SurvivingNurse is the name of my blog which features ‘A&E Covid-19 Story’. This documents my experiences working as an A&E nurse in the midst of the pandemic.
A year ago I began writing on the SurvivingNurse blog with the main content featuring information I had learned as a newly qualified nurse. This was to share my experiences to help other new nurses. A year later, I moved to London to work in A&E.
This happened to be amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. The blog now covers what I encounter week to week in a Central London Emergency Department. The blog also covers stories, advice for new nurses and mental health resources in a regularly updated ‘selfcare in healthcare’ page.
Additionally, I began to run an associated Instagram page (@survivingnurse), with the intention of increasing the reach of the blog and connecting with other Nurses and Healthcare Professionals in an online community.
After running the blog and Instagram page for 4 months I began to think about how I could transfer the blogging skills I had learned, especially as the pandemic began to wane from the News headlines. This is when I had the idea to apply my skills in a voluntary capacity to support a charity that is very close to my heart. This lead me to contact Yorkshire’s Brain Tumour Charity with an application for a voluntary role of running and content creating for the @YorkshireBTC Instagram page.
Yorkshire’s Brain Tumour Charity is very meaningful to me. This is because in 2017 my stepdad, Dean was diagnosed with a brain tumour. During this time, the support groups and community offered by Yorkshire’s Brain Tumour Charity was invaluable. My Mum, Hilary especially found great support from the group meetings. She has since volunteered regularly and become an Ambassador for the charity. Dean passed away in 2018 and since then, Yorkshire’s Brain Tumour Charity has continued to be a charity I feel very strongly about raising money for. This is because I understand, first hand, the vital work they do.
In my new voluntary role I hope to promote the charity by increasing the reach of the Instagram account and supporting Yorkshire's Brain Tumour Charity Community. This is so they can continue to offer their wonderful support to people and their families, in Yorkshire, who have been diagnosed with a brain tumour.
You can follow us on Instagram @YorkshireBTC
