Nurse pens children’s book during covid-19 to boost her wellbeing | nursing times

A community matron has explained how she spent time during the pandemic writing and illustrating a children’s book as a way to express herself, boost her wellbeing and share stories about

the “marvellous job” of nursing. Catherine Bartholomew, who has been working in NHS community services in Sussex for the past eight years, has produced a new children’s book called “Little

Nurse and Bag”. > “It's been a lovely way to express myself and also telling > children stories about the marvellous job of nursing” >  > Catherine Bartholomew Aimed at

five- to seven-year-olds, the book shares the “adventures” of a community nurse who visits patients in their homes and uses contents of her trusty bag to help treat and care for them. Mrs

Bartholomew, who was previously an illustrator and graphic designer, told _Nursing Times_ that, at a time when “things have been more restrictive” during Covid-19, she decided to create the

book as a way of expressing herself. Catherine Bartholomew The process had been “cathartic” and boosted her wellbeing “immensely”, she said. Earlier this week, _Nursing Times_ reported that

nursing leaders were encouraging colleagues to use the arts to reflect and recover from the pandemic. Mrs Bartholomew agreed that art “helps with your resilience and makes you feel

yourself”. “It’s been a lovely way to express myself and spend a bit of time on what I like to do, and also telling children stories about the marvellous job of community nursing and nursing

in itself,” she added. Nurse mental health and wellbeing has been a key concern throughout the pandemic and led _Nursing Times_ to launch its Covid-19: Are You OK? campaign to lobby for

additional support for the profession in spring 2020. The book aims to be “fun”, with a hint of “magic”, while also tackling key issues of isolation, loneliness and dementia, explained Mrs

Bartholomew, who already has ideas for future books in the pipeline. So far, Mrs Bartholomew has received a lot of interest and positive feedback from children who she said told her that

they wanted to read it over and over. Taking between 10 months to a year to create, the book was published in November and is available to purchase on Amazon. RELATED ARTICLES