17 October 2023
Job/Role Summary
Follow up of all patients diagnosed with stroke/TIA for holistic assessment, secondary stroke prevention, onward referrals to statutory and volunatry organisations. Teaching, training, update qualified nursing staff re stroke. Development of protocols/guidelines (nursing). Care of family, carers, ensure their needs are met.
Specific qualifications and experience required
RGN Community Nursing Specialist Practice – Stroke
Career Milestones
Working as a District Nursing Sister fine tuned my communication and interpersonal skills. Psychosocial consequences of stroke impact on role, identity – not just seen as deficits or residual impairments. I became much more sensitised to the experiences of people with stroke and their families and saw at first hand the longer term effects.
What attracted you to this job?
- Specialised in an area of interest, focused
- Enabled me to immerse myself in a specific area
- Presented me with teaching opportunites .
- Presented me with learning opportunites for my own development
Enjoyable aspects of the job/role
- Clinical role,
- Health education
- Setting goals with families – seeing those achieved and ultimately seeing a person’s risk of recurrent stroke reduced
- Sharing of information
- Empathising
- Counselling
- Therapeutic relationship with clients
Important success factors
- Support guidance from Nurse Consultant for older people from the trust – instrumental
- Feedback from patients (audit) – evidence of practice
- Managerial support – praise for pieces of work which have gone well – belief
Advice for those considering the type of job/role?
- Be prepared for conflict, how best to manage it, network, take ‘a little at a time’
- Be flexible – adapt to changes but simultaneously maintain priorities and don’t lose sight of aims
- Ensure clerical/administration support comes with the post to improve effectiveness of role and good usage of time
Key skills that can be gained within this job/role?
- Multi-tasking
- Prioritising
- Working to deadlines
- Networking regionally (benefits are huge)
- Experience from undertaking research (MSc)
- Audit (within the trust) – I practice across Trust boundaries (both primary and secondary care) – I see whole picture