Humidity and humility in New York

HULL, United Kingdom—Unusually, I’m at home in the UK. My holiday with Mrs. Watson (Debbie) in New York was one of the highlights of my life. Debbie, an experienced New York visitor, impressed me with her understanding of how the avenues describe latitude on Manhattan and the streets longitude, with Broadway doing its own thing at an obtuse angle. I loved everything we saw and did. I will spare you most of the details, but running in Central Park was a particular highlight that also provides the title for this entry.

On the way to New York, I said yes to everything that British Airways had to offer in first class, most of which came with champagne. Suffice to say I had no problem sleeping the first night. I woke at 6 a.m. and ran to Central Park, ran around it and then ran back to the hotel, a total of nine miles. I would not recommend this as a training regime, but it seemed to work.

Two days later, I tried to repeat this heroic feat—without the champagne—and had to stop after five miles. The humidity and temperature had spiked, and I discovered I was not Superman. It was a long walk back to the hotel followed by a long talk from Debbie, a much more experienced runner than me, about overdoing things. I’m glad to say I rallied for our last morning, got up at 5 a.m., walked to Central Park and completed the six-mile run without incident. I really felt like I was in a movie and expected to see Woody Allen or the cast from Home Alone at any point.

Our holiday started and finished in the Concorde Lounge at London Heathrow Airport, so it was fitting that we paid Concorde a visit in New York at the Intrepid Sea, Air &  Space Museum. Mrs. Watson in foreground.

Journal matters

I am glad to say that authors submitting to Journal of Advanced Nursing (JAN) and Nursing Open were not all on holiday, nor were my editors and associate editors. More than 50 manuscripts, at the various stages I engaged with them, awaited my attention, so I did not have to wonder what to do first. One of the proofs awaiting correction for JAN was an article by Snowden et al. (2015) on which I am second author. When I am the author of a JAN manuscript, I have no editorial involvement with the manuscript until it is accepted and at the proofing stage. This article reports on a study of the latent structure of emotional intelligence and the discovery of a novel dimension, evident using two entirely different analytical methods.

There was more good news for JAN. I listen to “Today,” the BBC flagship news programme, every morning from 6 a.m. (in bed for at least the first 30 minutes) and was startled at 6:45 a.m. (still in bed) by a mention of “the Journal of Advanced Nursing.” What followed was a report on an excellent article by Weldon et al. (2015) reporting on the effect that music played in operating theatres has on communication between members of the surgical team. The piece was also featured in the subsequent news bulletin. The study shows that music can be detrimental to communication. If you want to hear the coverage, I made it available with a short commentary in a podcast.

Also, I had to resume arbitrating between some authors who dispute ownership of a dataset from which an article was recently published in JAN. I find these disputes often take months to resolve, and I feel sorry for the doctoral student in the middle of this who hasn’t done anything wrong. Clearly, the dispute is at a higher level, but its resolution may well have an impact on the doctoral project.

Life goes on

Along with my wife and two of my sons, we spent a weekend in Scotland clearing my mother’s house. My mother recently moved to a nursing home in Hull and her house is for sale. There were plenty of laughs as we found things long forgotten in the house and reminisced. Some harsh decisions had to be taken about what was being removed and what was going to a local charity shop. However, the hardest thing for me was locking my father’s workshop and studio for the last time ever. The click of the padlock simply choked me and moved me to tears as I recalled the boats built, wood turned, watercolours painted and framed for sale.

My sons took a selection of items but we had to leave many of his beloved tools behind, some of which I recall watching him working with when I was a child; we have no room for them. We managed to find around 50 of his watercolours, and we have stored them. He died five years ago, and we all miss him tremendously. But life, as the cliché goes, goes on, and next week my daughter, who lives in Germany and who I rarely see, returns for two weeks for my son’s wedding. I have no travelling planned until September and look forward to this precious time with them and the rest of my children and grandchildren.

Reference
Snowden, A., Watson, R., Stenhouse, R., & Hale, C. (2015). Emotional intelligence and nurse recruitment: Rasch and confirmatory factor analysis of the trait emotional intelligence questionnaire short form. Journal of Advanced Nursing. doi: 10.1111/jan.12746

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.

Finland to United Kingdom to Bahrain

MANAMA, Bahrain—There could be no greater contrast than between the lush greenness and clean air of Finland and the scorched, dehydrated, and dusty landscape of Bahrain. That contrast is even more striking when you have only 24 hours between the two places with a very short visit home. The visit home was even shorter than planned, due to being stranded in Helsinki by one airline, having to transfer to another airline and another city in the UK, and finding my way home after public transport was closed. Such are the joys of international travelling, which some look upon in envy. As ever, I thoroughly enjoy what I do around the world, but the process of getting there can be tedious.

