To celebrate international nurses day we spoke to Salvatore, a senior charge nurse at CUH, to hear about their journey to CUH.
Tell us a bit about your CUH journey – when did you join, what positions have you held here?
I joined CUH in March 2017 as an EU-registered nurse, working on ward C6 as a band 5 RN for two years. I then moved to ward G3 as a junior charge nurse prior to being redeployed to ward D7 during the first peak of the pandemic. There, I was offered a secondment as ward manager supporting my colleagues on the front-line and creating a safe, positive and highly-efficient work place. Last year, I started leading the team on EAU 4 working closely with our emergency department to streamline patients from the front door, through the medical assessment unit and into our core beds.
Never give up. You will encounter many obstacles during your journey in nursing but you are not alone. We work together, we support each other, we will be there for you.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
Being a ward manager allows me to bring my vision of what an organised and efficient unit should be. Furthermore, being a passionate, enthusiastic and dynamic nurse who rarely sits still, I have the flexibility to support my Division C in terms of operations but also to closely work and engage with my staff to care for patients, thus keeping my clinical skills intact.
What advice would you give to someone who is starting their nursing career journey?
Never give up. You will encounter many obstacles during your journey in nursing but you are not alone. We work together, we support each other, we will be there for you. The experiences, the memories, the friends you will make are what makes nursing so exciting. It is more than a career; it is a way of life.