Case studies: Staff nurse: Claire Green

Claire graduated in 2009 with a BSc in Social Work and Nursing (Learning Disability) from London South Bank University. She now works as a staff nurse at The Children’s Trust in Tadworth, Surrey. The trust provides care, education, therapy and rehabilitation for children with multiple disabilities and complex health needs and is the UK’s largest paediatric brain injury rehabilitation centre.

When I left school, I worked with children who had disabilities and this opened my eyes to the fact that people with learning disabilities are often not listened to and it is important to advocate on their behalf. I stumbled on learning disability nursing as a possible career on the internet. A degree felt like the right next step but at the time, a career as a social worker held more appeal than nursing.

My degree provided me with a dual qualification in social work and learning disability nursing and it included placements in both areas. I realised that learning disability nursing would offer me more opportunity to work very closely on a one-to-one basis with children and so I decided to go down this route. The selection procedure for my current employer involved being interviewed by a panel of four and a 45-minute drug calculation test.

Since working at The Children’s Trust, I have grown much more confident in my own nursing skills. Training is ongoing and I will shortly be taking training courses in caring for children with tracheotomies and those on ventilators as well intravenous drug administration.

My advice for newly qualified nurses is to read widely to improve your knowledge base, including best practice guidelines. It can be difficult to distance yourself in this job, so it is important to have a good work-life balance. Looking after yourself is important too and if you need supervision or support, do not hesitate to ask.

I am very motivated by the job because each day brings the reward of knowing I have made a difference. It is very satisfying to play a part in the recovery of a patient with an acquired brain injury. There is no typical day, although there are routine nursing tasks to carry out. I also help with personal care, which includes feeding, washing and dressing patients, while encouraging their involvement to build their confidence in looking after themselves. I often accompany children to school or therapy sessions to keep up with their development. I also organise and participate in play activities and outings and liaise with parents and other professionals.

The down side of the job is that it can be emotionally draining, for example, working in palliative care with patients whose life chances and life expectancy are limited. It can also be challenging working with parents whose frustrations are sometimes played out on you about lack of progress or lack of funding for their child. In the case of acquired brain injury, many parents are actually grieving and this is a challenge in itself.

At the moment I am busy consolidating and developing new skills, but in the future I would like to move on to more senior roles, perhaps in time, becoming a team leader at Tadworth.