My Desired Nursing Career Path

Laura talks to us about her desired career path in Nursing and explains exactly why she wants to go into her chosen field.

Topics Covered In This Article

Introduction

Palliative Care

A Difference To Expectation

Positives Of The Role

Assisting People In Pain

Final Thoughts

Introduction

Hi, everyone, welcome to today's video.

Today, I'm gonna be talking to you about my desired career path once I complete my Nurse training.

If you haven't seen any of my previous videos, my name's Laura.

I'm a Healthcare Support Worker for the NHS and I'm also a first year student for adult nursing.

I've worked in a lot of different areas since I've been working for the NHS.

I've managed to cover a load of shifts on different types of wards, different specialties, and I've built up a lot of experience in a lot of different areas, but one of the areas that really stuck out for me was working with people as they come into the end of their lives.

Palliative Care

So my chosen, or desired career path is to become a palliative Nurse.

I would like to work in a hospice setting if possible, and be with people as they are coming to the final weeks or days of their life.

Now, I first started working with people in a unit in my local hospital.

It was an eight-bedded unit, it was for cancer patients.

And I remember the first time I went in for a shift, and I was only banking, so a bit like agency work, I'd picked up some shifts there, they were short staffed.

And I remember turning up.

I was driving into work for the night shift, and I thought, "How am I gonna work with these people?" They're very unwell, they were young patients and I just thought, "Am I cut out for this? Can I do this?"

And my husband said, "Do you think you're gonna be able to manage? Is it gonna be really upsetting for you?"

And I said, "Oh, well, I'll do one shift, and then if I don't really like it," 'cause it was only on a bank term basis. 

thought, "Well, I don't have to necessarily go back if it's not really for me, I can just explain that to the ward manager when I finished my shift."

Anyway, I arrived at this unit, and it was amazing.

It was the best experience, the care that was provided for those people was incredible.

And I remember looking at these Nurses with these patients, thinking, "That's what I wanna do.

That's what I wanna be. I wanna be able to provide that care for the people, for the patients, the way that those Nurses are, I wanna be like them."

A Difference To Expectation

I remember thinking, and it wasn't a sad place.

It wasn't like a place full of doom and gloom, it was quite a positive setting.

It was a really nice environment, it wasn't like your normal ward setting.

It was more like you had a day room.

The patients had a kitchen they could access their food in and go and get things if they needed to.

It was a very homely environment, which was lovely.

I've made some notes, some of the reasons why I would love to focus and become a palliative care Nurse.

I feel when you're looking after somebody who is coming to the end of their life the patient is at their most vulnerable, so they spend time with you, they tell you things, they trust in you to just provide like a really good high standard of care to them, and to make that experience of them as they pass away to be a positive experience, to be with someone as they come into the end of their life or to provide care after a patient has passed on, I feel privileged to be able to do that.

Positives Of The Role

As a Healthcare Support Worker I have provided care to patients after they've passed away, and I think there is something really special in being able to carry out like washing the patient afterwards, getting them ready for family members to come and see, being able to do that, it is, I find it very special, and I feel very privileged when I am carrying out that task.

I also feel as a palliative Nurse, well, in all aspects of nursing, you're not just nursing the patient, you're looking after the family as well, and especially when somebody's coming to the end of their life, to be able to comfort the family, work with the family, and just support them in the best way you can, that is also invaluable part of being a palliative care Nurse, and for me to be able to go on, and become a palliative care Nurse and provide that support to a family, I would just feel very honoured to be able to do that.

Assisting People In Pain

As a Healthcare Support Worker, I've been working in the pain service, and a big part of providing, a big part, sorry of being a Nurse, a palliative care Nurse is providing support for patients who are in pain as well as they come to the end of their life.

So I'm hoping my experience as a Healthcare Support Worker will enable me to be able to help the patients more, 'cause I have that knowledge of dealing with patients who are in pain, but I feel also as well when I see their palliative care Nurses I think the satisfaction they must get in their job and being able to care for people as they come to the end of their life is just like a really, really, it's hard to put it into words.

I just feel like going to work and being able to spend time with people who are coming to the end of their life and being able to support them and give the the end of life that they wanna be able to have.

A lot of people have plans in place of how they want their death to be, and I think being able to support patients with that is a very special thing.

So that is what I would like to do when I qualify as a registered Nurse, whether that changes down the line, I don't know.

As of now I am fixated on doing that.

I would love to be able to work with patients receiving palliative care, and I'm hoping, fingers crossed, that that will arise when I qualify.

Final Thoughts

But yeah, if anybody out there is a palliative care Nurse and you've got any advice for me or hints or tips, please comment them below, or if anyone's wanting to get some more experience as a palliative care Nurse, then comment below, and I can give you some advice.

I know a lot of hospices take volunteers on.

I know there's a lot of bereavement places where you can go and just gain a bit of experience.

If that's the type of thing you're looking for, then please let me know.

But thank you for listening and I'll speak to you soon, Bye.