'Maybe then we would end the covert ageism reflected in health professionals' language'

Why did you become a nurse?

I liked being with people and wanted a job that would enable me to travel. I was once a sister in a passenger ship’s hospital.

Where did you train?

Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

What was your first job?

Staff nurse at St John’s Hospital in London.

From whom have you learnt most in your career and why?

I learnt a lot from some great nurses but, overall, I’d say the patients. Those for whom I felt I had made a difference to but also those I felt I had failed in some way. I also learnt from a professor of geriatric medicine who was passionate about improving the outcomes from the disabilities of late life. His enthusiasm was infectious and I was well and truly infected.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Find good role models who will respect you for asking “why”.

What’s the most satisfying part of your job?

Writing a complex bid (or perhaps finishing it) for research that could make a difference.

What’s your proudest achievement?

Seeing the first B Nurs students graduate at the University of Birmingham - they exceeded our vision.

What do you think will change nursing in the next decade?

There is a gap in fundamental practice, particularly with older people, which is likely to be filled by support carers. Will it be reinventing a tier of nursing akin to the SEN? I’d like to think so because the care of older adults is still more about containment than remedy and cost rather than quality of care.

What would you like to be doing in five years’ time?

I would like to finish my PhD (on Gulf War health professionals’ social relationships and wellbeing), which I have had to mothball for nearly 10 years.

What makes a good nurse?

A good nurse is empathetic so will be good at fundamental care. Some blame falling standards in this on the move to degree-based nursing - but I don’t. The more knowledge that informs practice the better. Sadly, the good nurse has also had to become a whistleblower.

If you could change one thing in health, what would it be?

Mandatory training in late life impairments with a focus on rehabilitation. Maybe then we would end the covert ageism reflected in health professionals’ language (“bed blockers” and “challenging”) and actively treat older people the same as others.

What would your ideal weekend involve?

A potter across to France without a map and no thoughts of calorie intake.

If you could spend an hour with someone, who would it be?

My first ward sister at Glasgow. She was respected by everyone - surgeons, nurses and patients - because she led practice by the book and patients always came first. I would like to hear her views on nursing today and her reaction to a campaign to remind nurses to give patients dignity and respect.

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