Wrapping up

One of my nocturnal pleasures when I am away from my wife—this is not going where you think it is—is listening to podcasts in bed without earphones. Mrs. Watson insists I wear them and then complains I don’t answer her when she speaks. Last night, courtesy of a BBC podcast, Laurie Taylor’s “Thinking Allowed,” I heard this joke: “What do you get if you cross a sociologist with a member of the Mafia? An offer you can’t understand.” Well, I laughed.

Despite Mrs. Smith choosing the restaurant—and she chose well—I remain solvent. I had the pleasure of meeting her niece Julia Lee, an architect who studied in the United Kingdom, works in Hong Kong but is returning soon to the UK to complete a master’s degree. Her inspiration for becoming an architect was the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), and we discussed our favourite features of this iconic building, designed by UK architect Sir Norman Foster. Until the construction of Beijing airport—also designed by Foster—HKIA was the single largest enclosed space in the world.

Graeme Smith, Yours Truly, Julia Lee, and Maggie Smith.

Final days of large conferences are always strange. Many people have gone, the exhibitors have all packed up, and the buzz has settled down to a barely audible hum. I always feel sorry for final plenary speakers, but Stephanie L. Ferguson, PhD, RN, FAAN, nailed it in her well-attended and lively closing keynote: “The quest for excellence in international nursing research.” Director of the Leadership for Change Programme at the International Council of Nurses in Geneva, Switzerland, Stephanie is also a consultant for the World Health Organization and a member of GAPFON, the Global Advisory Panel on the Future of Nursing I mentioned earlier.

So folks, that’s it for “POSTMARK: Hong Kong.” It’s been my pleasure and privilege to have been asked to do this, and I thank Jim Mattson, editor of Reflections on Nursing Leadership, and Jane Palmer, the magazine’s assistant editor, for servicing the entries so efficiently. I’ve enjoyed the conference, and I look forward to attending again. I leave Hong Kong tonight (Monday), but it’s only four days until I’m back.

If you haven't taken the Star Ferry across Hong Kong harbour,
you must. Click photo to view YouTube video I shot.

Normal service will be resumed in my “Hanging smart” blog, and the next entry will be from Sydney, Australia. Finally, I’ll bet you’re all wondering if it rained at 0830 this morning. It didn’t.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Comments are moderated. Those that promote products or services will not be posted.

The rain in Hong Kong falls mainly at 0830?

It was raining when I awoke and still raining at 0820 this morning, so that might be a severe blow to my theory that it always rains at 0830 in Hong Kong. As someone once said, “The plural of anecdote is not data.”

I’m still not running (for those who read my “Hanging Smart” blog), but the excellent gym in the condominium where I am staying enables me to shed an undignified 500 kCal per day. It’s undignified in the sense that, in addition to the calories, I also shed around a litre of fluid in a huge pool on the floor. For local users of the gym, all Chinese for whom perspiration seems not to be a problem, I must be a disturbing sight.

On the way to the conference, I went to hear Mass at the Holy Rosary Church. When I say “hear,” I must explain that it was in Cantonese. I heard it perfectly, but had no idea what was being said. Luckily, there was the appropriate standing and kneeling at various points to let me have some idea of where I was in the liturgy. I normally attend the earlier English Mass, where the majority of the congregation is Filipino.

Sunday in Hong Kong is the only day Filipino workers—mostly in domestic service—have to themselves. After attending church, they gather in vast numbers in any shaded area to talk, eat, trade, and catch up with friends. It’s a moving sight, because they seem so happy, yet earn so little, most of which they send back to families in the Philippines.

Yesterday, after conference activities, Graeme Smith (entry passim) and I met David Thompson, PhD, RN, FAAN (“Hanging Smart” blog entries passim), who was passing through en route from Australia. A former resident of Hong Kong, he is now professor of cardiovascular nursing at Australian Catholic University in Melbourne. He is heading to the United Kingdom and then to the United States.

David Thompson, Yours Truly, and Graeme Smith.
The black substance is purely for medicinal purposes.

At night, I had the pleasure of dinner with Amandah Hoogbruin, PhD, RN, from Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Amandah was a master’s student at The University of Edinburgh in my very early days there, and she was responsible for helping me get my first research grant and my first major development of a measurement scale—the Caring Dimensions Inventory.

Yours Truly with Amandah Hoogbruin,
editorial board member of Nursing Open.

Restaurants were packed and people were queuing. I have often seen Western tourists being turned away at these times. However, we got a table without a problem while people still seemed to be waiting. I should explain that Amandah’s parents were Chinese. This gives you a small insight into one of the undercurrents of Hong Kong society. Racism is too strong a word. Rather, it is being comfortable with one’s “own kind,” and I have seen this often enough to report it without fear of contradiction. I still love the place.

