July 11, 2018 | 7 minute read

A reflection on the first week of Transforming Perceptions of Nursing and Midwifery's Blogging Challenge

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Rosie Redstone

Project Manager

Get in touch

Rosie Redstone

Project Manager

Well, I think it's fair to say that everyone in the Perceptions team has been absolutely blown away with the response we've had to the July challenge. The challenge was to ask nurses and midwives to write a blog to celebrate achievements and innovation in their professions.

What can I do?

So you might be asking yourself, what are all of these nurses and midwives blogging about, I can't think of anything to say! Well, you can blog about anything you like to show pride in your professions. Below you can see our building blocks for positive perceptions which were created by thousands of nurses, midwives and patients. We would like to encourage you to blog about these building blocks, for example you might choose to blog about growing the talent and all of the amazing skills which you've developed in your profession. Or you might blog about connecting with your values and why you entered the profession. It's entirely up to you, we know that whatever you write will be brilliant.

In case the building blocks aren't inspiring you and you are really not sure what you want to blog about. It really helps to talk it through with people. I'd recommend joining our Transforming Perceptions of Nursing and Midwifery Ambassadors Facebook group and posting in there for some ideas, support and inspiration. And hey, even if you don't find what you're looking for, you'll get to meet some of our amazing ambassadors!

One thing which really helps is practice, I was terrified of blogging before joining Horizons but after I wrote a few blogs for our tweets of the week, my confidence grew and I realised that it can be pretty fun once you get into it! For more advice on blogging, please visit Leigh Kendall's blog about getting started because quite frankly, she rocks at blogging!

One of our ambassadors, Charlotte Hall challenged her fellow ambassadors to take it a mile further and submit a blog a day. She even came up with ideas for what each blog can be about.

Now, I want to make sure that everyone who's reading this isn't thinking, a blog a day? There's no way I can do that! Well I'll be quite honest with you, I probably couldn't do it either, but you don't have to. All we're asking is for you to write one blog. We absolutely love that lots of you are writing more but we recognise that you have incredibly busy jobs (and lives for that matter) and we want you to do what you can.

A Reflection

I had expected to write this blog at the end of the month, but with more than 120 blogs being submitted in the first week there was a very real risk that it would have been the same length of my MA dissertation, and no one wants to go through that again or have the job of reading it!

Enough from me, this is about YOU. These are our blogs which have been submitted so far* with their title, the name of the nurse or midwife who wrote it and a link to read it yourself, which is something I highly recommend.

Cara Southgate, Celebrating Nursing - Community Hospital Matron, Dear my future nurse, 48 years a nurse and what a career, Nurses Work in So Many Settings Some You Would Not Think Of, Our NHS is 70 today. Judy, today’s blogger has worked as a Nurse for over 40 years!, I Fell Into Nursing By Accident..., Hard Work and Dedication Can Get You to Your Dream Job, I am really proud to working with Louise Sawford as an ambassador for the Transforming Perceptions of Nursing and Midwifery campaign. We are going to Blog for 31 days during July!!!

Aimie Morgan, Mum vs. Student Nurse: The rollercoaster of juggling children while training to be a nurse - July 1st 2018, July 2nd 2018 – 20 facts about me……, July 3rd 2018 – My favourite nursing quote….., July 4th 2018 – my dream job, July 5th 2018 – Happy Birthday NHS

Claire Carmichael, Diary of a Student Nurse - My blog Name and Purpose, 20 Facts About Me, My favourite nursing quote, My dream job, Celebrating the NHS 70, What I fear in the future of nursing, My five most motivational songs.

Kim Grimmer, A Diary of a Primary Care Nurse - NHS 30 day challenge – Day 1, Day 2 – 20 facts about me!, Day 3 – My Favourite Nursing Quote, Day 4 – My Dream Job, Day 5 – NHS 70th Birthday celebrations, Day 6 – What I fear in the Future of Nursing.

Rachael Lambe, Rachael's Journey - #HelloMyNameIs Rachael, 20 facts about you, Your favourite nursing quote, Your dream job, Celebrating #NHS70, What do you fear in the future of nursing?

Craig Davidson, Craig's Considerations: Diary of a Hufflepuff nurse - Welcome to Craig’s Considerations: Day one, 20 facts about me… here goes!, My favourite nursing quote…, Dream job(s)… hopes for my future career, Celebrating #NHS70, What do I fear in the future of nursing?, My five most motivating songs…

Danielle Evans, The journey to making a difference: little blogs about my journey becoming a registered nurse - Where it all began…, Day 1: NHS Horizons 30 DAY Challenge, DAY 2: 20 Facts about me…, DAY 3: My favourite nursing quote(s), DAY 4: My dream job, DAY 6: My fear for the future of nursing…

Dann Gooding, Daniel's Diary: Nursing, Wedding Planning and Me! - DAY 1 of the NHS 30 Day challenge!, 20 Facts about me!, “My favourite nursing quotes.”, My dream job, Celebrating #NHS70 & a reflection., My fears about the future of nursing, My top 5 favourite motivation songs

Nat Brooks, Tales of a newly qualified nurse - The Journey Begins, 20 Things About Me, 3 of my favourite Nursing Quotes

Charlotte Hall - Nurse Bloggers, Day 1 Vlog, What is the #NHS70 30-day challenges?, 20 facts about me…, My Dream Job…, Favourite nursing quote, Fears for the future of nursing

Kate Pound - A Letter to My Daughter on Becoming a Nurse

Jessica Sainsbury, Musings of a student nurse - Introducing my blog, A little bit about me…, My favourite nursing quote