Professor Laura Serrant-Green is the Director of Research and Enterprise in the Centre for Health and Social Care Improvement (CHSCI). She is also visiting professor at The University of the West Indies and Adjunct Faculty member at the University of Alberta, Canada.
Here she will blog about life as a researcher as well as about some of the trips she makes in her role as Director of Research.
Commonwealth of Dominica, Wednesday 19 October 2011
Well, Tuesday was very hectic. It was the main event in my visit to Dominica, the ninth Commencement ceremony (graduation) for the Dominica State College, at which I was to give the keynote address.....but I am getting ahead of myself. The day began with a breakfast meeting with Mr Merril Matthews (Master of Ceremonies for the event) and Mrs Denise Edwards, Dean of Health Sciences (at whose kind nomination and invitation I had been put forward as a keynote speaker). The meeting was informative and productive, two such welcoming and professional colleagues made me feel at home and confident about the day ahead. We discussed the ceremony (of course) and the possible focus for a staff development session I was due to facilitate on Wednesday for the academic staff from health sciences. After a lunch break I had a short time to prepare myself for the ceremony before a car arrived to collect me.
The ceremony was held in the Windsor Park stadium where the mountains provided a fantastic backdrop. The ceremony was attended by Dominica's top dignitaries from Government, education including the (His excellency) President Liverpool and the Minister of Education. Unlike in the UK, both academic staff AND students processed into the arena. I was particularly proud to see the students from health sciences process into the arena and then the nurses take their oath for care and nursing holding candles, centre stage, before the whole congregation.
My own speech was a moving experience and a proud moment. 50 years after my parents from a small village called St Joesph, left Dominica for the UK (having left school without formal qualifications) in the hope of better chances for their children, I stood as a qualified professional, in the presence of the leaders of the country and my fellow Dominicans giving the graduation speech in both English and French Creole. An event captured for future record by a photograph taken with the president of the Commonwealth of Dominica (pictured).
How times change.
The day ended in the best way possible - with the nursing students. I was invited to join them in their own graduation meal at a local restaurant. I couldn't think of a better way to end such an important day for them and one I certainly will remember myself.
Commonwealth of Dominica, Tuesday 18 October 2011
Well here I am in The Commonwealth of Dominica (not to be confused with Dominican Republic) - Dominica is part of the British Commonwealth countries, a small island, part of the Lesser Antilles, bounded by the islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. Known as 'The Nature Isle" it is relatively unspoilt compared to much of the Caribbean and has 'Eco-Tourism' as it's main activity. This is a land of rainforests and tropical climates - I arrived to what was described to me as 'almost winter' with a cool temperature of 30 degrees!!!
This is the land of my ancestors so is a very strange visit in a way - coming here on business rather than holiday. I am here to give the graduation address for the Commencement Ceremony for the Dominica State College. This is a great honour - not least because I am the first female to do so!
This is the education establishment which grants nursing qualifications on the island. SHaW is in the process of establishing a memorandum of understanding with the College which will underpin research and scholarship development activities and projects between SHaW and the Faculty of Health Sciences. My first working day (Monday) was spent meeting the tutors from the faculty of health sciences and I was given a short tour of two of the campuses - Stock Farm (main campus) and the Health Sciences site at Princess Margaret Hospital in Goodwill.
My greatest challenge so far has been the five hours' time difference - here I am -5 GMT. This means I was awake at 4am this morning. The good news was I saw the sunrise while watching Scott's Head, which lies at the far south of the Island...some of you may recognise it (apologies for the poor picture) from a movie...But which one? Answer in tomorrow's blog!
Poland, 7 October 2011
It is Saturday 7:30am local time and I’m sitting on the train at Lublin station waiting to travel back to Warsaw for my flight home. Friday was a very interesting day spent at the medical University of Lublin with the staff and students from the Nursing and Midwifery department. I began the day giving a presentation to the first year nursing students on nurse education in the UK, a little bit of history about community nursing and an overview of the University of Wolverhampton, the School of Health and Wellbeing (SHaW) and the Centre for Health and Social Care Improvement (CHSCI). This whistle-stop tour of ‘nursing and nursing work’ was made even more challenging by the fact the students spoke very little English and had only been on the programme two weeks! I was impressed by their ability not only to concentrate in such trying circumstances on a Friday but also to appear interested and ask pertinent questions. Now, before you all start to marvel at my mastery of Polish over such a short period following the ‘coffee debacle’ of Wednesday (see earlier blog for embarrassing details) – I was ably assisted in my Polish communication skills by one of the tutors, Tomasz Cuber who expertly and efficiently carried out a simultaneous translation of my ramblings (what a star!).
After a brief ‘hello’ to the (very busy) Dean of the Faculty I was given a tour of the clinical sessions taking place at the time. I saw first year nurses undertaking their clinical orientation classes (white tunics) and learning how to bandage. I also spoke to the midwifery students who were engaged in a session on third stage labour (red trim tunics). I was proudly shown the new birthing equipment (I’m sure I’ve seen this at the gym) – however, I must admit to being distracted by the ‘dummy’ giving birth who seemed to have the telltale look many women (including myself) sported in final stage labour!! (slightly too life-like!).
Before lunch I had a very insightful meeting with members of the faculty where I gave a presentation on the research work in SHaW/CHSCI and we discussed possible opportunities for collaboration around research and scholarship. The discussions were lively and very stimulating, indeed a one hour session became two and was only cut short by the need for them to conduct afternoon classes and for me to make my next meeting. I left feeling we had much scope for joint working in future.
