60 seconds with... Sister Shang, Senior Sister in Ophthalmology
What is your role and what does it entail?
Senior Sister in Ophthalmology, team leader and manager of the ophthalmology department.
How long have you worked at RLH?
I started in August 1988 at The London hospital, before it became The Royal London Hospital, with only 2.5 nurses, two consultants and one doctor doing the contact lens clinic. Now we have ten consultants. The nurses role was mainly doing vision testing, now we have nine nurses and HCAs with nurses taking on new extended roles such as intravitreal injections. In those days our consultants, registrars and SHO had their theatre sessions at Moorfields, we now have six operating lists per week at Mile End and two at RLH.
Why do you think you have stuck it out so long?
There is such good team work and support from all the team. We all help each other to ensure patients receive the best care possible. I have really enjoyed my nursing career in ophthalmology, especially at The Royal London.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I love hands-on nursing and patient contact, it’s very rewarding to see patients post cataract surgery doing so well and experiencing genuine changes to their lives. As a nurse being able to ease patients' apprehension prior to surgery and receiving their thank you’s for our hard work is a great feeling, and especially nice when they bring chocolates and cakes!
What are your plans for the future?
My plan for the future is to travel more, explore my family roots in Hainan Island, China and get back to doing more reading and my hobbies - cake making and patch work.