Finland

I was in Turku, as I was last year at this time, to give sessions on writing for publication to postgraduate research students at the University of Turku. This time, it was a Journal of Advanced Nursing (JAN) show, as I was with fellow editor and Hull colleague Mark Hayter, PhD, FAAN, professor of sexual and reproductive health at the University of Hull. The sessions were enjoyable, and the students interacted well.

The weather was fantastic, the food excellent, and it is always good to catch up with international colleagues. If there is a link between Turku and Bahrain, it is the open-access journal I edit, Nursing Open. One of the editors, Riitta Suhonen, PhD, RN, works in Turku, and, here in Bahrain, I am with Seamus Cowman, PhD, FAAN, who is now head of nursing at RCSI Bahrain, affiliated with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). Cowman is another editor of Nursing Open and, incidentally, the first Irish nurse to be elected a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

Bahrain

Bahrain continues to develop since my previous visit and, despite the desiccated landscape and dusty Middle Eastern backdrop, it has paradisiacal elements as land is reclaimed along the coast and small, exclusive communities emerge. I should be used to living in hotels—not all of which are five-star, believe me—but the luxury of the Gulf Hotel, Bahrain, and the tranquility and service of its Platinum Club provide an insight into a lifestyle that, but for generous hosts, I will never be able to afford. The dilemma is: Do you eschew it for fear of getting used to it and missing it; or do you indulge, knowing it will rarely be on offer again? As I stare out over the night lights of Bahrain from the top floor of the hotel and the waitress pours me another (free) drink, I think you see how I solved the dilemma. I’m going to miss this one day!

The purpose of my visit to Bahrain is to work as an external examiner on the master’s in nursing programme at the RCSI. I examine the same programme in Dublin, and part of the job is to ensure that the same standards are applied in both locations, on behalf of the RCSI and on behalf of the National University of Ireland, which is the degree-awarding body.

The Nursing Open theme continues, as one of the editorial board members, Catherine McCabe, PhD, RN, assistant professor, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, arrives today in her capacity as external examiner for the undergraduate nursing programme. I am very pleased that my contract has been extended for another year and that I will also be starting as an examiner next month at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. By sheer coincidence, my fellow examiner is none other than Cowman from RCSI. The Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), is represented here by the relatively newly formed Rufaida Honor Nursing Society, which is seeking to become a full chapter of STTI. Catherine O'Neill, senior lecturer, RCSI Bahrain, played a major role in establishing it, along with local colleagues.

Running, climbing, and football

My efforts to get out on the rocks are being thwarted by an inordinate amount of travel, both in and out of the United Kingdom. This is probably the busiest year of my life. However, I continue to train indoors, and combine rock climbing with running. Finland was a joy to run in, but my 0530 run today in 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) to avoid the sun, had me almost at my physiological limits. I don’t understand why this should make your legs feel as if they had lead weights attached. In addition, the expatriate workers waiting for their transport to work shared incredulous looks as I panted past. To make a living, they are forced to work in this heat. I could be in bed in an air-conditioned room.

Finally, the UK football (soccer) season has ended, and the highlight of the English season, the Football Association (FA) Cup included, for the first time in the club’s 110-year history “The Tigers,” my local Hull City team. The match was played at Wembley, the 90,000-seat national football stadium in North London. The opposition was the mighty Arsenal, a North London club, and 25,000 of us made the journey south to watch the game, including the three Watsons pictured.

We lost, but only after taking a 2-0 lead and taking them into a period of extra time. Nobody expected that, and I think we were happier than the Arsenal fans. We stayed to see Prince William award the FA Cup runners-up medals and departed, elated. My voice took a week to recover, and I look back on what was, surely, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

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.

A very strange week!

HULL, United Kingdom—Last week I was in London at a Research Excellence Framework subpanel meeting and then in Glasgow at the 2014 Annual International Nursing Research Congress, sponsored by the Royal College of Nursing of the United Kingdom. In Glasgow, I launched, together with Wiley colleagues, Nursing Open with a huge cake bearing a facsimile of the journal’s cover. I have not had my name on a cake since my childhood birthdays.

The conference was very good. I spent the first day in the registration and exhibition hall, where I was able to do some very valuable networking, catch up with old friends and colleagues, and answer questions about Nursing Open and Journal of Advanced Nursing. At the end of the day, I co-presented a workshop on the use of social networking in nursing. Led by my good friend Alison Twycross, PhD, RN, head of Department for Children’s Nursing, London South Bank University, and my new friend, Calvin Moorley, PhD, RN, senior lecturer, London South Bank University (we had only previously met on Twitter), the workshop was well attended and generated a good discussion.

The evening began with a reception at the magnificent Glasgow City Chambers, followed by dinner with Wiley colleagues at Glasgow’s excellent Urban Bar and Brasserie. I had black pudding starter and haggis sausages, and you probably don’t want to know what either of these Scottish delicacies contain.

