Welcome to June’s edition of the CNO Bulletin.
This month, as we eagerly anticipating the launch of the Pathway to Excellence Survey, we’re re-introducing the popular ‘Getting to Know Your Nursing Team’ section of the CNO Bulletin with a brilliant contribution from Jodie Storrow, Lead for Community (COPD Nurse) and Respiratory Specialist Nurses.
We will celebrate the success of our latest DAISY Award winners and look at how one multidisciplinary group spent almost four hours climbing to the tops of trees as part of a teambuilding exercise.
Jodie Storrow - Lead for Community (COPD Nurse) & Respiratory Specialist Nurses
My career in nursing started in 2012 in my hometown of Nuneaton where my first registered nurse role was on a small but busy emergency medical unit, (EMU) where I had completed my management placement as a student nurse. Throughout my nurse training I was exposed to a plethora of medical and surgical placements, however emergency, and acute medicine was where my interests were. During my time on EMU as a staff nurse I quickly learnt that I wanted to expand my clinical skills and scope of practice and completed some additional skills such as venepuncture, cannulation, and Immediate Life Support (ILS).
Following 2 years on EMU and discovering a passion for respiratory and the management and care of COPD patients an opportunity arose for me to apply for a role as an ambulatory care nurse within the same trust. I was the first ambulatory care nurse at the trust to work in the new unit and it was here that I was nominated to complete my health assessment course and was exposed to assessing a patient to aid clinical decision making. I felt very privileged to have been given the opportunity only 2 years post registration but also a great sense of responsibility. My passion for COPD continued and I decided to self-fund a COPD degree module and concentrate on developing my respiratory knowledge and exposure by working closely with the hospital’s respiratory team.
Working in ambulatory care was where I was first exposed to service development and innovation, because of this being a new concept at the trust, innovation and change was in abundance. Being inquisitive, I wanted to know more about the process of service development and entrepreneurship and the impact this can have on the patients we serve. This is something I have continued to be passionate about throughout my career.
Following 18 months in ambulatory care I was asked to step up as a band 6 nurse and manage a ward that was being opened to help with winter pressures. This was a steep learning curve for me and even now one of the biggest challenges I have had to face in my career. The sudden level of responsibility I was given at such an early stage of my career was a steep learning curve. On returning to ambulatory care, a role here at UHCW for a COPD clinical nurse specialist (CNS) was advertised and following successful interview I commenced my career at UHCW, and I haven’t looked back since.
My time in the Community COPD team as a band 6 CNS was pivotal to where I am today in my career. As mentioned, I have always been inquisitive and thrived for more knowledge and it was within the role of CNS that I was able to lead on audit and see how audit does not only assess and evaluate what we do as healthcare professionals but identify opportunities for improvement and shape patient care. During my time in the community COPD team, I was nominated by my line manager to commence my Masters in Advanced Clinical Practice at Coventry University.
In 2016 I commenced my Masters and continued to expand my skills and knowledge in advanced practice including, leadership, research, and independent prescribing. After completion of my first year, I applied and was successful in gaining a role as trainee Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) on the respiratory wards (30/31/31a). Working as a trainee ACP I was able to advance my clinical skills resulting in being confident and competent in completing a comprehensive assessment of complex patients and assimilating and interpreting information to reach a clinical decision. Although I loved my time as an ACP on the wards, I was determined to secure a role where I could utilise all my advanced practice skills including research, leadership, and education.
I am now in the privileged position of service manager for respiratory specialist nurses at the trust and have been fortuitous enough to utilise all my advanced clinical skills. A significant aspect of my current role requires working collaboratively and in partnership with other disciplines, agencies, and stakeholders in programmes of modernisation and service restoration following COVID-19, and I am honoured to work with three fantastic teams, (Respiratory Nurse Specialists, Targeted Lung Health Check team and Community COPD team). Like myself, the teams thrive for improvement and patient centred care. They have successfully led on and delivered a new lung health programme, an interim diagnostic spirometry pathway to ensure timely, accurate and quality assured diagnosis and the COPD virtual ward for which I am very proud of them. The teams have not only shown that they are innovative and committed to patient care, but they are resilient and adaptive in the face of change and they, like me are always wanting to know more and improve.
My career to date has been filled with moments of pride, achievement and of course, some challenges. Challenges that have required resilience and at times sheer grit and determination. I am fortunate enough to have been surrounded by peers who have offered support, shown leadership, mentorship, and guidance and without them none of what I have achieved to date would be possible. I am still in what I consider to be the early stages of my career as a nurse, and I am excited for what lies ahead, challenges and all. If I was to summarise my career to date and help shape the future, I will promise to always be inquisitive and will never stop wanting more for the patients I serve.
Volunteers are a valued and essential part of the team at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust. Volunteers help to improve and enhance the patient experience, complementing the work of employed staff across the Trust. We aim to represent the diversity of the community we serve.
The Hospital of St Cross is supported by the Friends of the Hospital of St Cross and Rugby Hospital Radio.
