Say hello to Laura, our Nurse Unit Manager from theatres! Laura told us how she enjoys empowering others and what she would be doing as a career if she were not a nurse.
What makes your ward and the patients you care for different from other wards?
Theatre is a unique environment as it’s one of the only times parents or carers are separated from their children. We take on an important role of the patient advocate through the perioperative journey.
Tell us about your RCH journey. When you joined, the roles you’ve held here.
I joined the RCH in Jan 2016 as Nurse Unit Manager of theatre, having 13 years of perioperative experience in various roles in both paediatric and adult surgery.
Talk us through what a typical day looks like in theatres.
Attending theatre staff morning briefing to relay or discuss any daily requirements (such as Paediatric Intensive Care Unit access etc), followed by the operational huddle hearing hospital-wide access and barriers. Various meetings across the day of committees and working parties, meeting with my education team for updates and checking in with the in-charge team to manage the emergency case load and demand.
What is the most rewarding thing about your current role?
Working with the whole perioperative team and many multidisciplinary teams that play an integral part of a patient’s surgery, seeing the end results and improvements in their outcomes is rewarding enough.
What is your favourite RCH memory or achievement?
In 2017 I was nominated and won the workplace health and safety manager excellence in return to work award, which was a wonderful recognition for helping my staff get back to work safely.
In five words, tell us what you love you about your work?
Empowering others leading best practice.
If you could only take three things with you to a desert island, what would they be?
Nespresso machine, a notebook and a pen.
What attracted you to working at the RCH?
Opportunities offered here for further development for staff and working for an organisation leading best practice for children, young people and their families.
If you weren’t a nurse, what would you be doing instead?
Travelling and writing a blog about my experiences.