Here we have introductions - in their own words - from the nurses who have recently stepped forward to help lead the Outpatients Forum's work at the national committee level.

CATHERINE (KATE) DAWSON: OPD is 'the shop window to the hospital!'

I trained at St Bartholomew's Hospital London and as a midwife at St John's Hospital, Chelmsford, Essex.

I worked for six months at Barts in an outpatient setting soon after I qualified and it was there that I discovered another nursing world - one that I had little knowledge of as it was not covered in the syllabus. I found I really enjoyed this type of nursing because of its varied nature.

I now work in the private sector in an Outpatients Department and look upon it as the shop window to the hospital. Outpatients will be the first point of contact with a hospital for many people and the service, staff attitudes and opinions that they generate can influence their whole patient journey.

I gained an MBA related to health care and with this added knowledge, I have been involved with a working party to implement computer-held nursing notes. I've assisted in setting up nurse-led clinics as well as one-stop clinics with other specialities with a view to smooth integration of services to improve patient satisfaction - and I've also developed a patient satisfaction questionnaire.

I have never worked as an RCN activist before now, but I have always wanted to put something back into my profession. I believe that I can bring a wealth of experience from the private sector to the forum - experience which I have gained over the past 30 years of working for several private hospital groups.

I enjoy being part of a team and want to ensure that nurses are recognised as an integral part of the outpatient experience.

ELIZABETH SAWYER: The forum must be 'more visible throughout the UK and allied islands'

I am a senior nurse at Noble's Hospital, Isle of Man, working in the Outpatient Directorate. I have a BSC (Hons) in Health Studies. My role is to undertake the day-to-day management of six outpatient areas across the hospital. I provide professional and clinical leadership, and have responsibility for the practice development of all nurses in the Directorate.

The Directorate is very diverse and accommodates many other aspects of the organisation such as volunteers, the healing arts and environment programmes, and Phlebotomy and Audiology Services so it provides me with experience of working across many disciplines.

My skills lie in communication, both in the ability to articulate ideas clearly to a range of audiences and to effectively support the learning of others when involved in teaching, mentoring or clinical supervision. I am a determined person, committed to seeing ideas become action, and I am an experienced facilitator, providing facilitation for the organisation through action learning sets.

I would like to see the forum become much more visible and established throughout the United Kingdom and allied islands, and serve an active resource to all nurses worldwide. I believe that all hospitals and trusts, regardless of size, can make a valuable contribution towards improvements in practice and future developments.

The Isle of Man is a Crown Dependency and therefore not governed by the United Kingdom. This brings its own challenges as we work toward national guidance and best practice standards. I believe that my experience as a senior nurse here will offer a different perspective that will be a valuable contribution to debates within the forum.

Nursing is facing many changes and new ways of working, and I am passionate about ensuring the voice of outpatient nurses is heard.

SANDRA JANE HARDING: 'There is growing evidence of the effectiveness of nurse-led clinics compared with traditional medical models'

I have 23 years of experience in nursing and the latter half of this has been predominantly outpatient based. I have worked for several years as a nurse practitioner and also as an ophthalmic nurse manager.

During Agenda for Change I undertook a secondment to the role of Knowledge and Skills Framework Co-ordinator for my trust. I am currently working as Training and Development Co-ordinator for the Outpatients Directorate, covering six sites during very changing times within the Welsh Health Service.

I consider there is growing evidence of the effectiveness of nurse-led clinics compared with traditional medical models of providing health care and, as such, I would like to work towards providing a tool for the forum to aid outpatients nurses and specialist roles in improving outpatient waiting times and meeting patients' needs.

We are encouraged within our health communities to develop our skills in all areas so we can develop organisational and individual capability through policies and training, and ensure that sustainable improvements are
made. Working with the forum committee I would support outpatients nurses in meeting these ongoing developments.

The new ways of working for all forums will ensure that the committees are setting realistic outcomes, and meeting them in a timely manner. Some of the many skills I hope to bring to the forum are those of workforce development, role-redesign, education and training, and management of change.

I have been a member of the RCN for 23 years and during this time I have regularly presented at conferences.

NICOLA NESBITT: Let's 'strive to reinforce to everyone that we are a specialty'

I began working in outpatients in 1994 and have evolved from an E grade staff nurse to my present position as Nurse Manager. My current Outpatient Department in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary has over 20 different specialities and over 100 consultants attending across three different sites. I also manage the Prosthesis Service (breast and wigs) and the Pre Assessment Service.

I still work in a clinic one session a week as part of my role. I have gained an invaluable amount of knowledge and skills pertaining to outpatients and the role of the outpatient nurse. I have first-hand knowledge of the issues we face in outpatients with regards to improving the patient journey, meeting targets and also carving out the future role of outpatient nursing.

I am passionate about my department in particular and outpatient nursing in general, and I continue to strive to reinforce to everyone that we are a specialty. I am consulted by nurse managers and unit operational managers for advice on outpatient issues and I also share any new and/or best practice developed in the unit.

I would like to see the forum have outpatient nursing recognised as a specialty. I want to work on the documentation, competencies, Band 4 Senior Health Care Workers - also on having more nurse-led initiatives, improving the patient journey and developing an Ambulatory Care Nurse Practitioner role.

I hope to contribute dedication, hard work, ideas and enthusiasm to the forum. I am willing to help in any capacity to ensure outpatient nursing moves forward in the right direction, with well informed and educated outpatient nurses.

This is my first experience of working with the RCN and I am really looking forward to it!