Skip to main content
search
Tag

Nursing

Book Review: Look Back In Hunger by Jo Brand

By Books & Authors, History, ReviewsNo Comments
look-back-in-hunger-jo-brand Look Back in Hunger by Jo Brand was a Christmas gift to me from my friend Sye last year. As a big fan of Jo Brand I couldn’t wait to read it, finally finishing it about a month ago.

Jo’s use of witty chapter titles and writing as she would talk instantly engages the reader. Your hooked from page one, even though the subject is about motorways ones she loves and ones she doesn’t. The majority of the book focuses on her late teenage years and her early adult years before she became a TV comedian. Each chapter contains a truthful and witty story, including several about her time as a Psychiatric Nurse. It has several glossy photo pages, spaced throughout the book, so you can image what the then Jo would look like along with other important people in her life.

Although funny, cleaver and engaging I did feel that it was kept very superficial. Jo didn’t discuss life goals, or lovers or people and experiences that have helped shape her in the fabulous woman that she is. Indeed she states that there wasn’t one key reason she went in to stand up comedy. This was disappointing because all stand up comedians seem to have a reason, for acceptance from others through humour, because they were always that way – making people laugh, etc.

As I edged closer and closer to the end of the book, I started to realise that Jo wouldn’t be discussing how she got in to stand up and moved on in her TV career and I came to realise there would be another book. Overall I thought Look Back in Hunger by Jo Brand was good light witty reading, that you could dip in and out of. It’s a good introduction to were Jo Brand came from. Her latest book, the second part in this autobiography is available to buy on Amazon as well: Can’t Stand Up For Sitting Down by Jo Brand.

Blog soon,

Antony

Share on Social Media:
Friday 24 December 2010

Why I’m thinking of joining one of the TUC unions…

By Political, ThinkingNo Comments

The TUC (Trades Union Congress) represents 58 trade unions and is set up to lobby the government on all sort of social and economic issues that effect workers with in the represented unions in a unified way. Many of TUC member unions represent public sector workers including: teachers, nurses, council workers, police, etc.

I’m a public sector worker and what I see from the government greatly greatly concerns me. I’m seeing massive budget already ahead of the governments budget review in October. This means seeing colleagues at risk of loosing their jobs and I’m at risk too, we all are. I’ve trained and qualified as a Nurse and a Youth Worker so if I’m made redundant where I am going to work? I doubt the private sector has many jobs for Nurses or Youth Workers. But of equal importance, if not more important, the cuts mean front line services for vulnerable people in society will be adversely effected.

Now I know the budget deficit needs reducing, there’s no disagreement on that from me, but I do disagree with making cuts that in my opinion are too deep and too quick. Services will be effected on a massive scale and I believe it will lead to a substantial rise in unemployment. The TUC’s response to the government cuts are to organise coordinated strikes so that all union workers are striking at the same time. It’s not about creating the maximum amount disruption to the public, although I have to admit there will be some, it’s about showing unity to the government. It’s about telling the government that we disagree the cuts need to be made so deep and so quickly.

I’ve not been in a union for some years, but the TUC’s response to strike is one I agree with. How else can we get through to a government which ironically isn’t listening to the people who they are suppose to work for? And that’s why I’m thinking of joining one of the TUC unions.

Write soon,

Antony

Share on Social Media:
Tuesday 14 September 2010

Nursing to become a Degree only Profession

By Health5 Comments

In the News a few weeks ago (see BBC News – Nursing to become graduate entry) it was announced that Nurses from 2013 will only be able to train at Degree level. I have mixed feelings about this.

I am proud to be a Nurse. I originally trained as a Diploma student purely for financial reasons. In doing the Diploma the NHS paid all of my tuition fees and gave me a small monthly bursary. If this had not been on offer it would have not been financially viable for me to train. My fellow Diploma students were mostly in their late twenties or early thirties and had young families, the tuition fees and the small bursary enabled them to train. These mature students all reported that they wouldn’t have been able to afforded financially to do the Degree course as they would have had to pay all their own tuition fees and received no bursary. My fellow students I saw on the wards and found them to be caring and ultimately became very knowledgeable competent Nurses.

Social Work is a graduate only profession, meaning that all Social Workers trained after a certain point are degree qualified. Making Nursing a degree level profession adds credibility to the profession, increases Nurses knowledge and overall will enhance patient care. Indeed I have recently gone back to University to upgrade my Diploma to a Degree (see Back to University). All Nurses would agree that enhancing patient care is always a positive thing. So there are lots of positives to making Nursing a degree level profession.

My fear is that people don’t always go in to Nursing as their first profession (i.e. straight from school / college) such as my forma colleagues who were mature students who struggle financially. And even some people who are not mature students such as myself couldn’t have afforded to go in to Nursing if it was a Degree only profession. Therefore we potentially could miss out on some people who have the potential to be good Nurses (i.e. have a caring nature, a desire to make a difference, etc.). So my message to the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the NHS, the educational institutions and the government is:
Continue to make Nurse training financially viable for people from all walks of life regardless of: gender, sexuality, race, religion & disability.

Take Care,

Antony

Share on Social Media:
Wednesday 18 November 2009

Back to University

By Life3 Comments

I am pleased to announce that I have been accepted at the University of Central Lancashire to undertake BSc(Hons) Nursing. It is a 12 month elearning course that will top up my Higher National Diploma in Nursing (Child Branch) to a degree.

This is part of my grand plan (post on this to come soon).

Take Care,

Antony

Share on Social Media:
Thursday 20 August 2009
×