Blog 18 | If we focus on meeting people’s needs, the question is, do people know what their needs are? Is part of supporting others to help people them understand their needs, to articulate them, and then advocate for those needs to be met? Last week, I ran my first co-creation workshop to explore how we meet the needs of people living with learning disabilities and autistic people. Here’s what came through. It’s great to ask; What matters to you? What do you need to achieve

Blog 17 | If I can’t advocate for myself, how can I advocate for others? If I am just Ruth , a nurse, then what does that make the person I care for or support? Are they someone? No one? Just another patient? And when I ask the doctor, using their surname, as I do, to offer an opinion, share their expertise… have I inadvertently, as Ruth , put myself, and thereby the person I’m seeing on the back foot? So it matters. To recognise our own learning, our knowledge, our expertis

Blog 16 | When I first started nursing, I was so quiet I wouldn’t have said boo to a goose. It took me a long time to find my voice. The question is; did that matter? Did it make any difference to the people I cared for? Was my quietness a barrier? And if it was a barrier… what might have helped me find my voice sooner?

Blog 15; Is critical thinking the next step in mobilising knowledge after imagination and creativity? Or are there steps along the way? When our brain gets carried away with itself, and suddenly we’re full of ideas, what do we do? In a world that talks about transformation but doesn’t honour imagination or creativity, how do we move our ideas into reality?

Blog 14 | “You need to stop your imagination running away with itself.” “You have far too vivid an imagination.” “You need to stick with reality.” I’ve heard these phrases so many times since I was young, I almost believed them. Now I just think, rather than shutting down my imagination.. maybe I just need a sense checker?

Blog 13 | In the words of Nirusha Govender | LinkedIn Knowledge sustains the present; imagination creates the future. So why do we give imagination such little space and credibility? Over the course of my career working in the NHS I've heard so much talk about change and transformation. And yet we know that whilst there are pockets of amazing things happening... these remain pockets. I've been fortunate to speak to so many of these change makers on my podcast SoWhoCaresAnyway

Blog 12 | So, is imagination, as Einstein said, more important than knowledge? And if so why do we still live in a world where knowledge is more respected than imagination? Do we need to change this perception? And if so how? That's something to muse upon over the next few days...

Blog 11 | Sometimes it’s hard to take a #DoWith approach. And do we even know what that means? When I was working as a clinical nurse, I didn’t fully understand it. What I did know was what was wrong. That I could name. I had ideas, ways of working that would have started a #DoWith approach. But I wasn’t allowed. Or I thought I wasn’t. That’s why I moved on. To influence. To change. To transform. And I’ve met so many people, clinical and beyond, doing just that. But it needs

What if the act has already began. Across health and care, people are taking a #DoWith approach. Can we notice what’s working, and build...

Blog 9 | If listening is the intervention, do we need systems that allow us to pause, be present, and truly hear what matters? But...

Blog 8 | Have we built systems that reward listening with intent to respond, rather than listening to understand? If listening is the...

Blog 7 | Do people already know what they need, because they know what matters to them? If individuals hold that knowledge, what happens...

Blog 6 | Can we focus on achieving better once someone seeks support—or has the moment already been shaped by systems, urgency, and...

Blog 5 | So… What is Better? “Better is not always in line with the agenda, policies or protocols.” (1) Ethel Carboni Jardim | LinkedIn...

Blog 5 | So... What is better? Is there a better word for 'better?' And how is 'better' achieved? Thoughts, ideas, reflections, on a...

Blog 4 | I watched the silence unfold. Such a simple question. Who cares? Maybe it was too predictive? Doctors, Nurses, Care Workers,...

Blog 3 | So... Who Cares Anyway? Just the question today. No framing. No answers. Just space. An invitation more than a reflection. I'd...

Blog 2: Of course, maybe like many entering caring roles, I came into nursing with a certain degree of naivety. I thought care was about...

I always wanted to be a nurse, because I cared and wanted to make people better. Then one day I realised that I wasn't sure what 'better'...

I’ve written a few blogs before, but today I’m starting something more regular. Every Friday, I’ll share a short reflection, such as...