My conference attendance today took in an excellent session titled “Publishing: A career road for you?” presented by Susan Gennaro, DSN, RN, FAAN, and Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, PhD, RN, CPNP/PMHNP, FNAP, FAAN, editors, respectively, of Journal of Nursing Scholarship and Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing. It was aimed at novice reviewers but, as a fellow editor, I found this very useful. I am always happy to plunder other people’s PowerPoints for ideas. I should mention, also, that Griselda Campbell, my good friend and colleague and partner at Wiley who oversees the health and nursing portfolio, also attended the conference and “manned” the Wiley stand. Wiley sponsored the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame awards and the session on publishing.

It may not have rained at 0830 this morning, but it rained most of the remainder of the day. Tonight, in return for my free board and lodgings with Professor and Mrs. Smith, I take them out to dinner, their choice of restaurant. Graeme is a fellow Scot, a fellow Aberdonian, who understands how painful we find it to part with money. If he chooses the restaurant, I’ll be solvent. If Maggie, who is Chinese, chooses, it will be expensive.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Comments are moderated. Those that promote products or services will not be posted.

Celebrating research

It rained at 0830 this morning, just as it rained at 0830 yesterday morning. It rains frequently in Hong Kong—and regularly. The line I take from Fo Tan to town is the romantically named and eponymous Kowloon China Railway, known here as “the KCR.” It does exactly what it says: It runs from Kowloon—Hung Hom to be precise—to Lo Wu, located on Hong Kong New Territories’ border with China.

Trains to mainland China run through to Shenzen and beyond, through Guangzhou province, but the train I take is part of the Mass Transit Railway, the MTR. (The same system exists, but is called the MRT in Taiwan.) I could take the train all the way to the conference, but it is much better fun and more authentic to leave the train in Kowloon and take the Star Ferry to Wan Chai, where the conference is being held in the Exhibition Centre. The ferry costs a handful of Hong Kong dollars and gives you the best view of the buildings on either side of the harbor.

This morning, the newest members of the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame were inducted. This was a high-key—as opposed to a low-key—event which, I find, North Americans do so well. In the UK, we are less accomplished at celebrating our accomplishments. It’s just the way we are. The induction ceremony was a celebration of the life and work of some outstanding individuals.

Brendan McCormack is inducted into the International Nurse
Researcher Hall of Fame. Click photo to view video.

The emphasis was on translation of research, refreshing in an age when research activity—certainly in the UK—seems to be measured by the income it generates. We may have lost sight of the fact that research is about ideas, on the one hand, and finding things out, on the other. Money, merely the link between the two, was not mentioned in relation to any of the inductees. Sadly, back home, I think a similar occasion may have begun by listing each person’s research income. I was especially pleased to see—and film for my YouTube page—Professor Brendan McCormack being inducted into the Hall of Fame for his stellar and long-standing work in dementia care. With reference to my 24 July entry in this blog, I was able to demonstrate to Brendan that I do own more than one shirt!

A highlight of this day was meeting an old friend and colleague, Professor Sophia Chan, PhD, FAAN, undersecretary for food and health in the Hong Kong government. Apart from local television, I had not seen Sophia for a long time. Sophia is on secondment from her position as head of nursing at The University of Hong Kong. In 2008, in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, I attended her induction as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

My picture of the day is with a colleague from Taiwan, Professor
Fan-Hao Chou, PhD, RN, of Kaohsiung Medical University.

I reflect often that it is a privilege to be part of the worldwide community of nurses that is the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI). Many people ask me what STTI does and what it is for. My answer from now on will be, simply, that STTI “is.” It exists by virtue of and for its membership.

And now, I can’t help wondering, will it rain tomorrow at 0830?

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Comments are moderated. Those that promote products or services will not be posted.

No wake-up call needed

My day started at 0500, wide awake. “I must be in the Far East,” I thought. And I was. So I rose in time to see the sun appearing over the mountains in the New Territories and got a really good view of Sha Tin racecourse from the balcony of the apartment where I am staying in Fo Tan. My accommodation is courtesy of Graeme Smith, PhD, FEANS, editor of Journal of Clinical Nursing, who is based out here and lives with his wife Maggie, a mental health nurse. The other thing I saw at 0500 was that yesterday’s entry to this blog had been retweeted.

Sha Tin racecourse

I have been to only one major STTI event in the past, and that was the congress in Toronto in 2006. It was huge, and so is this. We Europeans are used to conferences on a much smaller scale and consider attendance of more than 500 virtually unmanageable.

As I get older and more travelled, I find it increasingly hard to get from the main entrance of a conference centre to where I want to be. The problem—and the privilege—is knowing so many people. I recognise faces better than I remember names but have learned it’s better to ask, “Where did we meet?” than to pretend I remember. So, I miss the start of sessions, and I miss coffee breaks, but connecting with people is the most important aspect of a conference. The sessions are often a framework around which to hang networking and catching up with colleagues.

I’ve struggled with jet lag today, so the seats at the Wiley stand in the exhibitors’ area have been a welcome and strategic haven. I even managed to sell one of my books. However, I’ve attended some sessions, having learned to leave plenty of time to move from one area of this vast Hong Kong Conference and Exhibition Centre to another. I wonder, fancifully, if the Rolling Stones and Lady Gaga—just two of the famous acts to have performed here—managed to find their way around. I was surprised, given the large number of parallel sessions, how well attended they were.

