Claire’s story
“At the heart of every nursing role is care, and a devotion to improving the care of the people we look after.”
There are a few nurses in my family, but my main influence to become a nurse was watching my mum being cared for after a sudden illness. I really wanted to give a little back into the system that saved her life.
I am currently the Lead Nurse for the medical specialties at Royal Alexandra Hospital. This involves providing professional and clinical nursing leadership to a large group of nursing staff.
A good day at work is when the wards and staff work together to provide good, high quality care to our patients. I love to hear and see situations when the nursing staff take time to have a chat or laugh with the patients or just spend time with them, listening to the their stories.
One of the proudest moments of my career so far was being able to celebrate Christmas early for a family whose loved one would not be here for the actual day. The family shared that they loved Christmas, so we decorated the room and arranged for Santa to visit with presents for him and his mum and one of our photographers was able to capture some precious memories. The day was full of love and fun and it really brought home to me how much a simple act can positively affect the people we care for and their families. We can have a real impact on their journey and their memories of being in hospital.
My love and pride for nursing keeps me motivated. Every day brings a new set of challenges and meeting new and interesting people along the way means that every day is different. The beauty of nursing is that it is such a huge field; you can be a ward based nurse providing direct patient care, you can specialise or study advanced practice or, like myself, venture into management.
I would tell anyone that nursing is a fantastic career with lots of different opportunities. At the heart of every nursing role is care, and a devotion to improving the care of the people we look after.
Read all Humans of Scotland stories here.
In connection with Humans of Scotland, the ALLIANCE Person Centred Voices team launched a short film. In it, we hear from some of the incredible nurses and midwives we’ve had the honour of meeting over the years. This film is a celebration of person centred care, professional pride, and the human connections that sit at the heart of nursing and midwifery. You can watch the film here.
End of page.