Spotlight on the RCN Defence Nursing Committee

Published: 22 July 2009

Laura Hodson RAuxAF
Reserves representative

Laura Hodson

Clinical background

Accident & emergency

Academic profile

Current post

Senior Staff Nurse, A&E, St Thomas' Hospital, London
Nursing Officer, 4626(Aeromedical Evacuation) Sqn, RAF Lyneham.

Laura trained at the University of Hertfordshire, graduating with a BSc (Hons) in 2003. During her training she joined the University of London Air Squadron, based at RAF Wyton. She has had the opportunity to have a number of flying lessons, including flying solo, which whet her appetite for the RAF and aeromedical nursing.

Consequently she arranged an elective placement with the Air Force, working four weeks at MDHU Peterborough and four weeks at RAF Lyneham with the Tactical Medical Wing. Her degree dissertation was on the physiological effects of flying and she has since published articles on the subject in the British Journal of Nursing and Primary Healthcare Journal.

Since graduating Laura has been working in accident & emergency, originally at Barnet Hospital and now at St Thomas'. She has worked both in adult A&E and children's A&E and is currently also the Student Co-ordinator for the department.

Laura joined 4626 (AE) Sqn in April 2004. On training weekends her emergency nursing skills are often used to assist in training medics in intermediate life support and basic trauma care.

Laura has deployed once as an aeromedical evacuation nurse to Afghanistan in 2007 and, having now completed her initial officer training at RAFC Cranwell, she is working towards deploying in a forward aeromed role on the Medical Emergency Response Team.

Ruth Truscott
Army representative

Ruth Truscott

Clinical background

Theatres

Academic profile

Current post

Senior Military Theatre Nurse at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham

Ruth joined the NHS in 1992, commencing RN(A) training at York District Hospital, before joining the QARANC in 1996. She completed a theatre nursing course at Southampton University in 1999-2000 and was commissioned in 2002.

Ruth has worked in clinical posts at the Military Hospital Catterick, Duke of Connaught Unit Belfast and Royal Hospital Haslar, and has nursed alongside the NHS at MDHU Frimley Park Hospital.

She has also worked at the Army Medical Directorate as SO3 QARANC Recruiting Officer and an Instructor in the Department of Officer Training, Defence Medical Services Training Centre.

Operationally, Ruth has deployed to Bosnia and Sierra Leone, and has served for six months with the United Nations in Cyprus.