On Monday 28th Sept 1981, exactly 39 years ago to the day, I started psych nurse training in my home town of Castlebar, County Mayo. At 18, I was the 2nd youngest student in the country
From day one nursing was something I& #39;ve loved and remain endlessly grateful for that blessing

This pic was taken in 1982 when we were 2nd year psych students with our tutors.
As my beloved son @will_dolan_ drily noted once, we didn& #39;t just train in the last century, we trained in the last millennium!

Last October, my hometown honoured me with a civic reception. Even better, 9/10 of us met up for the 1st time in decades (1 is nursing in Canada). 2 have retired, 1 took on her dad& #39;s farm and all the rest of us are still nursing. We& #39;re so proud of that and we remain great friends

So, if this is the month you& #39;re starting your nursing career, welcome. You have made an outstanding decision about what to do with your life https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👏" title="Applaus-Zeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Applaus-Zeichen">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👏" title="Applaus-Zeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Applaus-Zeichen">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👏" title="Applaus-Zeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Applaus-Zeichen">

With luck you will have friends forever, a warped sense of humour and you& #39;ll be part of something incredibly special. Nursing.

I was recently asked to co-author this blog on what I wish I knew in my first year in nursing which looking at it again it& #39;s really a love letter to mental health nursing and I still think of it as my best qualification. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-could-turn-back-time-what-wish-knew-my-first-year-emma-versluis/">https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-c...