Nursing in the community
Summary
TLDRThis transcript shares the experiences of community nurses, highlighting their passion for providing holistic care that goes beyond just medical tasks. Nurses explain how their work allows them to spend more time with patients, support them emotionally, and help keep them at home rather than in hospitals. They emphasize the wide range of skills involved, including advanced nursing techniques and compassionate communication. The nurses reflect on the rewarding nature of their work, its challenges, and the strong bonds they form with their patients, encouraging others to consider community nursing as a fulfilling career.
Takeaways
- 😊 The speaker became a community nurse to spend more time with patients and provide holistic care, valuing autonomy and personalized care planning.
- 🏥 Community nurses provide care for patients of all ages, from 18 to end-of-life, adapting to unpredictable days and situations.
- 💉 The role involves a variety of nursing skills, including injections, intravenous drugs, and advanced assessments, breaking the misconception that community nurses only perform basic care.
- ❤️ Emotional support is a key part of community nursing, particularly for end-of-life patients, where nurses provide both medical and psychological care.
- 👐 The speaker takes pride in forming personal connections with patients, often becoming a friend and confidante, which positively impacts patient well-being.
- 📦 Holistic care extends beyond physical health, with nurses considering patients' living conditions, mental health, and even helping create memory boxes for families.
- 🚶 Community nursing offers flexibility and autonomy, allowing nurses to manage their own schedules and provide patient-focused care.
- 🎯 Communication skills are essential in community nursing, as understanding patient needs often goes beyond the medical aspect to include emotional and psychological support.
- 👩⚕️ The speaker appreciates the continuous learning opportunities in community nursing, having developed more skills than during hospital work.
- 🌟 The speaker finds immense fulfillment in their work, stating that community nursing is not only rewarding but essential for keeping patients out of the hospital and providing comprehensive care.
Q & A
Why did the speaker choose to become a community nurse?
-The speaker wanted to spend more time with patients, plan their day flexibly, and make a difference in patients' lives by ensuring those who want to stay at home can do so.
What range of patients does the community nurse care for?
-The community nurse sees patients from ages 18 to the elderly, providing care for any nursing needs, from physical health to emotional support.
How does the speaker feel about the unpredictable nature of community nursing?
-The speaker enjoys the unpredictability, as they appreciate the challenge of not knowing exactly how their day will unfold and finding satisfaction in helping patients, even in uncomfortable situations.
What holistic approach does the speaker take in community nursing?
-The speaker looks beyond just medical tasks, considering where the patient is sleeping, their diet, mobility, spiritual support, and overall well-being when delivering care.
How does the speaker describe their relationship with long-term patients?
-The speaker describes their relationship with long-term patients as friendly, sometimes playful, and built on mutual respect and care.
What groups does the community nursing service reach out to beyond the general population?
-The community nursing service supports vulnerable groups like the homeless, sex workers, asylum seekers, gypsies, and travelers, ensuring they receive care and assistance, especially when admitted to hospitals.
What did the speaker’s colleague encourage them to do, and how did it change their career?
-The speaker's colleague encouraged them to pursue nurse training despite their initial doubts. This led them to complete their training and begin a fulfilling career in community nursing.
What are some of the emotional challenges the speaker faces as a community nurse?
-The speaker finds it emotionally tough to care for patients nearing the end of life, but they balance these difficult moments with lighter activities like exercise classes, making the work more varied.
What is the common misconception about the skills used in community nursing compared to hospital nursing?
-There is a misconception that community nurses do not use advanced nursing skills. However, the speaker explains that community nurses use a wide range of skills, including advanced assessment, prescribing, and specialized care for long-term conditions.
What personal story does the speaker share about a patient's memory box?
-The speaker recounts a conversation with a patient who wanted to create a memory box for her 13-year-old son. The patient reminded the speaker that the memory box is also about receiving memories from others, not just giving.
Outlines
👩⚕️ Why I Became a Community Nurse
The speaker explains their motivation for becoming a community nurse, emphasizing the desire to spend more time with patients and help people in a more personalized way. Unlike working on the same ward daily, community nursing allows for planning the day autonomously. The role offers a wide range of patient interactions, from young adults to elderly individuals, often involving holistic care that extends beyond medical treatment. The nurse values forming deep connections with patients and helping them maintain independence, even though some tasks may be difficult or uncomfortable.
💼 Challenges and Joys of District Nursing
In this section, the speaker elaborates on the diverse nature of district nursing. They describe the various skills involved, from advanced nursing procedures to providing psychological support. Contrary to common perceptions, community nurses employ a broad range of advanced skills, such as administering intravenous drugs, prescribing, and managing long-term conditions. Holistic care is a major focus, addressing not just physical health but also emotional needs. The speaker shares a touching example of helping a patient create memory boxes for her son, underlining the emotional depth of the job.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Community Nurse
💡Holistic Care
💡Autonomy
💡Patient-Centered Care
💡End-of-Life Care
💡Advanced Nursing Skills
💡Vulnerable Populations
💡Memory Boxes
💡Primary Care
💡Emotional Challenges
Highlights
Desire to spend more time with patients and make a real difference.
Prefers the flexibility and autonomy of planning her own day.
Cares for patients from ages 18 to the elderly and provides any nursing care required.
Finds satisfaction in the unpredictable nature of the job and enjoys building relationships with patients.
Holistic approach to care: looks at patients' environment, nutrition, mobility, and spiritual support.
Experiences a strong bond with patients, comparing it to friendship.
Works with vulnerable adults including the homeless, asylum seekers, and gypsies, offering daily support.
Believes in the significance of each person and values the chance to make a positive impact on their lives.
