Job/Role Summary

Managing a team of highly skilled nurses, providing an acute nursing service to acutely ill patients across the Trust area. Ages ranging from 14-100years+. However younger children may be considered. The team work as in-reach to the main hospital as well as taking referrals from GPs.

 

Specific qualifications and experience required

• RGN Band 6 or above for 3 years
• 5 years post registration experience desirable
• Certificate/Diploma/BSc Hons in Community Nursing

 

Career Milestones

Prior training as a ward sister for 5 years enabled me to start up a new service, incorporating prior knowledge and skills of policy making, development of a sevice and specification of client group to meet the needs of the trust. Also clinical skills helped in assessing, planning and implementing skills and training needs for staff to develop a highly skilled nursing service to acutely ill patients away from the hospital setting.

 

What attracted you to this job?

Challenge to be innovative and creative, whilst knowing I had the desire and ability to establish a wonderful nursing service for very ill patients at home

 

Enjoyable aspects of the job/role

Satisfaction of seeing acutely ill young, old and terminal patients remain with their families whilst receiving IV antibiotics and blood transfusions and be safe with their care . Also, keeping people at home, preventing a culture of sickness for other conditions that would normally require hospital admission for anything up to 6 weeks

 

Important success factors

• Line management and support and guidance from Trust
• Support from Director of Pharmacy (appointed after 1 year in post)
• Statistical evidence showing benefits to hospital and community that show bed days saved that did not require readmission

 

Advice for those considering the type of job/role?

• Be prepared for a very difficult passage when trying to set up this rapid response nursing team
• Network regionally, then formulate an operational policy which meets the needs of service providers and users
• Ensure training and policies are in place to enable staff to practice safely whilst delivering an excellent standard of care

 

Key skills that can be gained within this job/role?

• Policy development
• Managing staff and understanding budgets
• Liaising with (medical/consultants/GPs) colleagues and also district nursing teams to ensure a short term effective intervention