International Nurses Day - Spotlight - Dermatology Nurse

International Nurses Day, observed on May 12th, is a global celebration that acknowledges the efforts of nurses and care providers worldwide. As a tribute to this special day, the team at DermView decided to take a break and chat with some of our dedicated nurses. We spoke with Katie-Maree, a Nurse at DermView, who shared insights about her career and her thoughts on being a Nurse.

Read on to discover Katie-Maree's story -

Q - What do you feel are the important qualities needed to be a nurse?????

In my view, exceptional communication abilities, coupled with a blend of empathy and professionalism, are the fundamental qualities that a nurse should possess. Above all, a nurse's ultimate objective is to provide first-rate medical care to patients while preserving their dignity. This necessitates treating patients with respect, exhibiting empathy, and adhering to the highest standards of care. A nurse must take pride in providing superior care to all patients.

Q - What kind of education and training was required for you to become a nurse?

I trained in Sterling, Scotland for three years, and qualified in 2018. I'm an A&E trained Nurse and I spent four and a half years working in A&E in three different hospitals, I came from what I would describe as a very hectic working environment with many challenges but this experience only served to help me develop and improve my Nursing skills as I treated a vast array of people, in the last few months I have moved into the dermatology arena.

Q - What would you say are the biggest challenges in being a nurse?

Changes in your working routine and environments can be challenging, one day could be steady and nicely paced and the next day could be full-on and short staffed, so learning how to manage your situations, changing environments and workloads can be challenging at times, so you need to be able to adapt quickly. Patient Care is the priority when it comes to nursing, we are always there for the patients and maintain an open communication with dignity and respect, ensuring the best care while upholding our professionalism,

Q - What are the rewards of being a nurse?

For me personally, helping those who need help, whether it’s something minor or major, is so rewarding.

Q - How did you end up in Dermatology??

I found from my experience in A&E we had a broad variety of patients with various ailments coming in, it could be anything from dermatology, cardiovascular, abdominal, surgical. Within nursing in general, there's hundreds of different specialities you can go in to and I found that A&E was a great opportunity to see different patients, which gives you a great feel for your preferred fields of care, and I gravitated toward dermatology. And now as I progress within DermView I have daily opportunities to continue learning and improving and I’m also really enjoying the role.

Q - Do you think that the Health system is good here?

I’ve had experience in both Northern Ireland, Southern Ireland and Scotland, and here in Ireland it’s pretty much the same environment as in the UK. The one thing I do notice is the staff and nursing shortages, the system is far from perfect and there’s huge room for improvement in care and nursing and in the quality of care that can be offered too.

Q - If you were going to advise somebody who's maybe just finished school or just considering going into nursing, what kind of advice would you give them???????????

Firstly, I would say that from my own experience nursing is a hugely rewarding career. I do love being a nurse and love all the qualities of it. For those who may be thinking of a career in nursing, I would advise them to maybe get experience as a carer first to try out different environments, or even ask around for some work experience. From my own experience the people I've met in my career and in college have all experienced different challenges, and some love nursing and some found they don’t like it as much as they thought they would. So, my advice would be, do your research and try and get into some Medical practice and try working in a care setting first, just so you get more experience of the personal aspect of caring for a patient.

Big thanks to Katie-Maree for sharing her Career Story to date, and happy International Nurses Day to all our Nursing Staff, we salute you!