Nicola Wealleans - Year of the Nurse

Each month we are profiling one of our amazing nurses to celebrate International Year of the Nurse and Midwife 2020. This year is an opportunity to say thank you to the professions; to showcase their diverse talents and expertise; and to promote nursing and midwifery as careers with a great deal to offer.

To mark Hospice Care Week (5^th-11^th October), we’d like to introduce Nicola Wealleans. Nicola is an Auxiliary Nurse on our Inpatient Ward, and until very recently, worked in our Focus on Living Centre, supporting patients who come to us during the day.

Tell us about your current role…

I’ve worked at St Oswald’s for over six years and my current role is working as an Auxiliary Nurse on the Inpatient Unit.

Until very recently, I worked in the Focus on Living Centre, supporting patients in Day Hospice and people who come to us for one-to-one and group sessions during the day, which was a role I really enjoyed.

Because of Coronavirus, our Inpatient Team was in need of support and I was asked to help the team during this extraordinary time. I always imagined this would be just a temporary role change but I have embraced this role and been given a permanent position working with the team.

I am thoroughly enjoying the hands on everyday care and meeting new people on a regular basis. It’s a very varied role and gives me a huge sense of reward. The staff have embraced me as if I had always worked as part of their team.

Before working at St Oswald’s Hospice, I worked in a care home for 4 years, however I decided on a career change to palliative care after nursing my Mam at home when she died of cancer.

Tell us about a typical day…

Two days are never the same at St Oswald’s! A day can vary from doing personal care, changing dressings and observations, to sitting with patients when they are anxious or making cups of tea. At the Hospice, we are able to make time for the things that might not be possible in other healthcare settings, like taking patients in to the garden or painting a patients’ nails. It’s these little touches that makes St Oswald’s the special place it is, and it is a team effort that goes in to making sure the ward runs smoothly.

Tell us why nursing, as a career, is rewarding…

The job gives me so much satisfaction, it is a real honour to be there supporting and caring for a person at the end of their life.

At the Hospice it’s important to be there for the family as much as it is for the patient; making sure they have food and drinks, organising special time together and just being there as a listening ear amongst many other things.

What would you say to someone considering a career in nursing in a Hospice?

Working at St Oswald’s is the most rewarding job I have ever had. If someone is considering a career in nursing I would say absolutely go for it.