My final meeting of the day was with the Erasmus/EU exchange coordinator who shared with me the current opportunities given to all students in the Faculty to study abroad during their programme. We discussed in detail the problems of nursing students who, given the time constraints of the curriculum had little ‘space‘ to enable them to exploit the opportunities on offer – something curiously common to nursing students but not medics…... we concluded the meeting having discussed possible other funding streams and learning packages which may be suitable for our groups of students.
At the end of the day I left the medical University of Lublin musing on the similarities and differences in nursing and midwifery training between our two countries. As for Poland, it has challenged my thinking about health, life and chances. From the stark ‘survival’ of Warsaw to the cultural pride of Lublin, Poland is a place that enticed me.
So as I sit on my train and watch the farmland race past once more (and the action scarecrows!), I wish Poland ‘Do widzenia’...........back to the day job on Monday!
Poland, 6 October 2011
Thursday saw me travelling across Poland by train, leaving the 'hustle' of Warsaw to travel further east to Lublin. The two and a half hour journey was an interesting one; the train was reminiscent of 'Murder on the Orient Express' with a long corridor and separate seating compartments - maybe not as timesaving as our 'intercity' high-speed links, but certainly holding a majestic charm that allowed me to see the Polish landscape, a range of farming styles and the arresting sight of 'action scarecrows' who were so lifelike that I regularly mistook them for people working in the fields.
The purpose of my visit to Lublin was to meet staff and students at the Medical university (Uniwersytet Medyczny Lublinie). This university is a publicly funded university which undertakes training of nurses, midwives, medics and dentists. I was met be Tomasz Cuber one of the academics in the nursing department (who luckily for me spoke excellent English). The first evening was really about orientation to Lublin and informal discussions of nursing education and research in the University. What struck me most was the cultural contrasts with Warsaw - what is strongly felt is that in Lublin, the feeling is wholly Polish and proud! Tomorrow I spend the day with students and staff and the University. I can't wait! (note to self.....must remember my camera)
Poland, 5 October 2011
Well hello again from sunny Warsaw...today has been a great day for reflection, reaction and discussion on all things health, nursing and wellbeing. This morning began with a meeting with colleagues to discuss a potential proposal to the EU around nursing mentorship and leadership in six countries in the EU. The discussion was lively and light hearted - not least because we discovered the (statistically significant?) differences in our ability to communicate in Polish early in the morning. It's not often that an Englishman, Dominican and a Slovenian try to order coffee from a very patient Polish woman before 8.30am!
The main event of the day was the debate on strategies for development of a highly qualified nursing workforce in Poland, co-ordinated by the Polish Nurses Association. The event was held at the Polish Parliament in Warsaw. The discussants included politicians, nurse leaders from several countries, professional nursing bodies from across the EU, not to mention the European Federation of Nurses and the president of the standing committee of European doctors.
The issues under discussion were serious and potentially far reaching. Attempting to support an EU partner to find its own 'style' of nursing career which will help shape the future direction of care and heath services is not to be taken lightly. I was proud to be part of the discussion and debate, most importantly because of the central platform given to the patient voice through the keynote given by a patient representative and the continuous reflection on the needs of Polish people in determining the future of their health care. I am sure with such a sound focus on public need and experience, policy development at least have a fighting chance of being 'fit for Polish purpose'.
I had moving reminder of the importance of the Polish people's rights to remain central in any planning of their future on the way back from the debate. We passed the Joseph Stalin building (Palace of Culture and Science) - a mighty edifice left to the people of Warsaw after the withdrawal of the Russians from their city - once the tallest building in Warsaw at 240 metres above the city (see photo). As we passed the taxi driver said 'look here, a gift from uncle Joseph' - the only building that appears to be historical, yet is not Polish. Warsaw was completely destroyed in bombing raids during World War 2, what remains now in the majority of the city are modern concrete blocks with very little of the spirit of Poland and the history of a proud people.
The day drew to a close with a meal in a Polish restaurant in the 'Old Town'...and I discovered two things firstly; what goes into Bigos (see yesterday's blog) and secondly; that even the Royal College of Nursing president has problems with Polish (IKEA is all I have to say).
Do widzenia!
Poland, 4 October 2011
Cześć from Poland!
This is the first of my blogs from what was the land of "Solidarity" ("Solidarność") in the 1980s, and a country which has consistently achieved a "very high" ranking for human development in the Human Development Index (HDI) and for standard of living since the end of the communist period.
Certainly from a health point of view it's an exciting place to be. I'm here to attend a series of events which will involve personal challenge (how will my four hours of Polish language, self-taught on the way here hold up to scrutiny?); intrigue (what really goes INTO bigos?); not to mention navigating tomorrow's debate about the future of nursing development in Poland at the Polish health ministry in Warsaw.
Through this blog I hope to keep you up-to-date with the highs and lows of a researcher at large, giving insight to the 'traveling' life of a Director of Research (what EXACTLY do we do when we are 'away'?) and some learning about healthcare, education and development in a part of the world where many of the minority ethnic people in Wolverhampton and other cities in the UK originated.
I will leave you with the pictures from my hotel window in Warsaw, a capital city criss-crossed by a detailed public transport network, much of which has been incorporated into my journey here, which started at 4am this morning; 'planes, trains and automobiles anyone?'.
