Work, walks and cereal in bed

The past couple of days at work have been very insightful and I’m really beginning to see the similarities and differences between community nursing here in Shetland and back in Southampton. I’ve come across new medications for Parkinson’s disease and different wound care treatments, just to name a couple of things I’ve learnt about. It has also been interesting to find out the variances in policies and procedures, especially lone working and referral criteria and assessments. I guess a lot of the differences are down to the trusts being NHS Scotland as opposed to NHS England, so the team will be working from different guidance. However, there’s always going to be differences between how teams run due to the needs of the local community and the patients they care for. This all being said, what doesn’t change between community nursing teams is the relationships each nurse has with the patients. They know all the ins and outs of their patients’ families and social circles, and even the small things like how they take their cup of tea. This is how nursing should be. This is what makes the difference between doing care to a patient, and working with a patient on their treatment, and providing said care with a holistic approach.

I’ve also managed to organise some time with other healthcare teams in Lerwick to see how they work too. I’m spending tomorrow going on a bit of a road trip with the community mental health team which should be good fun and next week I am also going to be attending a cardiac rehab class run by the cardiac nurse which should give me the opportunity to ask some questions ahead of my cardiac ICU placement next year. There are a couple of other teams I’d like to try and work with so finger crossed I will be able to arrange some time with them.

Moving on from work, yesterday the weather here was absolutely gorgeous, so I seized the opportunity after my shift to go for a walk all around the town. I started by going to Fort Charlotte and walking through the streets of shops and cafes, and noted a few that I’d like to visit at some point before I leave. I then walk around towards the Knab, and followed the path along to the sletts. I continued up to Clickimin Broch, a late Iron Age settlement set near a loch. I finished by treating myself to a coffee at the café I’d been wanting to go to that over looks the sea and the path that I’d been walking along, along the cliffs. I did manage to bag a seat next to one of the windows so I could admire the view, but this was short lived unfortunately as the table was reserved for dinner guests, but the coffee was good regardless. I took so many photos I was up till at least 11 last night editing  which for me is a rather late night, so this evening I had a more relaxed itinerary of eating cereal in bed watching Call the Midwife, which is some ways was equally as enjoyable.