About nursing

For many years before I worked at Women’s Aid I was a nurse, and actually left nursing to come and work at the Hub. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately (probably because of COVID-19 keeping nurses in the headlines) and thought I’d share some things about the work.

It’s best summed up like this…

It’s a vocation, and one that requires professionalism- an ability to stay (or at least appear!) calm when things are going wrong. It means seeing and hearing people in pain and not shying from away from that. It’s about being able to think on your feet, juggle dozens of things, keep up to date with expert knowledge and know how and when to give bad news.

It’s about going to work every day knowing that vulnerable people’s lives and safety are dependent on your actions, decisions and advocacy. It involves a lot of careful assessment and understanding of risk.

But also…

It’s about paperwork (Oh God! The paperwork!) having a sense of humour, leaning on your colleagues and having their back whilst they lean on you. It’s about going for a quiet cry and then celebrating a win, before getting back up on your tired feet and going to get another one.

And, it’s the awareness that you’re in a high stakes’ profession, and not everyone will get their happy ever after.

…

Anyway, that’s been my experience of working at Women’s Aid so far. It’s very much like nursing, only with less bodily fluids (and absolutely no requirement to call anyone matron).

Wend Badger works in our Housing Options Hub