You are probably a very good news story – whilst you seem relatively expensive on a spreadsheet your return on investment is likely to be a good one.
The problem for most NHS middle managers (and some senior ones) is that they will only have heard about your work as either a cost or when you have become overwhelmed and asked for more precious resources.
Think about telling your good news NOW!
The culture of nursing makes it hard to talk about achievements – but there has never been a more urgent need to show that you are doing a great job of caring for people often at the most distressing times. To help tell your good news story you can start filling out the service summary
A lot of the material on this site originates in business and marketing – a place where nurses often feel uncomfortable. However a failure to talk about the complexity of care has led to others making false assumptions about nursing care – that it’s simply a series of tasks and this in turn has led to the profession being devalued.
No matter how uncomfortable it might feel it is important to speak up and it’s important to find a way that you are comfortable with. This resource gives you the information and tools to speak up by showing how complex your work is and its worth.
Remember speaking up for nursing is speaking up for patients!
What staying silent leads to:
“What do you do all day?” Misperceptions about your role and its value
If we don’t show what we really do there is a real risk other will just “fill in the gaps”. These are some real quotes
- “Patients like them but what do they actually do?”
- “Its easier than working on a ward”
- “For the band they are paid they need to contribute more”