Introducing Netty: A Nurse's Narrative

Hello I’m Netty and I have been a paediatric nurse for 23 years ever since I decided to do my nurse training when I was 30.  Throughout my journey, I have had many roles, but my favourite has been as nurse manager and leader.  This role is where I embraced the opportunities to support and coach my staff to develop themselves both personally and professionally. I want to share my experiences over the years and will talk about funny, sad, happy and stressful situations I have encountered.  I am going to be blunt and to the point throughout which I hope will make good reading.   

 

My posts wont follow any particular order and will just be written as I think of situations I have experienced over the years.

 

My goal? To give you valuable insights into nursing and offer support and guidance along the way.  

 

The first scenario I want to talk about is when I was newly qualified working on the paediatric ward.  The ward sister asked me to be named nurse to a 3 month old baby with complex health needs.  This essentially meant that I was the single point of contact for the MDT and would look after the baby every time I was on shift.  

The family consisted of mum, dad, granny and baby’s sister.  I loved being named nurse as it meant I built up a good rapport with the family and it gave me confidence in my first few months of being qualified.  The baby did not have a good prognosis but looking back I am not sure I really understood what this meant.  I spent hours with the family and taught mum how to draw up and administer medications ready for when she took baby home. After a couple of discharge planning meetings it was time for baby to go home.  This felt like a real achievement for us all.  On the day of discharge I walked down to the car with the family and waved goodbye as they set off home to enjoy their baby.

A couple of weeks later the baby was re-admitted following a respiratory arrest at home.  Baby came back to the ward and I carried on as his named nurse.  He started to recover and there were hopes for upcoming discharge, however he then had another respiratory arrest and sadly didn’t make it.  I was not on shift at the time and found out the next day.  I was devastated and felt I had failed the family by not being there for them.  A message was given to me by the ward sister that the family wanted me to go to the funeral.  This was not something I felt comfortable with, what about professional boundaries?  I was always taught that nurses need to follow the NMC code and maintain professionalism.  What if I cry?  Surely this wouldn’t be professional!  Eventually two  senior colleagues persuaded me to go with them.

We got to the funeral and suddenly the family came up to me and thrust me towards the open casket which I was horrified about.  Why did nobody tell me this is what it would be like?  I found this really upsetting and could feel tears in my eyes and I became quite nervous.  Looking back I am glad I attended as it was my goodbye to baby and family.  The family were grateful and saw me as an important part of their journey.

Last week I was walking down the corridor in the hospital and happened to look over at 4 people sitting on a bench.  The lady caught my eye and we stared for a couple of seconds and then she said my name!  I then immediately recognised her and she gave me a big hug and said how nice it was to see me.  23 years later and she still thanked me for my care to her baby and family.  I felt such warmth from her and it took me back to why I wanted to become a nurse in the first place.  I wanted to make a difference to peoples lives.  This encounter made me feel proud to be a nurse.

My advice to anyone who is named nurse to complex patients, is to stick with it and see it as a privilege to be part of the patient and family’s journey.  It is why we are all nurses, because we care.  It is tough being a nurse and can leave you in emotional turmoil.  I don’t think I broke any professional boundaries and have in fact been to a few patient’s funerals at the request of families, and looking back I see it as my final part of the patient’s story.  

 
Being named nurse opens up opportunities for networking which for me is essential in the nursing profession.  You will learn to be assertive and an advocate which are key skills for nurses.  

 
Since my first time as named nurse it is something I have done many times and I have also supported junior staff to become confident in this role.  It is an opportunity I would thoroughly recommend as it allows you to build confidence, credibility and more importantly you will demonstrate compassion and empathy.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this and look forward to you joining me in future posts.