Page 22 - QARANC Vol 14 No 11 2015

20 QARANC THE GAZETTE
Defence Nursing Network Northern Ireland Oral Histories Project
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has been collecting oral histories since 1986 and has captured the lives and experiences of individual nurses dating from the early 20th to the 21st centuries, through two world wars, breakthrough medical developments, the beginnings of the NHS and great social changes. Leaders of the nursing profession are represented alongside ordinary nurses working in every field of nursing across the UK. In order to support this on-going project the RCN Defence Nursing Forum plans to develop the oral histories archives from recent operations. After 13 years of continuous UK operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, there are many personal and professional stories to be told.
As part of the UK wide Defence Nursing Forum (DNF) Oral Histories Project the Northern Ireland Network held a study seminar on Saturday 9th May in the Reserve Forces and Cadets Association HQ in Belfast. With the security threat still very apparent in Northern Ireland the reason for the choice of venue was aimed to encourage as many of our civilian nursing colleagues to attend without the apprehension of physically having to attend a military base. The seminar programme illustrates the Network were in a unique position in Northern Ireland, to connect the stories and reflections of nurses who worked through the horrendous troubles in Northern Ireland. The seminar was a great success in bringing stories to the forefront and encouraging individuals to have their stories recorded in order to provide credible information for future generations.
The seminar commenced with an introduction and update on the Network activities. This outlined the new Nursing and Midwifery (NMC) code and the Revalidation process which nurses and midwives will need to engage with to demonstrate they practice safely and effectively throughout their career. The RCN professional guidance on Defence Nursing (2014) which was developed by the RCN DNF steering committee was acknowledged and highlighted
as a tool to help guide Defence
Nurses throughout the process of new
developments and professional choices
during this time of transformation.
they were only doing their job. However, in actual fact they were working in the most extreme and challenging environments in a small country where they often recognized the victim’s name, relative or family; which meant it became personal. It was amazing to hear the stories which Prof Orr reflected on, and remarkably the audience could relate to every single event. Prof Orr explained ‘for the healthcare professionals who cared for the victims, the worst of times brought out the best in people’. ‘Nurses rose to the challenge of caring for their patients, from whichever ‘side’ they came, under testing conditions. Throughout it all, these nurses showed incredible reserves of patience, determination, fortitude and courage’.
Three personal reflections followed and each gave a very real and unique story which provoked memories and thoughts of our own reflections in a very delicate manner. The three individuals were extremely brave and confident to stand up and give their own story. These later proved essential as it escalated stories and memories from the audience.
Fiona Bourne the Operational Manager of the RCN Archives spoke on the development of the Oral History Project. She explained concisely what oral archives are used for, how they were controlled, the legal, ethical and safeguarding issues surrounding the archives and the copyright, confidentiality and privacy agreements set up to ensure the project was governed correctly. This gave individuals the opportunity to ask pertinent questions regarding the formalities of the project and how their confidential information would be stored and used.
Garrett Martin Deputy Director RCN NI then spoke explicitly about his experience as an Emergency Care Nurse during one of the most publicized and lengthy periods of trouble during recent years. He spoke about his sense of apprehension knowing he was on shift in the nearest Emergency Department to where these troubles were taking place. He also spoke
about the real sense
of teamwork and camaraderie between nursing staff and the wider Multi Disciplinary team during these times and the sense of achievement.
The seminar ended with a workshop which gave participants the chance to understand how the interviews would be conducted and how they would recall a relevant story. Many participants felt at the beginning of the seminar that they did not have a story to tell, but by the end of the session all had plenty they wanted to share.
This project aims to inform and educate the nursing profession and public on the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force, MOD, NHS nurses and HCA experiences of deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan and caring for seriously injured service personnel from these campaigns. In carrying out this project in Northern Ireland we have a unique opportunity to highlight the comparisons between nursing through the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Maj Gaby Smyth
Professor Jean Orr, who was Professor and Head of School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queens University, Belfast and is currently the Chair of WAVE Trauma center (which provides care and support for people affected by ‘the troubles’ in Northern Ireland) spoke about the book, ‘Nurses voices from the Northern Ireland Troubles’ (2013) which she co edited. The book illustrates the stories of nurses and highlights their personal accounts of caring for victims during 30 years of The Troubles in Northern Ireland where more than 3,600 people were killed and tens of thousands injured.
Prof Orr explained the challenges and accomplishments they faced whilst gathering stories and editing the book. Prof Orr also highlighted the sheer volume of information which had before, gone unrecognized; as these nurses felt
Developed and written by the Royal College of Nursing Defence Nursing Forum Steering Committee
(June 2014)