RedArc Nurses are all qualified nurses with a wealth of experience and skills which range across a variety of specialisms. We share our knowledge and expertise in order to deliver the best service for our patients.
My typical day will start with a quick cup of tea with my colleagues to check in and see how everyone is. After that I’ll look at my emails for anything I may need to action and my diary see which patients I’ve agreed to call that day. I’ll also see if I have any new patients that have been allocated to me.
Background research
Before I make calls to any new patients I check their diagnosis and, if it’s something unusual or a condition I’m not familiar with, I’ll spend some time researching using our resource library and speaking to my colleagues, who may have experience of the health condition. It is important to have a good understanding and information to hand when making the initial call as you never know what the patient may want to talk about.
With patients I’m already supporting, I’ll review my notes to make sure I’m up to speed with our previous discussions.
Long-term support
We, as personal nurse advisers are at the very heart of the RedArc service. Once a patient is allocated to me, I am there to support them on a long-term basis. We are encouraged to build relationships with our patients and to help them in whatever way we can to assist in the recovery or management of their health condition.
As such, our conversations may well involve many more things than just discussing their health condition. Patients may want to talk about many issues ranging from what they’ve been up to with their family and friends, and how they are all coping emotionally, or practical advice they are looking for – nothing is off limits.
I’m there as a listening ear, and it all builds a holistic understanding of the patient and helps me to offer creative solutions to help them cope.
I may suggest books, CDs, workbooks, etc, to help my patient or their family deal with the practical and emotional aspects of their diagnosis and I can send these out to them. I might research and signpost them to local self-help groups, charities, etc, that may offer further support. I can also, where relevant, assess and arrange a course of an appropriate therapy, counselling or organise some specialist equipment for them.
Building trust
I enjoy the relationship I build with my patients; many send me photos of things like fundraising activities they’ve been involved in, family occasions, grandchildren, even pets. When they comment on how helpful they’ve found our service it’s really gratifying to know that the support I give makes such a difference. Being a personal nurse adviser is a privileged position, the trust we build with patients means they often confide in us and talk about things they’ve not spoken of before.
Continual training
RedArc acknowledges and appreciates the work we do as nurses and the time we invest in our patients and encourages us to access time out, Clinical Supervision and relaxation therapies. They also ensure our skills remain current by funding relevant training courses each year to ensure our NMC registration is kept up to date.
If you are interested in working for RedArc, we’d love to hear from you. Please email your CV and a covering letter to skinsella@redarc.co.uk