Key issues that underpin your practice nursingin practice . co . uk |
What was behind your decision to move from district
Q nursing into general practice ? I wanted a change after 13 years in district nursing ,A and it was one of the best things I ’ ve ever done . I love patient contact , and that was the key for me . Even though one-to-one time with a patient can be more limited in general practice , I ’ m lucky as I ’ ve got the support of the doctor to offer longer appointment times , especially when it comes to chronic disease . With community nursing , it is about caring for those who already have a disease – in general practice it ’ s more about prevention . My community nursing skills , such as understanding disease and the disease process , have helped immensely with the transition . I ’ m now working to complete my independent nurse prescriber course .
A highlight of your General Practice Awards entry
Q was a green inhaler initiative . What was the inspiration behind that project ? The project aimed to reduce patients ’ dependenceA on Ventolin , which is the main contributor to the carbon footprint of inhalers . It is also overused and less effective than other choices . After an audit of patients , we managed to reduce acute and repeat prescriptions of Ventolin by 60 %. In practice , I want to make a difference , not only to the patient ’ s health but to the wider planet . I ’ m vegan , and protecting the planet is important for me . When I saw this opportunity , I wanted to get involved . Our practice has almost 3,000 patients . I thought this project was a great start , and we could really make a difference .
What was the response from the
Q community like ? I ’ ve got quite good relationships with my patients ,A so I think that helped . I had to bring patients in to find out if they really were using Ventolin on a monthly basis or just automatically ordering it on repeat . We needed to make sure they understood what was happening and took it all on board . After that I never had any problems and the uptake was fantastic .
It ’ s about health literacy ; ensuring patients have the information to make decisions about their health is vitally important .
How do you keep up a good relationship
Q with patients ? At the end of the day it ’ s not about me , it ’ s about theA patient . And while I ’ ve got guidelines to follow , it ’ s about giving individualised care and the patient has to be at the forefront of that .
A lot of people tend to follow the guidelines as a framework . But the guidelines don ’ t take into account the differences between patients .
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Janette Morgan ( left ): ‘ It ’ s not about me , it ’ s about the patient .’
To include patients in decision making is key . Look at how their lives work and their social circumstances . There ’ s no point giving a medicine three times a day , say , if that patient can ’ t take it at lunchtime because of work .
I ’ m also interested in promoting healthy living . For example , tackling obesity in the community is about looking at a patient ’ s lifestyle and suggesting changes that suit them . Cost-of-living issues mean it ’ s important to find changes that won ’ t hurt their budget .
Simple things like avoiding processed food or recommending frozen vegetables and bulk cooking can really help . But again , it ’ s not a case of me saying ‘ you ’ ve got to do this ’; it ’ s a joint decision with the patient .
By working this way our practice has already seen a 2 % reduction in obesity rates over a pretty short time .
How do you cope with a growing workload and
Q time pressure ? Time is a big factor . As I said , I ’ m fortunate that theA practice allows longer appointments because you can ’ t address everything in 10 minutes .
If you are pressed for time , healthy lifestyle advice or respiratory technique can be a good thing to focus on , but the key is asking the patient what they want . It ’ s listening and finding out what ’ s really concerning them .
That approach can lead to a bit of trouble with timings , but I feel I ’ ve got to address everything . If something happened to that patient I wouldn ’ t be happy with myself .
And finally , what was it like to be named Practice
Q Nurse of the Year ? I feel totally honoured . I have never been nominatedA for any awards , and this has been an amazing experience – one that I will never forget and certainly the highlight of my career .
The General Practice Awards are run by Nursing in Practice ’ s publisher Cogora . Visit generalpracticeawards . com
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