Anybody NOT in Hong Kong?

Hong Kong SAR, China—My first 2014 visit to Hong Kong was busy, mainly because so many other UK nursing academics were here. The list included: Hugh McKenna, CBE, PhD, FRCN, FAAN, pro-vice-chancellor (research and innovation), University of Ulster, UK; Dame Jill Macleod Clark, DBE, PhD, FRCN, professor of nursing, University of Southampton, UK; and Dawn Freshwater, PhD, RN, pro-vice-chancellor, University of Leeds, UK (soon to become deputy vice-chancellor, University of Western Australia). McKenna chairs the Research Excellence Framework’s subpanel for dentistry, allied health professions, nursing, and pharmacy, on which Macleod Clark, Freshwater, and I sit, and McKenna and Macleod Clark will serve on The Lancet Commission on UK Nursing, which I will chair. It’s a very small world.

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Of course, we had to have dinner, and we were joined at Felix, one of Hong Kong’s most exclusive “high-level” restaurants (located at the tower atop world-famous Peninsula Hotel), by Kay Jones, MBA, chief operating officer, School of Health Sciences, City University London, UK, and Philip Esterhuizen, PhD, RN, lecturer in adult nursing, University of Leeds. The view over the harbour to Hong Kong island is eye-watering, the food to die for (I don’t think I have ever used that expression before), and the service unobtrusive and immaculate. The washrooms are a triumph, with surprises for both genders (best Googled rather than explained).

Amidst all this luxury dining and fun, this impromptu type of meeting, which involves colleagues who are as busy or more busy than me, is crucial. We have to take these opportunities, as nobody else provides them. Held without agenda, aims, or objectives, they are the most productive. Untrammelled by organisational issues, hierarchy, or the need to list tangible, bean-counting outcomes, such as how does this benefit my university, these gatherings are the time to discuss the state of nursing, the future of nursing, and who we need to cultivate. Of course, the Chatham House Rule applies, and what is said by whom at these tables stays at these tables.

Once again, I was in Hong Kong with Mark Hayter, PhD, FRSA, FAAN, my colleague from Hull and fellow editor of Journal of Advanced Nursing. Although we were teaching and consulting at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, our time here allows us to set up lunches and dinners with key people in the SAR (Special Administrative Region) and to extend the influence of our own work with the Journal of Advanced Nursing and the University of Hull. We also took time while in Hong Kong to meet Linda Sim, manager of the Marco Polo Club, the frequent-flyer privileges club associated with Cathay Pacific Airways. We dined at Hutong, another high level Chinese restaurant overlooking Hong Kong harbour, and were joined by Graeme Smith, PhD, RN, professor of nursing at Edinburgh Napier University, UK, and editor of Journal of Clinical Nursing, based in Hong Kong.

Recognition at last

This month, Alzheimer’s Disease International published a report, Nutrition and Dementia, in which my work on the development of the Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia (EdFED) scale is cited. I was very pleased to see this, as it may increase the use of the EdFED and stimulate further research. It also reminded me how grateful I am for long-standing collaborations in the development and application of the EdFED, especially with Ian Deary, PhD, FRSE, FBA, professor, The University of Edinburgh, UK, and Li-Chan Lin, PhD, RN, professor, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.

While in Hong Kong, I resided out in the New Territories, to the North of Hong Kong, where I found a running route along the reservoir in Sha Tin. It was cold this time of year and humid—not ideal for running, but still a great way to start the day and to register another 20 miles over five days in my wife-imposed half-marathon training program me.

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.

Strange time of year

HULL, United Kingdom—I find January a strange time of year. The previous year ends in a frenzy of finishing things off, yet the New Year starts with just as much work to do as ever—and with the added stress that you’re now behind by at least two weeks.

My editor-in-chief inbox at the Journal of Advanced Nursing (JAN) was full of new manuscripts to review. Clearly, the editors had been making the most of the break and processing their allocation of manuscripts, so my “outbox”—the one that fills up with manuscripts ready for editing and production—is still not empty. I’m not complaining. If there were no manuscripts, there would be no JAN. Incidentally, if you want to know more about the editorial team of JAN, visit our blog and scroll down to the series of pieces called “Ten things about,” and you’ll find out about us there.

The Lancet Commission

The Lancet Commission is taking shape. The commissioners are appointed, and the press has picked up the story—must have been something to do with my well-crafted press release. I’ve been in the local newspaper, on local radio, and in Nursing Standard. I understand the need to get information out to the press, but I get irritated speaking to journalists. Is it just me, or do they not understand the purpose of a press release? I feel like saying “That’s the story; you’ve got it,”' but they insist on probing, and they always make me feel I’m trying to hide something. I’m not afraid to say, “I don’t know,” to a journalist, but I hate the subsequent efforts to help me find an answer. It must be a technique they learn in journalism school. I have put up a list of the commissioners on my new “Lancet Commission on UK Nursing” blog.

Feeding difficulty in dementia

The other major distraction from doing what I want—making travel arrangements and running statistical analyses on large datasets—has been revising a grant application to the Alzheimer's Society. The application is for a three-year PhD studentship, and the proposed project is to take forward a line of work on interventions for feeding difficulty in older people with dementia. This is my second application, the first having been rejected.

Feeding difficulty in older people with dementia has been a major interest since my days in clinical practice. My development of the Edinburgh Feeding Difficulty in Dementia (EdFED) scale, along with Ian Deary, PhD, FBA, at The University of Edinburgh, opened many doors for me, none more important than that of Li-Chan Lin, PhD, of National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan. I had the privilege of hosting Professor Lin as a Leverhulme Visiting Professor while I was at The University of Sheffield. She gave an excellent lecture that was chaired by Vice-Chancellor Sir Keith Burnett, CBE, FRS, and reported in Research Endeavours And Dissemination (READ), the nursing research bulletin. Lin and I translated the instrument into Chinese, and it has been used as an outcome measure in her seminal work on interventions to help older people with dementia who have feeding difficulty.

The interventions are based on Montessori methods and spaced retrieval, and all evidence to date suggests that they work. My intention is to transfer the work to the UK and develop a brief intervention. We have proof of concept, but the intervention is time-consuming and labour-intensive. If I have attended to the revisions to the satisfaction of the Alzheimer’s Society, I may be awarded the grant, and you will be among the first to know.

Nursing Open

Finally, as if I did not have enough to do, I have agreed to be the founding editor for a new Wiley journal called Nursing Open. The journal will be online, open access, and pay to publish, a very different venture from JAN. The website should be populated before my next entry, so I hope you will look forward to learning more about Nursing Open and its team of associate editors.

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