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been humbled by our existing volunteers and the volunteer response to COVID-19. We have recruited over 200 members of the public during the crisis. Collectively our volunteers have contributed over 6500 hours of volunteering to the Trust.
If you or anyone you know may be interested in volunteering at the Trust, click here to view all our available positions and get details on how to apply.
And don’t forget, all our volunteers can feature in upcoming editions of the CNO Bulletin as part of one of our regular sections, the Volunteer Spotlight.
If you’re interested in sharing your volunteering story with colleagues across the Trust, please fill in a Communications Request Form which is available on the front page of TrustNav.
During the pandemic, hospital staff have experienced unprecedented stress. Teamwork has faced challenges, which proved in the end to strengthen the bond between the team and form additional connections within the health service.
It has been proven that a crisis can stimulate people, ignoring any existing disagreements, coming together in confronting the threat.
On our ward, bonds are stronger than ever, and staff meet regularly, not on the “battlefield”, but within a stress free environment, where they can vent and enjoy getting together outside of work.
As part of Pathway to Excellence, wellbeing plays an important factor for staff. The promotion of wellbeing can bring people together, relieve stress and form a more positive working environment. I believe that, listening to our colleagues, understanding their needs, we can create a positive work environment.
Therefore, without further delay, we decided that an outside activity is needed. But not any activity, but a challenging one, an exciting one: GO APE-TREETOP CHALLENGE. And exciting it was: the level of physical activity and concentration pushed us to the maximum, and after nearly 4 hours we completed it.
I can say that initially I believed that it is a solo activity, but we quickly realised that without each other’s support and encouragement we wouldn’t make it to the end. We discussed strategies and paired up in such a way that all of us completed the task. Of course, scratches and grazes happened however this did not stop us, but motivate us.
Our team was a mix of MDT, from Healthcare Support Workers to Pharmacists and Doctors, but out in the trees job roles didn’t matter. At the end we congratulated each other and realised that activities like these bring us together. As a team we promised that we are going to do this kind of activity more often- in fact, by the time we reached the car park, we decided to go race karting. We have been able to see the benefits of this activity for team morale and efficacy within the work environment. We cannot wait for our next team activity as our team continues to grow and improve.
Our new EPR is currently being implemented at UHCW working towards an expected Go-Live in Spring 2023. There are currently more than 150 staff members embedded within our clinical groups who are working with the wider staff community to design and develop our new EPR.
An important group within the EPR programme team are the Digital Nursing / Midwifery / AHP Specialists. This group includes (see photo left to right) Digital Matrons Nikki McNulty and Candice McGrane, AHP Digital Lead Cheryl Johnson, and Chief Nursing Information Officer (CNIO) Karen Bond who holds a key role with the EPR programme team and leads our group of Digital Clinical Specialists.
“Digital AHP, Midwives and Nurses are leading change by digitising records and systems so that we are no longer reliant on paper and duplicated processes. Our new EPR programme is driving this transformation at UHCW. We are most excited about reducing the number of different systems each clinician needs to access once our new EPR goes live next year,” explains Nikki McNulty, Digital Matron.
“Our group supports the implementation of digital solutions like our new EPR, and we closely follow the lessons learned from other digital leaders and pioneering Trusts.”
Currently, the EPR workstreams are mid-way through running 12 weeks of localisation sessions throughout the Trust. These sessions are designed to make sure everyone has a chance to discuss how the EPR will work and discuss options before we make final build decisions. In August there will be a Sneak Peek to key people at the Trust followed by demonstrations and workshops and other events in the run up to go-live next year.
The EPR team are currently looking for staff members across the Trust to volunteer as EPR Champions. For more information about the EPR Programme, and to learn more about how to become an EPR Champion, click here.
Every month The DAISY Awards team continue to receive heartfelt nomination submissions for our extraordinary nurses and midwives, sent in by patients and their relatives.
To date, an incredible 54 DAISY awards have been awarded to nurses and midwives across University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire!
Well done to everyone who has received a DAISY nomination and a huge congratulations to our latest honourees:
We look forward to recognising and celebrating more DAISY honourees in the coming months.
This month we have some fantastic news about our continuing journey to excellence….the appraiser team assigned to review our Pathway to Excellence® application has determined that our document of evidence has met the requirements needed to advance to the next phase of the application, the Pathway to Excellence Survey! The survey invites all nurses, midwives and nursing associates to participate in a confidential web based survey. Taking the survey is your opportunity to validate the existence of the essential elements of the Pathway to Excellence Standards, and we want to celebrate our nursing and midwifery pride with as many positive ‘agree’ and ‘strongly agree’ responses as possible!
The survey will be launching on Tuesday the 28th June and will remain open for 21 days, closing on the 20th July at 1am. Please keep an eye open for email correspondence inviting you to participate in the survey during this time. Our network of Pathway Ambassadors will also be able to provide you with more information about activities taking place in your area to celebrate the survey.
For further information about the Pathway to Excellence survey and how to get involved please contact the Pathway to Excellence Team at PathwayToExcellenceUHCW@uhcw.nhs.uk
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