My first hospital shift was based in an acute respiratory ward where many of the patients were immobile and did not leave the wards for long periods of time. Whilst there, I spoke with a patient about how they stay positive during long stays in hospital. They explained to me the importance of nature and the environment they are in on their mental health. They recounted an experience they had earlier in the year while in hospital when they suffered from low mood and anxiety. The patient was initially placed in the bays between two beds, however, after a few days they were moved to a room with a view onlooking a green space. They explained to me that this greatly improved their mood and helped to calm them and reduce their stress, believing that due to this their symptoms had improved. I found this encounter especially insightful and decided to use this focus for my creative piece as it shows social aspects often overlooked when treating patients in secondary care and highlighted to me the relationship between physical and mental health when treating acute illnesses.

The creative medium I chose for the piece was a mixed-media collage within an outline of lungs. I intentionally used real leaves and plants that I had picked from the botanical gardens to achieve this, as I wanted to convey the feelings and emotions bought up by nature and the calming effect it can have. Personally, I learned not to view the hospital environment as such a clinical space as I had previously, and to appreciate that often patients’ priorities differ from that of the healthcare team, however, are still essential to giving the best possible patient care. I learned from my patient the difficulty of being in a hospital especially when suffering from mental health problems and the overall negative impact this can have if it is not accommodated whenever possible.

Whilst making the art piece I gained a first-hand experience of the calming and overall positive impact that spending time in Nature, and took away a deeper understanding of why my patient valued nature so highly. In addition to this, I gained self-awareness of how lucky I was to have easily accessible green space and should utilise it more, especially when I feel my mental health declining.

At first, after this scenario, I felt sad and angry as many patients in hospitals have no access to green space and no views of Nature. I felt this was an injustice, as I saw the importance of Nature. However, upon reflecting on this, I am grateful for the encounter as it opened my eyes to the patient’s view of the hospital. Furthermore, as my career progresses, I believe, due to this experience, I will have more empathy for my patients and respect for requests that I may not understand, and this will aid me to becoming a successful clinician.