Siobhan, a senior charge nurse in our intensive care unit, shares her CUH story.
Siobhan, what’s your role in our hospitals?
Officially I’m a senior charge nurse in John Farman intensive care. Unofficially I’m the strong powerlifting ICU nurse!
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I enjoy being in a position to make positive changes that benefit staff and patients, making the right thing the easy thing to do.
As a senior lead in critical care (a role I never dreamed that I could achieve), I facilitate staff to identify problems and assist in sourcing solutions, be it equipment, professional development or a clinical process.
It’s so gratifying to watch individuals grow their skills and experience them move from novices to experts in their specialism and for them to reach their full potential.
I adore that this role allows scope from leadership at a senior level managing all adult critical care, to being at a patient’s bedside providing one-to-one care. It reminds me always how hard our bedside teams work, how rewarding it can be and it keeps me connected to the current difficulties we face. Being at the bedside reminds me why I started nursing in the first place.
Tell us a bit about your CUH journey – when did you join, what positions have you held here and why you like working at CUH?
I started aged 18 working in the hospital’s laundry when it was based in Fulbourn, driving a van, collecting and delivering laundry from various sites. I became a health care assistant in 2000 and started my training as a student nurse in 2004. I did all my training at Addenbrooke’s and have now been a registered nurse for 15 years.
I have worked across all the adult critical care units, starting out as a newly qualified nurse in 2007 in the intermediate dependency area (IDA). I moved to the neurosciences critical care unit (NCCU) four years later and was promoted to a junior charge nurse. During this time the Trust achieved trauma centre status. I have now been working in the John Farman intensive care unit as senior charge nurse for three years.
What does a usual day look like?
Busy and varied. You never know what you going to walk into, what skills, resources and experience you’ll need to draw on. No two days are the same, but that’s one of the aspects I love about critical care - its unpredictable nature.
I can always rely on the team rising to whatever challenges we face.
Tell us about a patient story that really stands out to you.
A case that really stands out is a young patient I was caring for on the day she was due to have a multi visceral transplant. She was describing all the hopes and dreams she had for herself and the young family she hoped to achieve. Her operation was successful but her recovery took a long time and we got to know her and her family really well.
A few months after discharge to the ward she came back to thank us before leaving for home. She looked so very different, was so happy and was excitedly telling me all the things she’d booked to do and see from that list on her operation day.
It still makes me smile to know that she’s out there living her best life and making the most of her health.
How are you involved in our staff networks?
I’m an equality and diversity advocate and part of the BAME community myself. As the lead on Epic / IT in critical care, I support the Trust via the nursing informatics network and assist on driving forward the efficiencies that Epic can give.
As a side note people are welcome to follow my powerlifting journey on Instagram, I’ve been invited to train with the British team and am working towards selection for the 2022 team my Instagram is @Totallyawesometaylor (opens in a new tab).