A day in the life of a registered nurse in the community

Gill tells us about a typical day as a community nurse for HomeLink Healthcare delivering patient centred care to facilitate early discharge from hospital.

I work as a community nurse for HomeLink Healthcare delivering patient centred care to facilitate early discharge from hospital. This involves supporting virtual ward patients in their own homes, providing bridging packages of care, administering intravenous therapies, providing wound care and can entail anything from having a chat and a cup of tea with an anxious patient to giving quite complex intravenous antibiotic therapies to other nursing care.

What makes this role so rewarding is the variety of work and caring for a patient in their own homes being surrounded by their family and home comforts. Patients thrive in their own environments and being a part of this is a great comfort to both patients and families alike.

A typical day could be either an early or late shift – no nights, and the first thing to do is to check my schedule and familiarise myself with the patients allocated by reading their care plans on my tablet.

We use our own cars, so it is also important to check your route and that your car is ready for the journey required. On average I drive between 80-150 miles a day, but this is all factored into the working day. I generally see between 3-6 patients a day depending on the therapy required and the distance needed to travel. When I arrive home my job is done, as all paperwork is completed on the very efficient tablets provided and time is allocated for this during a visit.

All the managers are very generous with time allocated which allows for the best possible care to be given which in turn alleviates stress and pressure. Typically, 45 minutes to 1 hour per patient visit is the norm but nobody complains if this is overruns, what is far more important is that the best care is given. The support from all management is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. They are always approachable on the end of a phone 24 hours a day, and nothing is too much trouble. Coupled with great colleagues this makes for a great working environment where you really feel like a valued member of a team even though during your shift you are generally working on your own. In a nutshell this is a job like no other. It makes a difference to both patients and myself.

Gill, Registered Nurse