Clare Clark is paediatric clinical nurse specialist for patients with haematological conditions and for children post bone marrow transplants. This year Clare is celebrating 20 years’ service with CUH! Clare shared her story with us.
I trained as a registered general nurse 32 years ago, back in 1990 at the Lister hospital in Stevenage, qualifying in 1993 and taking on a paediatric staff nurse role. I completed my children’s nurse training in 1994 gaining experience in many paediatric areas and went on to manage the special schools nursing teams in Hertfordshire before moving back to Cambridgeshire in 2001.
I had enjoyed my work with children and families with oncological conditions in previous roles so moving to the paediatric day unit at CUH was great. I started again as a staff nurse in 2001 and from 2009 to 2017 I was the senior sister for the paediatric day unit. In 2017 I started my current role as paediatric clinical nurse specialist.
I felt that I could really make a difference to reduce delays in patient care so completed further training in prescribing and clinical assessment modules. I had been really nervous about the academic side of completing the modules but found I was capable and it gave me new opportunities to study and understand more about the treatment we were giving.
I then wanted to complete the whole advanced nurse practitioner pathway but knew my management role as senior sister was not going to offer the opportunity to do this. It was time for a change and I was very fortunate to get the nurse specialist role. I have now completed the advanced nurse practitioner pathway and use the skills developed in everyday practice to support families and the service.
In my current role as paediatric clinical nurse specialist I have autonomy, which I enjoy, I also work with a great supportive team. I work very closely with the children and families and am able to support them through some very difficult times. Managing many of them from a distance and helping local teams support them helps to reduce the time they spend travelling to CUH and time in hospitals which I find rewarding.
A usual day for me starts by checking emails before attending ward rounds and clinic handovers. Emails are varied. I might be offering advice to parents or healthcare professionals in primary and secondary care across the region. Liaising with teams from other specialist centres across the country involved in my caseload. I see patients in clinics independently or with my medical colleagues, though some appointments may be virtual. I prepare for future clinics and children’s ongoing care which may include ordering investigations, reviewing blood and investigative results, prescribing medications and ordering blood products. I have multi-disciplinary team meetings to attend here at CUH and with other specialist centres.
I support paediatric areas and teams offering advice and teaching about my patient group. I work with schools to develop healthcare plans and am also involved in supporting older children to get ready to transition to adult services. I try to keep my clinical nursing skills up to date by helping in clinical areas.
Over the last 20 years I have worked with numerous patients and their families but a particular patient with a complex immunological and haematological disorder who required a bone marrow transplant stands out. The child had a very complex medical history and was supported by a transplant team, a community nursing team, other nursing and medical teams within the CUH family including psychology and of course our team. We supported the family for many many months, coordinating care, organising ad-hoc care, speaking on the phone or via email, sorting urgent medications and investigations and then reviewing and assessing the results. We also helped with a disability living allowance application. I believe our team helped to keep this patient at home as much as possible so that the family could have some degree of normality which makes it all worthwhile, particularly when we get lovely pictures sent to us.
The role of a clinical nurse specialist benefits our patients as we are a point of contact for them. We help to reassure families, and support them with difficult news, relieving some of their anxieties, explaining in terms they understand and helping to coordinate care.
We strive to make a patients journey as smooth as we can, helping to ensure they can get the care they require at home or closer to home if possible. When I see patients in clinics it is a great opportunity to help them understand their diagnosis and ongoing care needs as well as undertake the clinical assessment. Lots of my work is around liaising with teams and agencies outside the hospital ensuring they understand what care is required to keep a child well and safe. This really supports the family.
Finally I would just like to say:
I couldn’t do my work or have completed my studies without the support and understanding of my family and the paediatric haematology and oncology department at CUH are extremely dedicated and are totally awesome!