Stephen Jones graduated from the university in 2014 and has been working with people who have mental health issues and learning disabilities since 2009.
He said: “When I was at school, I wanted to play rugby or be a vet - neither were realistic. I came to an open day at Greenwich and asked about psychology because I wanted to better understand people and help them. The person I spoke to said try mental health nursing – as my mum had suggested originally (she is always right).
“Everyone at Greenwich was very supportive, especially when things started happening in my third year. I was speaking at conferences and was making real progress, but what was really useful is the university kept me grounded throughout. My tutors were encouraging me but also making sure I concentrated on my studies.”
Currently on a secondment from Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust to the South London Mental Health and Community Partnership, Stephen is preparing to take on a strategic UK-wide position.
He added: “The aim is to support the development of the RCN as the voice of nursing, as well leading and developing strategies to address health and social care issues and concerns. With my team, I want to help the RCN be a voice for nurses and members. We want to work with other health professionals to create good working relationships.
“The voice of mental health nursing remains under-represented on the national stage. The profession has a wide membership, representative of our country’s diverse population. Having such an eclectic mix of knowledge and skills, mental health nursing should be at the forefront of everything ‘mental health’.
“There is a lot of research into wellbeing and suicide rates currently. We will be advising professional bodies on ways to improve – looking at cultural change and better leadership. Covid is clearly taking its toll but these have been problems for a long time.
“While setting out to represent the voice of nursing nationally, I aspire to champion the drive for parity of esteem, while supporting the wellbeing and mental health of nurses through and beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This six months secondment is an incredible honour for me to grow and develop as a person, a professional and as a nurse. I will strive to make a real difference to the lives of our nurses and subsequently service users and patients.
“For the past five years, my PhD supervisors – John Crowley, Karen Cleaver and John Foster – have been an incredible support. Their belief, encouragement and knowledge have been fundamental to my development. Again, they keep me grounded, but also, as John Crowley puts it, they provide enough 'destabilisation' to ensure I think critically and always remain receptive to academic debate.”
For more on mental health nursing at the University of Greenwich: https://www.gre.ac.uk/undergraduate-courses/eduhea/mental-health-nursing-bsc-hons
