If somebody had told the teenage me that one day I would consider a 6am wake-up a lie-in I would have thought they were having me on! But since I moved from my old job on a trauma ward in an acute trust, when I would have to be onsite around then, then this wake-up is positively relaxed!
Working life for me now is spent as a Band 6 Nurse Practitioner at a walk-in clinic in the middle of Liverpool. But my first role of the day is being Mum, to my 15-year old son, Jack. Life is certainly easier now he can get himself up and ready every day but the need to check that he has what he needs for school each day never seems to go away!
My own preparation for the day ahead starts the night before, when I pack my bag with the equipment and books I’m going to need. Then a quick check of my diary for my meeting schedule and it’s off to catch our buses to school and work.
The patterns of life have changed a little since Covid first entered our lives. Regular Covid testing has become the norm and as someone still feeling the after-effects of recent infection, I’m grateful that the walk to the bus stop for my journey to work is relatively quick and easy.
We both use the journey as an opportunity to catch up with friends on WhatsApp or finishing minor tasks, though I find having a go at a sudoku is a good way to get my brain fired up for the day ahead (I’m so happy when I complete it!)
Whilst I’m still recovering from my Covid infection, my work has been great and very understanding. They’ve granted me a phased return so I am doing short shifts at present, compared to the 12 hour ones that are the norm.
Once I’m in work and checked into the room I’ve been assigned, then begins the other ritual of the morning – the daily battle to log on to the computer as the ever reliable (ahem) NHS IT systems start up for the day. Then it’s time for an equipment check, fridge temperature checks, emergency trolley and medicines and we all clean our rooms.
We have an early huddle and a Teams meeting for all our walk-in centre sites to ensure our staffing levels are satisfactory, to discuss any issues from the day before and to make sure everyone is ok. And then it’s time to open the doors.
Part of the challenge of working in a walk-in centre is that we have no idea who is going to come through the door - we treat everything from patients with minor illness or injuries, to wound-care and mental health problems. Sometimes patients come in who are very ill and we need to escalate to our hospitals via emergency services, but we are always a safe place for anyone that needs us.
As they arrive, each patient is triaged. I then take a history from the patient, asking questions and listening, perhaps the most important part of my job of all. I examine my patient and then decide on how best to help. I make sure that I always keep the patient’s best interests at the heart of everything I do so I can be sure that they will get the care they need.
I am fortunate to work with a great team. I know as a junior member that they will always support me and I am reassured that I can always ask someone for a second opinion if I need it The breadth of knowledge the senior nurse practitioners have is awe inspiring and it takes dedication and years and years of training to gain the skills they have. I am learning and hope that one day I will be as confident as these nurses are!
The day usually carries on in a fairly relentless fashion, each nurse seeing patients as they are triaged into the system. This allows us to see if anyone is seriously ill and needs emergency treatment. My day today has consisted of dressing some wounds and, for some unknown reason, an awful lot of people presenting with sore throats and earache. I also see a patient with a sprained ankle and another with a shoulder injury that needs an orthopaedic surgeon to look at it. Both are sent to AED for further investigations. I can honestly say that there is never a dull day in the walk-in centres, there is always something new and different to challenge you and to keep you on your toes.
At some point, I’ll try and make time for a brew and to grab a few minutes to catch up with any e-learning that is required or maybe some of the RCN casework, staff side work or enquiries that come my way, but in the main I try to arrange these for when I’m not working clinically.
As I’m finishing earlier at the moment, thanks to my shorter shifts, it’s a quick dash home to my afternoon and early evening meetings. Every night I need to make time to throw my uniform in the wash before I switch focus to my evening’s work.
I have a second job, lecturing at LJMU, and I schedule tutorials in the evening so that I know my students are ok. If they have deadlines looming, we all know what that pressure is like so sometimes some advice and a little bit of TLC is needed.
Evenings provide time for a catch up over dinner with my son once he’s back from school. Then it’s time for us both to do our homework. I am currently reading for an MSc in Advance Nursing Practice and Jack is preparing for his GCSEs so we both have much to learn. Then I answer emails and prepare for meetings or attend virtually via Teams. I guess the pandemic has taught us that we can work so well virtually and I find I am able to be much more productive from my office at home.
At the end of the day we finally have a little time to relax. In an effort to force myself to think about something other than work, we recently bought a greenhouse for our new home so I am trying to remember to water the plants and learn how to do something in the garden! I’m looking forward to seeing how that turns out over the summer, assuming I ever remember to do the watering!
Then it’s time for a bit of TV and some chatting, either with friends or on social media. If I’m really lucky there won’t be any ironing to do, though those days seem few and far between!
We get ready for the next day and once Jack is in bed, I will complete any marking I have to do or work on my own assignments. Finally, I finish any outstanding actions I need to complete, check my diary for the next day and sort out my uniform. Then it’s off to bed with a book. I have the double whammy of difficulty in switching off my brain from the thoughts of my busy day, plus now have the ongoing effects of the menopause to torture me so sleep isn’t always the easiest to come by but, regardless of how tired I may be, I get up and do it all again the next morning.
My days are hectic, often complicated but always full of interest and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I take huge pride and satisfaction in all the different component parts of my life, whether that be my main role at the walk-in centre, the time I spend tutoring my students at LJMU or playing an active role in the RCN or, perhaps most importantly of all, the time I spend simply being ‘Mum’.
As we celebrate Nurses’ Day today we have the opportunity to reflect on what we get on a personal level from the job that we do, as well as what we give to others. When you are tired, when the shifts are long and the breaks non-existent, and you wish, just for a moment, that you could be anywhere else, those are the times when a deep sense of pride, in yourself and your colleagues, should kick in. To know that you stay and you do your best for your patients and you make a difference each and every day – not just on the days when everyone is looking, but every day. That is when you know you are part of something special.
I am proud to represent you and proud to be one of you. Taking pride and, wherever possible, enjoyment in what we do and the contribution to society that we make – now that, in my eyes, really is the #BestofNursing.
I wish you all a very Happy International Nurses Day and thank you for all that you do.
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