#Shapeyourstory as an A&E nurse
Meet Chloe, paediatric sister, Whipps Cross
Working on the wards wasn’t really for me - I wanted something a bit more fast-paced and different every day. And we have certainly got that here.
We’ve also got variety in our people - we are a really multicultural environment both in terms of our team and those we serve. But it’s not like inner London; it’s quite green round here and we’ve got Hollow Pond just behind us. It can be nice to look out on in quieter moments - but there aren’t so many of those. We really are very busy most of the time.
I came here as a newly qualified nurse and then did the A&E course which gives you a bit more specialism on emergency department skills, and now I have already got up to band 6, so I’m a junior sister with more of a leadership role. The support has been great; I didn’t have to do it on my own. We are a family here, all of us different but all welcome as part of the team. The people you work with make such a difference, don’t they?
I have made lifelong friends here and they have helped with me with advice and support on the training courses for the emergency department and trauma. The managers have also been very supportive and flexible with my rota. I’m a working mum with three children so I really need that support with childcare and arranging my shifts. That has been really great.
Of course, as a mum, I know that children are your absolute world, so I can understand how scared parents can be. It is emotionally draining, but so rewarding to let mums, dads and carers know their child is going to be ok.
That’s it for me. That and the ‘family’ I work with.