Farewell to Bahrain

MANAMA, Kingdom of Bahrain—My four years as an external examiner at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland-Medical University of Bahrain (RCSI-MUB) are over. I may have said something similar last year, after three years as an examiner. However, I was invited to sit for a further year, and the absolute maximum is four. I am sorry to leave and will miss my visits to the island, but other opportunities are opening for me in the Middle East, to be reported in due course.

In addition to examining, I gave a workshop on scientific writing, after which I presented certificates to newly inducted members of the Rufaida Honor Nursing Society. Officers of the society recently met Hester C. Klopper, PhD, MBA, RN, RM, FANSA, president of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), when she was visiting the Middle East, and the local society is making progress in its bid for STTI membership.

New inductees of the Rufaida Honor Nursing Society.

Uncool running

I rose almost early enough on two mornings to avoid the sun but failed to escape it completely. At 5:30 a.m., it is in the low 30s Celsius (86 Fahrenheit), but during the day it has been as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), and when the sun is up, it is impossible to walk, let alone run. Foolishly, I went running at 6 p.m. one evening before it had cooled down, and the ambient temperature was body temperature (37 Celsius/98.6 Fahrenheit). The rest of the story is nearly heat-stroke history.

It was hot in Bahrain!

When I ran recently in a more civilised temperature back home in England, I completed a 10 kilometres race in 46 minutes and 5 seconds, three seconds above my personal best. The 46-minute target continues to elude me. For the rest of the running year, I’m going to focus on breaking 21 minutes for 5 kilometres, something I want to achieve before I am 60 years old.

The next few weeks

Back home at the University of Hull, I am handing back the job of associate dean for research and enterprise in stages to the incumbent, who will resume the position in July. The role has not prevented me from travelling or missing the most important meetings that go with it. Essentially, there is barely a job that cannot be done remotely these days, and nearly all of the administrative aspects of the role were done online. Our faculty of health and social care is now under the leadership of Julie Jomeen, PhD, RN, RM, and I look forward to discussing the next few years—the final ones of my career—with her soon.

Over the rest of June, I visit Spain, Hong Kong, Korea, and Australia. I will report in detail from each of these places, but I am pleased to note that my link with the Hong Kong Polytechnic will continue. I had reported its end in a previous entry, but today I was invited to become a visiting professor again, but in a different role. The university has launched a massive open online course (MOOC) in anatomy, to which I will contribute. “Human Anatomy” is offered under the auspices of EdX, which involves prestigious partner universities such as Harvard and MIT in the United States.

The world needed another Watson

Two weeks ago, Alex Watson, my sixth grandchild—no granddaughters yet—was born to the delight of his parents and grandparents but consternation of his big brother Connor who seems to be tolerating this 100 percent increase in number of his siblings and 50 percent decrease in amount of attention he gets. Yours Truly also has to fight for attention. I can almost predict the welcome tomorrow: “Oh, you’re back. When are you away again?”

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.

Jasmine in Genoa

GENOA AIRPORT, Genoa, Italy—The scent of jasmine hung in the heavy, humid coastal air of Genoa. It was especially pleasant in the morning, when the flowers were opening, and was still in evidence as the sun went down. However, not everyone enjoys this. Many locals are allergic to the pollen. During my time here, the offices around me at the University of Genoa echoed to the sounds of repeated sneezing and Italian cursing.

This was my second visit here this year, and the weather was superb. Lemons were growing within reach of my window, and I was very tempted to slice one up for a gin and tonic. My 10k training finished at the sea front on the famous Corsa Italia, and I am now resting my 59-year-old legs before a race this weekend. Climbing, including indoors, has been neglected lately due to running.

The view from my window in Genoa.

My work at the University of Genoa with colleagues in the school of nursing continues to focus on the doctoral students with whom I am working on a rapid evidence assessment. These are not full-time students. Few live locally, and they meet only a few times yearly. Working hard at a distance, they retrieved and filtered some useful literature down to a few items that will form the basis of an excellent review paper, the topic of which will be revealed nearer to the time of submission. I averted a collective crisis of confidence, as they had convinced themselves that they needed to scrap what they were doing and start again. They are now back on track, and my visit, in this regard, was useful. Otherwise, I advised colleagues on their publication plans and research projects.

A new honor society?

I was asked about membership in the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) by one of the faculty who believes this would be a good thing for Italian nurses. I agreed, given that there is no Italian chapter and no Italian members that I know of. They were astounded when, within minutes, I put them in contact by Twitter with STTI President Hester C. Klopper, PhD, MBA, RN, RM, FANSA, —who replied—and by email with Elizabeth Rosser, DPhil, president of Phi Mu Chapter in England. I see from my email trail that they already have advice from Rosser on how to join and set up a society here. As the saying goes, “Watch this space.”

Rejection

News arrived from a journal editor that a major manuscript, which I have been leading and which has already graced the editorial desks—briefly—of three other journals, has been rejected again. I had to heed my own advice about not corresponding with editors over rejections and simply to take any good advice on board and submit elsewhere.

Yours Truly tames the Ducati Monster in Genoa.

My co-authors, both much younger than me, kept me on track, but we were all astonished at a comment from one reviewer that defied all logic with regard to the method we were using and the principles we were addressing. Still, the experience was useful as, when I was taking a class with the master’s students in Genoa on scientific writing, I was able to say that I had just been rejected and was in the process of applying my fourth rule of writing: treat a rejection as the start of the next submission.

I don’t leave the UK until the end of the month, when I visit Bahrain and the fledgling Rufaida Honor Society at the RCSI-Medical University of Bahrain. Before then, I will be participating in an online series of lectures for International Nurses Day and presenting on “Global issues facing nursing” before travelling to London to take part in a forum at the headquarters of the Royal College of Nursing of the United Kingdom. The following week is spent mostly in Edinburgh, Scotland, where I will examine a PhD at the University of Edinburgh, give a presentation on research assessment at Edinburgh Napier University, and meet a research collaborator at Heriot Watt University. Between those sessions, I will catch up with as many colleagues as possible.

I mentioned in my last entry that my daughter was taking part in an international street dancing competition in Florida. Her team won, as did the junior team from her dance club, so that was a memorable visit to the United States. I’m also glad to report that the long-suffering Mrs. Watson and her itinerant husband will be taking a holiday in New York City in July. I have never visited NYC, although my wife has, and this will be her turn to show me around a foreign city.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Comments are moderated. Those that promote products or services will not be posted.