I include another celebrity picture with Professor Smith; Yang Fang, PhD, RN, dean of nursing, Hangzhou Normal University, China; and Hester Klopper, PhD, RN, president of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. This was taken yesterday but only made it to my inbox today.

Graeme Smith, Yang Fang, Hester Klopper, and Yours Truly.

Who will your intrepid reporter have his photograph taken with tomorrow? Watch this space.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Comments are moderated. Those that promote products or services will not be posted.

Spotting celebrities

I arrived safely in Hong Kong, courtesy of Cathay Pacific, especially grateful for a business-class upgrade that afforded me eight hours of sleep. The temperature is high for this time of year, and the humidity is overpowering. The shortest walk ends in rivulets of sweat cascading down your back, and a once neatly pressed shirt clings to your body like film wrap.

I made it to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai just in time for the day’s events to close, but this was fortunate as I was able to position myself strategically in the exhibitor area, where drinks were being handed out and where I could spot many nursing celebrities. First to pass by was President-Elect Cathy Catrambone, and I have the photographic proof. Cathy and I were together in Basel, Switzerland recently to help launch the Global Advisory Panel on the Future of Nursing (GAPFON). In fact, I spotted so many nursing celebrities it was hard to know who to speak to first. I have several in my sights.

Yours Truly and President-Elect Cathy Catrambone

The day ended in Hutong restaurant, courtesy of Wiley, with some seasoned editors, including Brendan McCormack, one of the International Nursing Hall of Fame inductees. At the dinner, I showed Brendan a photograph in my iPhone of me with another Hall of Famer, Sally Wai-Chi Chan, PhD, FAAN, now at Newcastle University, New South Wales, Australia. She was holding the very large coloured glass ornament—the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame award—that was presented to her at her induction last year. It was intended to show Brendan what to expect by way of something to adorn his office. Brendan pointed out that I was wearing the same shirt tonight as I was in the photograph. As far as I am concerned, the war of words and mutual insults begins. I have made sure that I have an unmistakably different shirt for tomorrow.

Brendan McCormack with Debra Jackson, editor-in-chief of Journal of Clinical Nursing.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Comments are moderated. Those that promote products or services will not be posted.

Hong Kong bound

HULL, United Kingdom—I have just this minute checked in for my first of two visits to Hong Kong this month. My beloved airline Cathay Pacific (other airlines are available) allows frequent flyers to check in 48 hours in advance. I am usually checking my watch and waiting. This visit is for the 25th International Nursing Research Congress, sponsored by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.

The long-haul flight and the dangers—albeit infrequent—of flying have been on my mind this week. These things hold no fear for me, and I have always refused to alter my behaviour as a result of terrorism or events such as the terrible ending of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. (If we change our behaviour, these people have won.) However, as all European flights take a route over the former Soviet Union, I also realise how lucky most of us actually are, and my mind will be on that as I board the plane. Air miles, upgrades, and lounges seem trivial compared with arriving safely at your destination.

POSTMARK: Hong Kong

Assuming a safe arrival, I will be blogging daily, I hope, from the conference at the invitation of Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL) magazine, and this blog will be called POSTMARK: Hong Kong. I have checked previous Research Congress blogs by Ken Dion, reporting from Brisbane and Prague, which give me a lot to live up to, but I like a challenge. On the night of my arrival, I have dinner with fellow editors at Hutong, hosted by Wiley. One of those editors will be Brendan McCormack, one of the 2014 inductees into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame.

As mentioned, this is my first of two visits to Hong Kong this month. After the conference, I have a day and a half at home before I board a plane again, this time for Australia and accompanied by my wife and youngest daughter, Rebecca, 15. We will be stopping in Hong Kong both ways.

I like to take the remaining few of my children who have not visited Hong Kong out through immigration—even though we can transfer without doing so—and let them experience the intense heat and humidity briefly and to get a Hong Kong stamp on their passport. Since I can use the diplomatic channel, this takes me approximately 10 minutes, and then we are back on the right side of immigration. It is possible that my children don’t find this as much fun as I do, and I am quite sure that the ever-sensible Mrs. Watson will not be joining us on this diversion. On the return journey, Rebecca and I have two days in Hong Kong, and I have booked all sorts of exciting things to do.

If you read my recent “Hanging smart” post in RNL, you may be wondering how my plantar fasciitis is. Well, my two runs earlier this month in Genova were not such a good idea, and the race I took part in when I got home was a very bad idea. I’m unable to run at the moment, or climb, and have to find other, less satisfactory, ways to keep fit.

New fellowship

Finally, in its collective wisdom, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh saw fit to make me a fellow, so now I can carry the coveted postnominal FRCP Edin designation. At first, I thought it was a mistake, as I am not a medical doctor but, again in their collective and infinite wisdom, they have created a class of nonphysician fellow. I have often visited their esteemed headquarters in Edinburgh and even had the privilege—once—of giving a lecture. Next time I enter those hallowed portals, my head will be held just that little bit higher.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Comments are moderated. Those that promote products or services will not be posted.