On my second day, I lined up some research sessions to attend, and I was not disappointed. I gravitate towards sessions on quantitative research, and there were some excellent methodological sessions on Rasch analysis, questionnaire development, and stress and burnout in nursing. In particular, I enjoyed meeting Nina Geuens, PhD student, Karel de Grote-Hogeschool, Belgium, and her supervisor, Erick Franck, professor in applied psychology in health care, Universiteit Antwerpen, Belgium. My long journey home by train was filled with thoughts of the Sheffield half marathon I was due to run on Sunday, 6 April, which brings me to Part 2 of this entry.

Nina Geuens, Yours Truly, and Erick Franck

Rebel runners

My early mornings in London and Glasgow were taken up with final preparatory runs. I followed a very strict half-marathon training programme by Hal Higdon. As my children would say, I was “up for it.” If you Google “Sheffield half marathon” or, on Twitter, go to “#sheffieldhalfmarathon” or “#rebelrunners,” you will immediately see what an interesting day this turned out to be.

My wife and I arrived at the starting line, along with more than 5,000 others, at the appointed time and were then held there for 50 minutes without explanation. Rumours abounded but, as it turned out, insufficient water had been supplied for the number of runners involved and, at 9:50 a.m., the run was cancelled. What followed will go down in running history. A predominantly middle-class, law-abiding crowd of runners expressed its disgust the only way we could: We started running, and the police were unable to stop us. I don’t advocate civil or any other kind of disobedience, but this was one of the most moving events of my life. I think Mahatma Ghandi would have been very proud of us.

The general public of Sheffield, which had waited for more than an hour to watch us run, went into their houses, food shops, and coffee bars and emptied fridges and cupboards of all the bottles of water they could find. There were bottles of water on the top of parked cars and runners—normally a selfish and competitive bunch—were handing half-finished bottles to other runners. Where the official water stands were closed by race officials, people stood nearby handing out bottles and paper cups, along with the runners’ best friend: Jelly Babies. These incredible, high calorie-sweets are made in Sheffield, and they are exactly what you need halfway round a long route. If you eat them when you are not taking exercise, the sugar high that results is unique.

The intrepid Dr. Watson

Did I hear you ask how we fared in the race? Well, my wife dropped out, as she has to save herself for official races and has another one coming up soon. When I realised that the police had backed down and saw that the crowd of runners was beginning to snake its way through the town, I decided to complete the course, which was my first half-marathon. I enjoyed the first 10 miles but realised, at that point, that my plan for a fast final three miles was not going to happen. By 11 miles, I was considering ending it all by jumping into the oncoming traffic and, at 12 miles, had it not been for my wife and sister-in-law shouting my name, I might have knelt down and cried. But I carried on to the finish line and was glad to see that the organisers had decided to stay and hand out running vests, water, and medals.

My ambition was twofold: to remain standing at the end and to complete the run within two hours. My time: 1 hour, 47 minutes and 28 seconds and, with wobbly legs and bleeding nipples (exceedingly painful), I was still standing. Some might consider my inability to speak for a considerable length of time another positive result.

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.

All publicity is just publicity

HULL, United Kingdom—The Lancet Commission on UK Nursing is going well, if you consider all publicity to be good publicity. Without meaning to ignore the many congratulations I have had on being asked to lead this and the offers of help, it is human nature that the stream of derision on Twitter and two letters in Nursing Standard verging on the abusive should have the greater impact.

So, what has upset people so much? Where do I start?

Why another commission on nursing? Why is a “medical” journal investigating nursing? The terms of reference are not yet published. Why is there no patient representation? Why all academics? Why no student voice? Why so many people from Hull? Why so few women? How have the commissioners been selected? (The undemocratic approach has been likened to South Africa before the yoke of apartheid was thrown off!) I think that is all, and I have no intention of retorting—as well I am able—as these detractors know I cannot.

Moving on. Since the initial announcement, we have added more commissioners, and we are working on the terms of reference, which will be agreed upon soon and duly published. Without attempting to answer my critics, I am honoured personally to have been asked by The Lancet to lead the commission and, given that reports from The Lancet are referred to almost daily on BBC (British Broadcasting Commission) Radio, the journal’s reach and influence is indisputable. The organization has a well-oiled publicity machine, and their podcasts are well worth listening to. If you have an iPad (access via other tablets is also available), you can subscribe (free) and download them automatically.

Nursing Open

The first teleconference of Nursing Open’s editorial team took place this week. We have four associate editors, based in Australia (Allison Williams, PhD, MN), Bahrain (Seamus Cowman, PhD, FAAN, FFNMRCSI), Canada (Alex Clark, PhD, RN), and Finland (Riitta Suhonen, PhD, RN). With such an international team, these teleconferences have to take place at a time antisocial for someone—usually me. I have another teleconference this evening with the equally geographically disparate team of Journal of Advanced Nursing editors. Life is sometimes stressful and inconvenient, but never dull.

My children have great difficulty explaining to their friends what I do, and most attempts end with a question to me: “Dad, what exactly is it that you do?” For the second time in this entry, where do I start?

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

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.