Celebrating International Nurses Day – Part 3

On International Nurses Day we celebrated the fantastic group of nurses working at NHS Supply Chain.

This week, in the final part of our series, we’ll be hearing from Suzy, Linda, Claire, and Maya:

Suzy Halliday, Clinical Procurement and Quality Assurance Lead Towers: 1 & 3 Ward Based Consumables and Infection Control and Wound Care

Part-time Advanced Nurse Practitioner

Being a nurse has been such a privilege for me. It has enabled me to meet so many incredible people from all different walks of life and to learn so much about the amazing power of the human spirit – both in my patients and my colleagues. The one most important thing I have learned over the years is that it’s ok not to have all the answers but what you need to carry with you in spades are kindness and compassion; everything else falls into place as you go along.

Linda Saunders, Ophthalmic Clinical Engagement and Implementation Manager
Tower 4: Orthopaedics, Trauma and Spine and Ophthalmology

Previously Ophthalmic Theatre Sister

Next month I celebrate 40 years of being a nurse and my daughter just qualified as a staff nurse so it’s a family tradition! A lifelong memory that I always carry with me is being a part of someone’s life when they are literally crying with joy at being able to see again.

Losing your vision is a terrible thing, particularly if you’re only able to read, sew, watch TV etc. because you are too infirm to get about. These patients are extremely vulnerable to falls and often live-in isolation. So, you can imagine the intense emotion patients feel when they can see again.

Claire Parkes, Clinical Nurse Advisor Central

Previously Continence Nurse Specialist

Throughout my nursing career I have been privileged enough to look after some wonderful people and work with incredible teams of nurses. What really stands out for me is something a patient said to me once when I arrived on the ward for a shift, she said “It’s not the day to day care that makes the difference to patient experience, although its integral, it’s the compassion that nurses show every day going above and beyond what is expected of them.”

Maya Aquino-Guerrero, Clinical Specialist Lead Towers 1 & 3 Ward Based Consumables and Infection Control and Wound Care

Previously Clinical Nurse Practitioner, IV Therapy and Vascular Access

Nursing, I believe is a vocation and a privilege. For more than 2 decades of nursing (most of which in the NHS), I have had the privilege to learn and grow professionally and personally beyond my wildest dreams. A privilege to witness and get to know first-hand, the constellation of patients’ life, family, their joys, their pain & suffering through their eyes. A privilege to be with them & help them when they’re most vulnerable. Witnessing some of their greatest defeats, as well as triumphs. One of the most rewarding things in Nursing is the opportunity to get that personal connection, and keep the professionalism in check, upholding the code of conduct.