“When I first met Chris …. he was beginning to support nurses in the way of clinical supervision; not in the traditional sense of clinical hands on practice we know in nursing, but as supportive practice and mentoring to assist senior nurses through the endless minefield of managing the business of health, strategies to assist with the myriad workplace behaviours, debriefing and crisis events. I felt middle management, as a senior nurse, was the most difficult level to be on – with pressures from all angles, above, below, sideways and within myself to meet the demands of the team and the organisation, to meet targets and maintain high standards of care. When I was met with some compounding and overwhelming personal and professional issues, these conflicted my values and my self-worth … I was starting to struggle with solutions.
I met with Chris, who told me about the work he was doing with nursing groups and other senior nurse leaders to assist their own conflicts within the workplace, I agreed to have regular “chats” with Chris on a one to one basis…couldn’t do any harm could it.
I was very unsure at first as over 30 yrs in the nursing profession and the past 20 years as senior level clinician working quite autonomously within a large organisation in many different fields, I had not really embarked on working on myself and rarely took the time out to allow myself to “self care” so was a little scared at what actually may happen as I opened up so to speak.
I be honest our regular “chats” became easier and easier and have absolutely blown me away with the enormous amount of self-reflection and empowerment these sessions have given me. I am a self-confessed soft hearted caring nurse who wears her heart on her sleeve with high expectations of myself in my performance as a senior clinician. So many tears have been shed, sometimes with sadness, sometimes with frustration and but now more often as happy tears and grateful for this experience with Chris’s guidance as I allowed myself to make real changes and embraced opportunities with enthusiasm once again.
I have learnt so much about myself, not because Chris told me, but by the way he allowed me to discover these things for myself and to really understand what matters during our “chats”
The reflective and supportive practice sessions with Chris over the time has now given me the freedom to empower myself and be mindful of how I feel and react within the organisation we work within, whilst knowing that I truly do make a difference in this world. My work life balance has been restored and I feel great to be involved with what matters.
Thank you Chris for being that catalyst, and your ability to guide me through the journey of discovery with your true professionalism.”