Sarah Wilson
Sarah Wilson, Clinical Team Coordinator (0.4 – Hospital wide) and Clinical Nurse Educator (0.5 – Te Puna Wai Ora/Southern Critical Care).
On a typical day
A typical Clinical Team Coordinator (CTC) shift involves receiving handover, this may mean attending evening medical handover, or receiving handover from the outgoing CTC nurse or duty manager. Following handover, we do a round of the adult wards including Queen Mary, reviewing patients we have been handed over. We touch base with the nursing staff on the wards and offer our assistance. If someone is concerned about a patient who may be at risk of deteriorating, we assess the patient and communicate with the primary nurse and the wider team to make an appropriate plan for the patient.
Most of our referrals come from the patient’s primary nurse, but anyone can refer a patient to us via our cellphone and a conversation with us is part of the ‘Deteriorating Patient Early Warning Score Escalation Pathway.’
We are part of the response team to 777 calls – when a patient has acutely deteriorated.
A CTC shift is dynamic and as there is one CTC nurse on per shift, it can be busy and assessments and tasks need to be prioritised. On other days there are less referrals and we are able to generally help on the wards, building relationships with staff around the hospital.
One way I’ve made a difference as a nurse
I really enjoy my split roles and I believe they complement each other well. Critical care experience can be useful in the wards when patients are deteriorating and working around the hospital has given me a greater appreciation of the wider hospital environment. I think the introduction of the CTC role last year is helpful to the patients’ recovery as well as providing support to nursing staff. I enjoy coming to work and being part of the team to work together to provide the best care for the patients.
What would you say to a person considering a career in nursing
I would definitely encourage those thinking of nursing as a career to pursue it. When I applied for Nursing School I really had no idea of the variety of career pathways a nursing qualification can lead to. There are endless opportunities for professional development, to have a real impact on people’s lives and develop fantastic friendships.