The Post: Clinical Nurse Manager, Marie Curie
The Post Holder: Rosemary Russell
Excellent communication skills and empathy are essential in Rosemary Russell’s role as a Palliative Care Nurse.
Give a brief outline of your career to date.
I qualified as a Registered Nurse in 1995 and went to Cambridge to work in Addenbrookes Hospital on the Oncology Ward where I cared for cancer patients as an agency nurse. When I returned home to Belfast, I worked in several local hospitals nursing in Gynae, medical and cancer wards over the next few years before I joined Marie Curie in 1998 as a staff nurse in the Belfast hospice. After four years, I took a career break to raise my children, then returned to Marie Curie, firstly as a Health Care Assistant, as I had let my nursing registration lapse. Marie Curie supported me to complete the Return to Nursing course and I then worked as a community nurse for the Marie Curie Nursing Service (MCNS). I was able to progress to Senior Nurse and just recently I was appointed as a Clinical Nurse Manager with responsibility for 40 MCNS community nurses in Belfast.
What was your favourite subject at school?
Believe it or not, it was English as I really love reading. I still belong to a book club and love to read when I get a spare minute to myself.
Did you go on to further/higher education, if so, what did you study and where?
While I was working at Belfast City Hospital, I did my BSc degree in Health Studies for Nurses on a part-time basis. I was also supported by Marie Curie to do a Return to Nursing course, through the University of Ulster, when I returned to work five years ago as a Health Care Assistant after my career break at home.
How did you get into your area of work?
When I applied for nursing in 1992, the main access to nursing was through getting accepted into a nursing college, not like now where it’s through a university degree. I went to the Eastern Area College of Nursing Northside for three years to enable me to qualify as a registered nurse. It was organised through the Royal Victoria Hospital and Ulster Hospital and I graduated with my diploma from Queen’s University Belfast.
Is this what you always wanted to do?
Yes, I left school before sitting my final A-levels as the intake for nursing was in the April of that year and I had been accepted.
Were there any essential qualifications or experience needed?
The palliative care experience that I gained while working on the oncology wards was very useful and a great benefit when I came to Marie Curie.
Are there any alternative routes into the job?
Not really, as you have to be a qualified nurse, but Marie Curie offers great career development opportunities, training, and flexible working. We support staff with the Return to Practice course for nurses who come back as Healthcare Assistants and always encourage further training and educational courses.
What are the main personal skills your job requires?
You really need to have great communication skills to be a nurse, but particularly when providing the best end of life care. Whether you are managing staff or communicating with patients and their relatives, you really need to be a good listener and be able to put your point across well, be clear, be encouraging and really empathetic. Palliative care nursing is very unique and individualised. You have to provide what’s best for that patient at that time and be very adaptive to their changing needs and wishes.
What does a typical day entail?
I work three days a week as a manager and the early part of the day is responding to emails and queries from staff. My day also includes managing the team of nurses, attending meetings, coordinating with district nursing teams with regards to our Rapid Response Teams, and perhaps helping to arrange care for a patient who is trying to get home from hospital because that is where they want to be at the end of their life. I will also be preparing rotas and making sure that my team have all the training and equipment that they need to do their job safely and effectively
What are the best and most challenging aspects of the job?
The best aspect of the job is the satisfaction of knowing that we provide excellent end of life care to patents in our community and support to their friends and family. The most challenging aspect now is staff shortages and issues with recruitment in Northern Ireland, within the scenario of a regional and national shortage of nurses.
Why is what you do important?
Because everyone will die and I believe that everyone should have good end of life care where they and their family feel supported, they are comfortable, and their wishes are met.
How has Covid-19 impacted your business/role?
We all had to work remotely from home although generally we are all now back in the hospice. This meant we had to deal with working online with each other rather than face to face and team meetings. We also had to deal with our own staff well-being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, which impacted on our availability to care for as many patients as we would have wished to, but we were able to maintain an ongoing service for patients
What adjustments have you had to make?
We adjusted very well and quickly had to make sure that every member of staff had enough PPE and were trained on all the different guidelines, so we could safely maintain our service. We had to move quickly but we all pulled together and managed to do it. I’m particularly proud of our nurses who just got on with it, no matter what, as they really wanted to continue with their care to patients and families.
What advice would you give anyone looking to follow a similar career path?
Firstly, they would need to do all of the required nurse training. Student nurses can have work placements in the Marie Curie during their training so this would be the perfect opportunity to be able to see how palliative care and end of life care is delivered. I would also recommend that if a nurse has an opportunity to shadow a palliative care nurse or do bank shifts, they should take it as they will know if palliative care for them or not. Of course, then apply for a Marie Curie nursing position and come and work with us.
If you weren’t doing this, what would you like to do?
I would be doing some volunteer work with lots of extra dog walks!
What is the one piece of advice you would give to yourself on your first day?
Breathe, just breathe – and make plenty of lists.
Describe your ideal day off.
Gym, coffee and then a massage.
And finally, what’s the key to any successful job search?
Knowing what you want to do and asking yourself if you really have the skills and experience to do it well. Providing palliative care to patients and their families is so rewarding that I would recommend any nurse to consider it. With end of life care you only have one chance to get it right. I am very proud to be a Marie Curie nurse and be able to provide support to patients and their families during that challenging time.
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