What is your current position?
I am the Clinical Services Manager at North Downs Specialist Referrals, a multi-disciplinary hospital in Surrey. My day-to-day role includes:
• Running the Morbidity and Mortality meetings
• Conducting Audits
• Reviewing and writing Standard Operating Procedures(SOPs)
• Developing the Induction Program
• Supporting new joiners
• Supporting student nurses
• Maintaining our TP status
• Organising internal and external CPD
Tell us how you got to your current position?
I was Wards Supervisor when our practice went through the Practice Standards Scheme, and developed a lot of the protocols and worked closely with Senior Management to ensure everything was completed. On the inspection day I was also required to spend quite a lot of time with the inspectors which was noted and picked up on by Senior Management. At the same time as this we had expanded our nursing team and I developed their induction programs and worked on integrating them into the hospital.
My job title no longer reflected my role, so we did some digging into the human world and Clinical Services Manager summed up what I do now.
What do you enjoy about your job?
I enjoy seeing new joiners gain their confidence and become part of the team. I’m also hugely excited about our nurse training program and look forward to seeing our students thrive.
I also love conducting clinical audits, plus reviewing how a change we’ve made has improved patient care.
What are the challenging aspects about your job?
I run the Morbidity and Mortality meetings as well as reviewing patient errors. This can be challenging as we always want to be perfect. We sometimes then have to implement change which can be challenging too.
I’m also hands off and I do really miss aspects of clinical work.
What are your plans for the future?
To continue to develop our nursing team at North Downs, especially our student nurses. To keep pushing our standards and ensuring we are striving for gold standard.
Long term I still see me doing my role at North Downs, but I’d love to get back into writing and delivering lectures. As well as working on my personal project, Evolution VN.
What other qualifications do you hold?
I have a Graduate Diploma in Professional and Clinical Nursing from the RVC. I have a Certificate of Veterinary Nursing in Emergency and Critical Care, plus I have a Diploma in Education and Training as well as a TAQA Award.
What key piece of advice would you give to anyone wishing to follow a similar career path?
Be open to new ideas, have a growth a mindset. Never settle for ‘this is how we’ve always done it’ and look for ways to push the profession forward.
Hi Samantha
I have read your information on what you do. Thank you for sharing and also the job you do sounds amazing
I am an RVN currently at a crossroads in my career, I have an interest in writing for RVNs or something in that field? Can you give me any advice on how to get into that field?
Thank you
Natasha
Hi Natasha, I got in contact with the VN Times many years ago and was offered the chance to write for them. In all honesty you’ve just got to either decide a topic you’re passionate about or something you want to find out more about and then start writing. Case reports can be a good way to start or often the journals have an idea of what they want to publish. You will need to reference the points you make so access to other journals and papers is needed, you may find RCVS Knowledge library really useful for that.
Good luck and I look forward to reading what you get published!