Meet Charles, band 5 nurse, RLH
I was redeployed to intensive care. We started with a training day with all the redeployees, where we met and learned about each other. It was a new experience for a lot of us, but I think that pulled us together, everyone in our teams worked to help and support each other. At the beginning we discussed the skills we already had and the training and support that would be provided. No one was forced to do anything they weren’t comfortable doing, and everyone in the team was very supportive in our training and to help us feel confident in our patient care.
I came from a HDU background, so some aspects of ITU patient care were familiar, but a lot was new to me. To begin with it was a bit nerve wracking, but also exciting; there were many opportunities to learn new skills, even as a redeployee, in a very supportive environment.
I didn’t think I would be joining intensive care at this stage of my career, but seeing the patient cases, the teamwork, the support provided for every team member to develop, and progress helped me decide that this was where I wanted to be.
To be in this team you have to be enthusiastic about learning, challenging yourself and working well under pressure. Seeing the doctors, nurses and other redeployed staff pull together made me want to work here. Having been redeployed gave me a great head start in my ITU training and has opened up opportunities and courses for my development earlier in this role.
The unit has a wide variety of patient cases; trauma, neuro, you come into work and you have something different every day. There is a lot of training and development courses available; you get equipment training, learn about policy-based care, pathophysiology.
Everyone in the team likes to teach, you always have colleagues to support and teach you; and then, a year down the line, that becomes you.
It’s a great place to learn different skills and specialities of nursing. Anyone thinking about joining should just come and take a look around, ask what they can expect and give it a go, it’s a really good opportunity to gain experience and develop in your career.