Endings and beginnings
31 March 2025
As Sarah Massie retires, stepping down as our Director of Programmes after two and a half years with the Point of Care Foundation, she reflects on almost 40 years working in and alongside health and social care.
As I embark on the next stage of my life, I am struck by the thought that life is full of endings. Unlike beginnings which are often so full of hope, anticipation and excitement, they can be trickier to navigate. But it is often said that endings enable space for new beginnings. Nature teaches us a lot about endings: as the seasons change, we need to let go of the old to bring in the new. (This was very evident to me last December when I signed up for the charity “12 dips of Christmas” – I really need to leave sea swimmimg to the summer months!)
I am moved to honour this ending by reflecting on the journey I have been on. I have been working in and alongside health and social care since 1986. Much has changed: organisational forms, acuity, demand expectations, technology (we used to hand write labels on medicines back then) – but in many ways, it is still the same. People continue to be at the heart of giving and receiving care, yet the espoused ‘person centred’ ethos is often in tension with lived experiences. As clinicians we often want to have all the answers, or at least to strive to find them. My mantra across my many roles has always been to support, enable and improve with kindness and respect by celebrating the wins and seeking joy in the work.
In thinking about my story, I am also struck by how important stories are in life, and when they show up in work – sometimes briefly, and other times as a constant narrative. Reflecting on the stories which form the heart of what we do at the Point of Care Foundation, through Schwartz Rounds and our Experiences of Care work, it seems to me these stories are the sparks – the catalysts – for change, growth, knowledge and shared feelings. They connect us at a human level and create shared experiences and understanding.
Stories end and new stories begin. I am leaving at a time when the Point of Care Foundation is changing, with the transfer of our Experiences of Care programme to the Picker Institute. It has been wonderful to watch this work develop, and I look forward to hearing about its ongoing growth as part of the Picker portfolio. At the Point of Care, meanwhile, the Schwartz Rounds story continues.
So, endings are never just one thing: they are grief and celebration, vulnerability and courage; they can be happiness and sadness intertwined with uncertainty and opportunity. As I transition from my working career into a new story, I am reminded and heartened by the fact that in nature endings are sunsets and sunrises too.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the POCF team, associates and partners for the last two and a half years of stories, and wish you all many more sunsets and sunrises.