Pauline Duffy, Registered Nurse, In-Patient Unit, talks about her work
Registered Nurses have vital roles as part of the Clinical Team at St Luke's Hospice and play a valuable part in In-Patient care. They are trained to the highest standards in Palliative Care and are equipped to train other Registered Nurses who are new to this specialist area of Nursing.
Pauline has worked at St Luke's for the last five years. She joined the hospice from a London hospital, where she had obtained a degree in Cancer Nursing. She works in the In-Patient Unit, often dealing with patients who are in the last few days of their life. The patients need to be monitored in a specialist environment where they are given a combination of medication and other therapies to help improve their quality of life.
'I decided to specialise in cancer nursing when I qualified as a Registered Nurse. After a period of time, I wished to develop my career further and felt that specialist palliative care would be an environment which would be suited to nursing skills and expertise. I wanted to work in an environment where I could devote time to providing a high quality of care to patients as well as spending time with the families. It is good to be able to support families during what can be a very difficult and emotional time. The nurses work closely with other members of the Multi-Disciplinary Team, (doctors, social workers, complementary therapists and physiotherapists) to ensure patients and their families are cared for appropriately.
One of the things I enjoy about my roles at St Luke's is training and supporting new Registered Nurses who join the hospice with little previous experience of working within specialist palliative care. They undertake the Palliative Care Development Programme that supports nurses to acquire specialist clinical skills and study theory at degree level'
