Clinical Nurse Specialist – Stroke

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

Career Profiles