Aldwin Odulio, is a senior charge nurse on the Neurosciences Critical Care Unit (NCCU). Aldwin, who graduated in 1995 at St. Jude College in the Philippines, joined the CUH family in 2003 and here he tells us more about his time at CUH.
What is your name and your role in our hospitals?
Hi, my name is Aldwin Odulio and I am a senior charge nurse on the Neurosciences Critical Care Unit (NCCU). NCCU is a 27-bedded neuro intensive care unit for patients with acute brain injury, regardless of the underlying cause. The unit also cares for those who experience major trauma, up to 800 people every year receive major traumatic injuries in the East of England.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
The autonomy and scope of practice – nurses in the NCCU can practice using their critical thinking skills to help patients.
What I really love about my job is the level of care it allows me to give my patients.
In an intensive care unit (ICU), we give the highest possible level of support at the most critical time in a patient’s care.
Tell us a bit about your CUH journey; how did you come to work at CUH? Had you worked elsewhere before joining the CUH team?
I joined CUH as an E Grade nurse on the Lewin Stroke and Rehabilitation Unit in March 2003 - on St. Patrick’s Day.
I initially worked in the Emergency Department of St. Jude General Hospital and Medical Centre in the Philippines. Then when I moved to the UK I worked at North Tyneside District General Hospital in Whitley Bay, Northumbria. My experience there was valuable but I felt I wanted to progress my career so I was looking for a change. A friend told me about Addenbrooke’s Hospital, so I applied to work on the Lewin Stroke and Rehabilitation Unit. My application was successful and I started in 2003. Then after 18 months on Lewin, I moved to the Neuro Critical Care Unit and haven't left.
It took me a while to progress to a Band 6 nurse on NCCU. This is a job that I really wanted and I persevered and it's the sweetest thing that ever happened to me. I am now one of the senior charge nurses (Band 7 managers) on NCCU and I cherish every minute of it because it was not an easy journey to get to where I am now.
I enjoy my job and I want to continue to make a difference to all my patients lives.
Why you like working at CUH?
Apart from CUH being one of the most prestigious research hospitals in the country, I love the diversity and inclusion. I am originally from the Philippines and this is very important to me.
What does a usual day look like for you?
If I am working a long day, I leave home at 06:00 and arrived Addenbrooke’s around 06:30. This will give me enough time to catch up and do a hand-over with the nurses who worked the night shift.
My day then depends on what my role is that day, whether I am the manager, where I mainly focus on bed capacity and flow, or the nurse in charge of the 23 bed NCCU where the role is to support the other nursing staff by the bedside.
As well as managing a team of nurses, I lead on the quality and safety aspects of the unit, so I can also have office days, where I deal with any incident reports and nursing quality metrics.
Tell us about a case study/experience at CUH that really stands out to you.
I had a long term patient I worked with in the stroke unit who, in the beginning, was bedbound and needed assistance with everything from simply moving, to eating. I, along with colleagues from other teams, worked with him to give him more independence. One morning, we saw him walking with his physio therapist.
It was such a wonderful feeling that we made a difference for this patient. It was a long term goal but its all worth it.
The time during the covid pandemic is another time in my career that stands out to me, it affected everyone, and every nurse. The highest numbers of patients we looked after on NCCU was 100 and staffing was a major issue. I would like to thank all the ward nurses who helped the NCCU during this time.