

Schizophrenia has nothing to do with split or multiple personalities. A friend who suffers from schizophrenia describes it as “seeing the world in fragments. Trying to make things fit together. But of course one size doesn’t fit all, and my experience is completely different from everyone else’s.” There