Nursing needs its leaders to respond to Francis
Philip Darbyshire
Adelaide, Australia
Professor Philip Darbyshire, is internationally recognized as a leader in nursing and health care research and practice development. Philip is the ‘go-to’ person for hospitals and health care organizations who want research and evidence-based practice demystified and moved out of the ‘too-hard basket’ and into the hearts, minds and practices of clinicians who will use it make a real difference. He enables the best in staff potential to solve problems, think creatively and 'raise the bar', to improve the condition of organisations. For 13 years he led one of Australia’s most successful practice-based research departments, described by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards as being an “example of excellence in research leadership”. His programme of research explored children and adolescents’ experiences of a wide range of health and social issues. He is an Adjunct Professor at UWS, an Honorary Professor at the University of Swansea and a Visiting Professor at Bournemouth Uni
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Comments (10)
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Comment on: Interim nursing director appointed at Yeovil hospital
Congratulations from me too here in Australia Helen. The work that you and the team have done at Yeovil to focus nursing and care on what really matters - ie patients and their experiences and on creating a really positive and challenging culture for Nurses is the equal of anywhere in the world. Don't lose a minute's sleep over the Jenny Jones's of the world who think that it is full of "simple answers". Believe it or not the world is changing under our feet and the old idea that 'a nurse, is a nurse, is a nurse' and that everyone should be paid the same regardless of whether they are good bad or indifferent is something that deserves to be at least questioned, regardless of what the best answer may be. I hardly think that's unreasonable.
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Comment on: 'Many geniuses come in a nurse’s uniform'
Absolutely Jenni! Nurses have often railed against the idea of nursing as being any kind of 'business' (myself included). But we are in business: we're in the Transformation Business and the Making a Difference Business. If the business that we're being compared to is that of a bunch of unethical, avaricious shysters, then include me out. But imagine nursing being thought of as on a par with Apple for creativity and innovation or Pixar Studios for consistent quality and success or Ritz-carlton for peerless service or World Vision for clarity of social mission. I'll take some of that 'business mentality' for nursing any day of the week. Entrepreneurialism isn't just for the 'big end of town' it should be encouraged, enabled and supported in the public service sector as well. Health care is a multi-billion pound business and as nurses we have complained about its stifling bureaucratic constraints for as long as I can remember. Congratulations to the innovators and entrepreneurs you mentioned. When nurses grasp what this means for their practices and services, when we really 'get this', just watch us go....
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Comment on: The image of nursing: The handmaiden
See the latest AMA response to the IOM report on Nursing in the US. http://bit.ly/aqm6vN to see that the old rules still seem to apply. For so many doctors, teamwork means: 'lots of people doing what I say'. What a waste of collaborative and interprofessional potential. In the UK, facing billions of pounds worth of spending cuts, and in almost every other country where health funding will never be 'enough', the idea that we can just keep working away the way we have done for the last 20 or 50 years is just crazy.
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Comment on: Uniforms rear their ugly heads again
I'm amazed at how many people seem to think that uniforms are of only 'practical' importance'. They are about so much more. see: http://www.philipdarbyshire.com.au/about2/philipsblog/TheColourPurple.aspx
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Comment on: Student nurses must be taught to be entrepreneurs and innovators
I think if you read the report a bit more carefully you'll see that this is a recommendation that will make sense to everyone. How many times as a student or clinician have you seen something that 'doesn't work' or could be done better? How many times have you had a good idea that could improve care or services but have had no idea what to do with it? How many times have you complained that people 'don't listen to nurses'. How often have you complained that everyone else gets to influence services but you? Entrepreneurial thinking and working is NOT just for 'the private sector'. Why should they enjoy all the advantages? Don't dismiss this idea out of hand. Think of all of the great things in your life that you enjoy now because of somebody's entrepreneurial thinking. No reason why we should not want such creative, imaginative thinking in everyday clinical nursing.
