Nursing During a Crisis

Bournemouth University hosted an event, supported by the European Social Research Council, in November 2021 that drew on the experiences of some participants in the Memories of Nursing (MoN) project. It provided an opportunity to compare and contrast nursing during times of crisis; for those in the MoN project this was World War 2 and for newly qualified nurses this was the Covid 19 pandemic. Members of the public attended the event to learn about the nurses’ experiences, identifying similarities and differences. There were four work stations that attendees could engage with:

• the voices of the Memories of Nursing participants from audio clips on the MoN the website
• changes in infection control and hygiene practices over time
• the development of professional identity including images of nursing (uniforms, caps, badges)
• an opportunity to talk to a newly qualified nurse who was in the middle of her nurse education when the pandemic struck

 

Feedback from the event was very positive; participants found it thought provoking, interesting and possibly worthy of further exploration. The concept of resilience emerged as a key theme, as nurses demonstrated this characteristic in both times of crisis that were considered in the event. The MoN team agree that investigating this concept further could form a very positive extension to the project in the future.