Naomi’s Story

After knowing from a young age that she wanted to work at the hospice, Naomi joined the team in 2017 as a Staff Nurse before she transitioned onto our Hospice Nurse Specialist team in 2020. Her experience and knowledge of working within palliative care allowed her to care for her own loved one during a difficult time. Here is her story.

“When I was a student nurse I had a placement with district nurses, but what I really wanted to do was come to the hospice because I’d always been interested in palliative care.

After I qualified, I became a District Nurse. Whilst I was doing some palliative care, I recognised early on that I wanted to get more of an in-depth experience.

After a few years, a job became available on the Inpatient Unit for a Staff Nurse, and it was my Mum who said, ‘I think you would be really good at this. I think you should go for it.’ I was nervous, but it was a challenge that I wanted to take on.

In October 2017 I officially began work at the Hospice. Six to twelve months later, an opportunity came up for me to become a Senior Staff Nurse. I received a lot of support from my colleagues when I took that next step in my career.

When you work on a hospice ward, you feel a patients relief when they enter the building. It’s like a weight has been lifted because they know they are going to be looked after.

I had some of the best times in my career on the Inpatient Unit. I had no real intentions of leaving, but then in Summer 2020 a job came up for an Associate Nurse Specialist role within the Community team.”

A New Opportunity

“I was already really happy where I was, so it was a big decision to make that change onto the nurse specialist team. The interview experience was quite intense, but I was so pleased to get the job. Our role is to manage a caseload of patients who have complex symptom needs. We not only manage symptoms like pain and breathlessness but also support patients and their families as a whole alongside other community services.

After a short time in the role my family grew I and was fully supported by the Hospice throughout my pregnancy. This was a difficult time due to COVID restrictions. Then, when I told my managers that I wanted to take a year of maternity leave they supported me to do so. When I returned, I wanted to go part time to balance work and family. Again, it was never an issue.

Once I returned to work, I realised I needed to regain my confidence and the team helped me to refamiliarize myself with the necessary skills and knowledge. Since then, I have completed advanced communications skills training, bereavement studies and more.

I am a part of a team of dynamic specialist nurses who are highly skilled, and there is a clear route of progression from Associate to Hospice Nurse Specialist (HNS). We also have a progression pathway for once you have achieved your HNS which encourages you to do your nurse prescribing. No matter what, there are always options for career growth.

If anyone is interested in palliative care, but unsure if it is the right path for them, I’d say just apply and give it a go. If you want to gain specialist palliative care knowledge, can work as part of a team and care about doing a great job for your patients it could be right for you. It is probably the best thing I have ever done for my career.

I have been here for seven years now, and throughout that time I’ve been supported emotionally with different situations with patients and families. I’ve been supported when I became ‘Mum’, but then also supported with my career progression.”

Doing What I Love

“This hospice has given me the skills to be able to support my own family, to nurse somebody that I loved dearly.

It was a heartbreaking but also a privilege, to be able to care for my own Grandma. She was able to die at home with the support of family, the nurse specialist team and other community teams. This is what she wanted. That is why I would always treat people how I felt my own family would want to be treated.

There are a lot of preconceptions about the hospice, people don’t just come here to die. They come here to have the best quality of life that they could possibly have.

I love palliative care, it makes such a difference to people’s lives. You make what is the most horrendous time, a little bit more bearable.

I can care for patients for quite a long time, so we get to know them and their families. They know when they contact you, you will give them the support needed to the best of your ability. Sometimes this can be for advice or even if it is just for someone to speak to when things are difficult.

People can think that hospices are depressing places, but this is the most upbeat and supportive place I have ever worked. I see it as a privilege to be able to work here.

I am proud to say that I work for the hospice.”

If you would like to join the Hospice team, see our current vacancies here.

Published July 2024