The job involves making autonomous decisions about patient care and dealing with emotionally difficult cases like end-of-life care.
Feels privileged to work as a nurse and acknowledges the importance of communication in delivering care.
Discusses the emotional aspect of supporting patients, including creating memory boxes for loved ones.
Feels enriched by the holistic approach in community nursing, focusing on more than just clinical treatment.
Community nursing provides numerous learning opportunities, and she's developed more skills than in hospital settings.
Highlights the importance of psychological support in nursing and delivering compassionate, whole-person care.
Proud of her 35 years of nursing and encourages others to join community nursing for a fulfilling career.
Transcripts
okay you can tell me when you want me to
stop my colleague said why'd you want to
be a community nurse I said well because
I want to be able to spend more time on
my patients I want to do a very job I
didn't want to be on a war the same ward
every day
I like planning my day the way I want
it's helping people it's making a
difference and making sure people that
want to stay at home are able to stay at
home we do see patients from 18 to the
grave and we do any kind of care that
requires a nurse and you can't really
look at what's on your piece of paper
and predict how your morning's going to
go which is probably why I quite like it
although I'm doing something which
probably isn't very nice
which might hurt or you know they still
enjoy sitting me and that's why I wanted
to be a nurse because I wanted to make
people happy crying with it
well you hear hello Bell there we go
head up bombing I don't want to just go
in and knock off someone's wound I'm
looking at where they're sleeping how
what they're eating how the mobilizing
providing them spiritual support if they
need counseling you know I'm seeing the
whole picture that could be affecting
their health care - start kicking don't
you kick me no I will throw out the
trouble when I let me lay whew - okay
all right don't worry about it I only
went to the gym yesterday
don't you surely be off name--but in
district nursing now Robert 23 years
ah wonderful love it absolutely amazing
well to me it's been a lifeline it
breaks your days I have someone come in
that door especially when you're very
poorly surely your tummy's misbehaving
again say to me we're like friends now
oh wait we are so she torments me and
vice versa
[Music]
we in reach into both hospitals to
vulnerable adults so anyone who is
Street homeless sex working asylum
seeking and more recently gypsies and
travellers so we have a bed for you at
the Crypt and we'll catch up with you in
the morning and we aim to come every day
if we can and touch base with you and
see what we can do to support you that's
our primary contacts as when people are
admitted to hospital but that doesn't
mean we won't stop and talk to people or
peewee you know here we see what am i
walking across the city it's getting
cold now that you know there's a
homeless practice down the road you know
but I think everybody is somebody's
somebody everybody is significant to
somebody you know their purse and people
you know people deserve to have a chance
and yeah and I feel I feel privileged to
be able to do that
I met nurse who said why don't you why
don't you do nurse training I thought
you know it's all women and I'm not
young anymore and also I can't afford to
do it cuz I have to be a student for
three years well for each one of those
she said well it's not true and you'd be
good at it so I did it and Here I am now
I've just finished my training and I'm
just starting my new jobs in my first
week it's a great job but it does come
with it so here we on it with a lot of
responsibilities working autonomously so
you are everyday making decisions
regarding patient care and treatment yes
there are parts of the job that are
tough quite emotionally because we are
dealing with patients towards their it's
wards end-of-life as well but we have
fun days like today we go to an exercise
class and it's not all doom and gloom
[Music]
right at the top end of your heart rate
target which is fantastic yeah but
working in the communities being a great
move for me fantastic it's like I say
it's opened up so many more learning
opportunities I've not only developed
more since I've come to the community
than I ever did in the hospital I've got
a lot more Skills than I ever did it's
completely changed my perception of
district a cinema that just nurses
they'll come and sort you out with
whatever problem you've got they've got
the answer often the perception of
people working in a hospital is if they
move into the community we don't use
advanced nursing skill but we use every
every range of nursing skills that you
can imagine the most important one is
communication
but everything else so injections
nasogastric feeds intravenous drugs
assessments advanced assessment skills
prescribing leg also care long-term
conditions care it's a place to learn
it's a really good place to learn make
sure that it doesn't catch on the other
bone but this other tip of your finger
just use it to around ya
so sometimes the nursing aspect is not
what is worrying the patient it's a
psychological aspect so when we do
holistic care we're taking in
consideration the whole person okay find
me - clay yeah you know you can talk to
me
go on fire away oh yes your mouths going
yes Marcia talk to me about memory boxes
it's just something I need to do because
we have a 13 year old son
so I'm unlikely to be here for his 14th
birthday so we're talking about how what
we can put into that and how to do that
so it's not just clinical not just
medical the most salient point that's
stuck in my mind from that conversation
yesterday was that she said remember a
memory box is not just about you giving
to others it's about for you receiving
from others
which took me to a nicer place and
that's district nursing
I wouldn't want to do anything else
possibly I'm get up in the morning and
I'm ready for work I think it's a grand
job and there are lots of different
community nursing jobs out there whether
you want to specialize or not I would
never discourage anybody from working in
the community and that we keep a lot of
people out of hospital because we pick
up on things and quicker because we know
patients say well I love my job
if it's any job quite like nurse and in
the world I've been doing this 35 years
I still love coming to work but I do I
do and if you're like me and you want to
spend more time with patients and do
what we're trained to do which is
deliver holistic compassionate care then
community Nursing is by far the job for
you it's like an advert what do you
think of the district nurses when they
come in look they are lovely aren't they
absolutely brilliant it's not having
another friend so it helped me a lot
actually they are lovely they need to be
more district nurses that you know we
need more so if you look at the Health
Service this is called primary care we
can't manage without hospitals but
absolutely you can't manage without
distributism
[Music]
you
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