As part of World Radiography Day 2023, Claire O'Connor, Interventional Radiology Nurse Manager at Northern Care Alliance, shares her insight into a career in Interventional Radiology. Northern Care Alliance is a member of the GM Imaging Network.
What is your area of expertise?
Delivering high quality basic nursing care and acting as an advocate for my patients. I think this can sometimes be overlooked with all the additional stresses that come with the job, especially in these trying times we are all going through, but I pride myself at always being able to bring it back to the basics and remember why I came into the profession. It is important to remember that this is what should be at the forefront of all the changes and improvements we make within the department. As the manager, it is also important that I ensure the rest of the team have this shared vision – something which I feel I do well and that the team can also feel empowered and heard when they input their opinions and concerns.
How did you develop skills in this area?
Experience! I have been qualified for over 16 years and have learned that when a patient and their family are left feeling that they have received high quality care, I am feeling the most satisfied.
Why did you choose a career in Radiology?
This was never an area that I had considered. It was only when I was looking for a change from ward nursing that a friend who works within the department suggested I apply for the band 5 radiology nurse job. This was five years ago, and I have never looked back. In those five years I have progressed to a band 6 sister, where I was given the opportunity to complete a level 3 apprenticeship in leadership and was awarded a distinction which fed nicely into an opportunity to cover the band 7 maternity leave for a 12 month secondment. Being able to put this into practice landed me the permanent band 7 manager's job in the nursing team. I am now in the position where I am supporting one of the band 6 nurses in the same leadership apprenticeship.
What does a typical day involve?
The interventional radiology nurses work as part of a bigger team with the radiographers, and we have a shared huddle every morning. This has become a space where not only the day’s lists are discussed but also a place where quick team updates including highlighting good practice can be shared with everyone. Then everyone breaks away to their allocated rooms. If I am lucky – I can get involved with the clinical side of my role but also, I am on hand to guide and support the more junior nursing team. I then have some of the non-clinical side to my job to tick off my to do list.
What's been your biggest inspiration?
Seeing how the changes I have been involved in benefit the whole team as well as enhance the patients’ journey through our department. This is especially true with the work I have done to make the administration of IV sedation safer where the nurses now have to complete a CQC recognised safe sedation course as mandatory and create more stringent guidelines for the nurses to follow in the selection of suitable patients. This has been helped by having the support from the anaesthetic team, which is another example of how well cross team working is within the interventional radiology department.
How have you grown in your profession?
Embracing the challenging and often difficult situations that I face with a positive attitude and finding the learning points. I have been a qualified nurse now for 16 years so have experienced many things, yet I am still faced with new challenges every day. I feel my experience and positive attitude help me in my quest to be an excellent leader and inspire others to push themselves further in their own nursing career.
What has been your biggest achievement so far?
I am so proud that I managed to achieve a distinction in the leadership for all apprenticeship while acting up as the nurse manager and guiding the nursing team into a brand new way of working to accommodate the 24/7 IAT service.
What advice would you give to someone looking for a career in Radiology?
Come and spend some time with the interventional radiology nursing team and see what we are all about first hand. As the department and services we are providing expand, so is our team so there are always opportunities to join us and progress your career.