Meet Jessica, band 5 nurse, RLH
Meet Jessica, a staff nurse in the critical care team at The Royal London Hospital. After some time away from the hospital she returned in February 2021. Read on to find out what brought her back.
“I qualified in 2014 and my first job was at The Royal London Hospital. After spending a few years in neonatal care, I returned to the adult critical team in early 2021.
“Before returning, I was a little nervous as I hadn’t actively worked in critical care for a few years and the unit had also just worked through the peaks of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, I knew I knew would be safe and supported at The Royal London.
“We have a really good wellbeing team and approachable managers; no task is tall for them and they do a lot to ensure we are progressing and remain happy in our roles. Our team has a whatsapp group, and if you are worried there is always someone to talk to.
“I am being promoted to sister in the next few weeks. I didn’t think it could do it, but my manager started to put me in charge and gave me feedback after my shifts. This gave me the confidence to step up and here I am!
“As well as progressing, I am also learning. I am about to start a trauma course, but there are other training programmes too such as neuro trauma and cardiac. Our professional development nurses are always on hand for advice and can help to find funding if there is something you would like to pursue.
“I live in Milton Keynes, and I have two small children, so travelling to The Royal London is a little far, but I really do love it here. This is the only hospital I know that works on a template basis; this means every 4 weeks, I usually have 6 days off, which is great for planning weekends away.
“You also work with the same team most of the time, which means you form really good relationships and work seamlessly as a team. This means we provide the best care for our patients.”