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On The Table Read, “the best creativity magazine in the UK“, poet Michael Rosen has helped launch a mental health support app, ShinyMind, with a brand new poem written for NHS nurses.
ShinyMind
Recent research has found that, in the past year, more than 40,000 nurses have left the NHS, largely due to stress. Aimed at supporting the mental health and overall wellbeing of the nursing community, acclaimed author and poet Michael Rosen has helped launch a new app, ShinyMind, and released a brand new poem dedicated to hard-working nurses, midwives, nursing associates and healthcare support workers.
A poll of 400 nurses, midwives, nursing associates, and healthcare support workers, who use ShinyMind, found that 94% ‘felt better’ as a result of using the app. The average improvement in wellbeing was at 117%, and 46% felt it had improved their productivity.
Karen Storey, NHS England and Improvement seconded nursing retention and liaison lead, supported the development of the app, and helped to engage nurses at all levels in co-designing the nursing version of ShinyMind.
Born out of proven science and life-changing results, ShinyMind is a unique evidence-based mental health and wellbeing app co-created with The NHS Walton Centre, one of the UK’s most respected specialist neurological NHS Trusts and later NHS nurses, midwives, and healthcare support workers in England plus a senior nursing secondment from NHS England and Improvement.
ShinyMind has been co-created with the NHS, involving nurses, midwives and healthcare support workers, and its evidence-based approach to wellbeing has been proven to increase positivity among staff, empowering them to understand and manage their emotions and reactions and in turn, help them manage stress more effectively and improve their wellbeing.
Michael Rosen
In March 2020, Michael Rosen spent six weeks in an induced coma, after contracting Covid-19, followed by many more weeks of rehab and recovery as nursing staff helped save his life, then got him back on his feet. Throughout Michael’s stay in intensive care, a notebook lay at the end of his bed, where the nurses who cared for him wrote letters of hope and support.
After his recovery, Michael Rosen published these notes in his book, Many Different Kinds of Love, to showcase the highly skilled, safety critical and compassionate care of nursing staff.
In June 2022, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Council made the exceptional decision to award an Honorary Fellowship to Michael Rosen.
“Nurses are the backbone of the NHS and literally saved my life and continued to do so when I was discharged from hospital and finally had the courage to read all of their notes to me, written while I was in an induced coma,” explained Michael Rosen at the ShinyMind launch. “As is detailed in my book, Many Different Kinds of Love, the compassion and empathy these unsung heroes have are truly outstanding. I can’t thank them enough.
“It is my absolute honour to pen and recite this specially commissioned piece dedicated to nurses at the launch of ShinyMind. Hopefully, it will give them a small glimpse as to why they are so important to me and millions of others around the country.
“I believe that the ShinyMind app will be a great source of information, guidance, and support for nurses and I really hope they download it to help improve their wellbeing and continue to save lives.”
Rebecca Howard
ShinyMind, founded by psychotherapist, Rebecca Howard Senior is backed by nursing figures from across England. They include Professor Gemma Stacey, director of policy at the Florence Nightingale Foundation, Queens Nurse, Dr. Joan Myers, OBE and Professor Steve Hams, MBE, chief nursing officer at North Bristol NHS Trust.
“There is no denying that nurses are facing some very tough challenges, especially as we head into winter, and there isn’t a magic wand we can wave to remove these, however, there is much we can do to support these critical workers,” explained Rebecca Howard. “I’ve spent over five years co-creating and testing ShinyMind in collaboration with the NHS and its nursing community across England, based on their feedback and what they tell us, will help support their wellbeing. It’s great to finally share this trusted, evidence based resource with the nurses who do so much for us all in the face of extraordinary challenges.
“ShinyMind aims to help nurses better cope with the demands they face on a daily basis. It also provides resources for professional needs such as masterclasses on assertiveness and voice plus CPD and reflective supervision.
“I’d also like to thank Michael for supporting the launch of ShinyMind and for taking the time to pen this wonderful new piece as an ode to the nursing profession we all know and love.”
This Is You, You’re Looking At You
Michael Rosen
This is you.
You’re looking at you.
Look closely.
Closer.
Listen to the breathing.
Is it calm?
Or is there a bit of a gasp
or a snatch in there?
What about the walk?
Watch the walk.
In control, is it?
The feet roll from heel to toe
do they?
What next?
How about the eyes?
Look closely at the eyes.
Eyes tell you a lot.
The skin round the eyes.
Is it tight?
More on one side than the other?
And is that a frown?
Is it always there
or can it smooth out?
This is you.
You’re looking at you.
Now what comes next is harder.
See if you can notice any part of you
that’s tight, taut,
a part you that you’re holding
tighter and tauter
than it should be
and you don’t know why:
a shoulder maybe
one side of your neck?
Is there anyway that can be looser?
This is you
You’re looking at you.
Now this is difficult.
We’re going in.
What about sleep?
Honestly.
Do you sleep through the night?
Or do you lie awake in the middle of the night
and you don’t know why?
What do you think about?
Does the day before
come in and sit there keeping you awake?
Does tomorrow
come in and sit there keeping you awake?
Have you ever talked to someone
about what keeps you awake?
You could, you know.
Sometimes, talking about it
scares off the things that keep you awake.
This is you
You’re looking at you.
Are there things you could do
which would look after you?
Places you could go
People you could see
Shows you could watch
Things you could do.
What are they?
Shut your eyes.
Imagine you’re doing them.
Imagine you’re doing them.
Imagine you’re doing them.
Have you ever tried ways
of expressing what you feel?
Drawing?
Writing?
Movement?
What would you draw?
What would you write?
How would you move?
Imagine you’re doing them
Imagine you’re doing them
Imagine you’re doing them
And you know why I’m asking you
to ask yourself all these questions
don’t you?
It’s for that old, old reason:
if you don’t look after you
you can’t look after others.
This is you.
You’re looking at you.
Find ShinyMind now:
ShinyMind is gifting the app to all NHS nurses, midwives, nursing associates and healthcare support workers in England. They can download it here: https://shinymind.co.uk/ or here: https://qrco.de/bdRLd
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