Ward Sister – Mental Health

Job/Role Summary

I currently manage 2 inpatient wards

Ward 1 is a Functional Mental Health Assessment unit for over 65years old

Ward 2 is a Dementia Assessment Unit for all ages with a diagnosis of dementia

Specific qualifications and experience required

A qualification as a Mental Health Nurse

5 years post registration experience

management experience

Career Milestones

Qualifying as a registered nurse

Obtaining my degree in Community Nursing

Gaining experience in many avenues of mental Health Nursing

Completing courses in dual diagnosis, substance misuse and mental health

Nursing Older People

What attracted you to this job?

To provide safe and effective care for all the patients and the job satisfaction of providing this to a high standard

working within an effectivemulti-disciplinary team and being able to complement the knowledge and skills of other professionals

Enjoyable aspects of the job/role

Interacting with patients and their families and leading by example

Taking on board the ideas and recommendations of others

Working with a good team of staff who support each other

Challenging aspects of the job/role

Ensuring safe staffing levels due to the complexities of the patients

Living up to sometimes very unrealistic expectations of families particularly with those who have a dementia

Important success factors

Improving staff morale and maintaining a satisfactory level of attendance at work

the positive feedback that I have received from colleagues

Advice for those considering the type of job/role?

Be patient understanding but ultimately be fair to all staff

consider why you wanted to follow the career path and try to reach for your goals

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

To balance time between the duties of a manager but also to lead by example when dealing with patients and their families.

Be prepared to learn a lot of new skills

time management – not quite conquered yet!

How to be diplomatic

Maximise all my training to help me cope with the role

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