Sister Blossom: Community Nurse

“Cup of Tea Sister?” Nurses on the wards of the hospital seemed to be of the opinion that the job of the Community Psychiatric Nurse was all drinking cups of tea. This was true in part because socialising was a feature of gaining the trust of patients and their families, but there was a great deal more to the job than sitting drinking tea. This memoir is written in the first person by the fictitious ‘Sister Blossom’ following the daily activities of a Community Psychiatric Nurse during the nineteen eighties when many of the huge asylums were being closed down. The towns and villages, doctors, nurses and the colourful characters Sister Blossom encounters are all imaginary, but she weaves a rich tapestry of anecdotes and legends gleaned from the myths of the asylum’ that every nurse will recognise because we all have a wealth of similar stories to tell. Sister Blossom does not delve into the realms of diagnoses, drugs and psychoanalysis; instead she demonstrates to the reader how health professionals use humour rather than heavy handed authority to deal with a multiplicity of situations faced every day by nurse and patient. It is understood that the serious nature of mental illness can never be underestimated, but it is not all doom and gloom. People with mental health issues can and do lead useful and fulfilled lives.