Case studies

'I feel very lucky to be in this role and especially this team'

What is a typical day like?

My day to day duties entail visiting patients within their own homes, providing care and support to them, often after being discharged from hospital. I also aid patients with chronic illnesses, who need wound care, chronic health reviews. I take bloods, carry out blood pressure monitoring, or, following referral from a GP, assist with end of life care.

What you love about your job?

The thing I love most about my role within the District Nursing Team is visiting people in their own homes. In an environment they feel comfortable in and knowing your support will hopefully prevent them from being admitted to hospital or to remain as independent as possible at home.

Although working in the community you’re working alone a lot of the time, the support from the team is brilliant, and the support giving to myself has been reassuring. I have been offered training to enable myself to progress, and given advice on dressing and wound care from District Nurses with many years of experience behind them. I feel very lucky to be in this role and especially this team.

Proudest moment so far?

Proudest moment so far is learning new skills, most recently training to take patients' bloods, which I have wanted to learn for some time. This makes my job much more interesting and I feel it is a good skill to have.

What are your usual working hours?

I work 28 hours over four days from 8.30am until 16.30pm and one early finish of 14.00

What training is needed for your job?

I have always had an interest in healthcare and have worked within the NHS since leaving college where I studied my GNVQ (Advanced) in health and social care course. From there I have gained experience across many healthcare settings within the NHS and attended courses specific to my role. For example, diabetic monitoring, chronic pain, mental health awareness, and many more.