Nurse & Midwife Support Podcast

View the transcript: https://www.nmsupport.org.au/news/podcast-stories-graduate-year-francis-and-robyn Mark and special guest co-host Celeste Pinney talk to Francis and Robyn, inspirational recent graduates who fearlessly share their stories of the highs and lows of their grad year. They share their vulnerabilities and offer tips to support other graduates. We’re not using Francis and Robyn’s last names to protect their privacy. Robyn discusses the importance of support mechanisms so you can debrief, reflect, and recognise what you need: “Asking people if they have room for you, if they can hold the space for you to have that deep chat about whatever was going on during a shift or how the whole week was... Allow yourself to feel your emotions. Your feelings are valid. What you're going through is valid. You're not the only one experiencing it. Try and find if you can. Try and speak up. Talk to your other peers, your fellow grads, and just ask if anyone else is feeling the same way. Because when you find someone that is feeling the same way, it can make you feel not so alone in the emotions you're going through and the experiences that you're having at that time.” Francis encourages graduates to make the most of your graduate year, to learn as much as you can and enjoy it. He advises to try and let go of your fear and trust in the process. Francis acknowledges that stressors and difficult times will be inevitable but focus on the pleasure and joy of learning, making connections and setting up your career. For more tips you can also check out the next episode, Episode 39: A Graduate Coordinator’s advice for new grads with Joanne Purdue. https://www.nmsupport.org.au/news/podcast-graduate-coordinators-advice-new-grads-joanne-purdue You can also check out our resources for students and graduates. https://www.nmsupport.org.au/students-and-graduates Support is available. Nurse & Midwife Support is here to talk to you — free, confidential, and 24/7 on 1800 667 877 or by email. https://www.nmsupport.org.au/support Your graduate year matters!

In this special edition Mark Aitken discusses the prospect of COVID-19 with Mental Health First Aid expert Sam Eddy. They talk about the importance of acknowledging emotional and physical responses to stress when crisis occurs and how to implement strategies in response. Visit http://nmsupport.org.au/podcasts for more information

R U OK? Day has been encouraging us to have important conversations with colleagues, friends and family for many years now. This year they are urging us to consider what more there is to say after RUOK? In line with this we are launching our new page and podcast on suicide. Where we broadly look at the topic including signs to look for and what to do if you are concerned that you, or someone close to you, is feeling suicidal, or showing signs of suicidality. Plus how to talk about it – a conversation can change a life. For more information, please visit: https://www.nmsupport.org.au/mental-health/suicide

Bullying in the workplace is never OK, but it is a reality for many. The experience can have a detrimental impact on health and wellbeing and may be related to long-term negative impacts. In the second part of this special double episode of the podcast Mark talks to Tessa Moriarty, a mental health nurse who shares her personal story of workplace bullying and how she recovered from the experience. Tessa shares that by the time she realised she was being bullied both her mental and physical health had been negatively affected. Elle Brown, Nurse & Midwife Support Senior Clinician also joins us to provide information and insights into what to expect if you contact Nurse & Midwife Support about workplace bullying and/or harassment and how we can assist you.

Understanding professional boundaries is vital for nurses and midwives to practise safely and adhere to our registration requirements and protect ourselves and the public from harm. Unfortunately, asserting professional boundaries isn’t always easy. At Nurse & Midwife Support we often hear from nurses and midwives that navigating professional boundaries can be complex. We support nurses and midwives impacted by boundary transgressions or with questions about boundary management. We know that managing professional boundaries may not always be black and white and we are here to support you. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) also recognise that managing professional boundaries can sometimes be difficult, particularly identifying and differentiating the boundaries between professional relationships and personal relationships. That’s why they provide guidance on professional boundaries in the respective Code of conduct that aim to protect the community by helping to prevent distress, confusion, harm, or abuse of people being cared for by nurses and midwives. But professional boundaries aren’t just important for protecting the people we care for — they’re vital for protecting clinicians too. Understanding professional boundaries is important for your professional wellbeing. That’s why we asked Dr Wendy McIntosh to join us on the Your Health Matters podcast to provide you with the facts, information, resources, and support you need to confidently assert your own boundaries. Wendy has spent many years studying professional boundaries. She has 30 years’ experience as a registered nurse in clinical, education and research settings, including twenty-five years in mental health. She takes a special interest in professional supervision, professional boundaries, professional identity, links between childhood trauma and mental illness and workplace bullying. We are so grateful that Wendy has joined us to explain what she has learned about professional boundaries and how they will support your professional health and wellbeing. That’s enough now Wendy has also written a blog for us on the topic: “That’s enough now”— professional boundaries fortify self-care. She writes: “That's enough now” is a phrase I developed while supporting professionals to identify and address factors that led to their boundary transgressions. “That's enough taking work home”, “that's enough workplace bullying”, “that's enough working long hours”, “that's enough unpaid overtime”. That's enough now. Wendy believes “That's enough now” is a crucial phrase to help nurses and midwives create and reinforce boundaries, and that we should start practicing it at the undergraduate level. Check out the blog to learn more about how you can practice saying “That’s enough now.” Talk to us about it Professional boundaries matter! If you need help figuring out how to build and maintain your boundaries, we’re here to chat about it. Give us a call on 1800 667 877. https://www.nmsupport.org.au/news/podcast-asserting-professional-boundaries-dr-wendy-mcintosh