Across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, more than 600 newly qualified nurses (NQNs) have joined the ranks in recent months.
Providing a welcome boost to staffing levels across sites, the NQNs also bring with them a wealth of experience not seen in previous cohorts, with many having taken up the opportunity to join NHSGGC earlier on in their degrees to support frontline care during the first and second waves of the pandemic.
New nurses like Jasmin Duff already know what it’s like to provide safe, compassionate person-centred care during the height of a pandemic. Having first volunteered to come in as a band two health care support worker last year and spending time looking after patients during the most difficult of times, Jasmin who graduated from Caledonian University, joins as one of 162 NQNs in the Health Board’s South sector which covers the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH), Gartnavel General Hospital and the New Victoria ACH.
Working in elderly care on Ward 55 at the QEUH, Jasmin, aged 25 from Glasgow, said: “It was tough coming in early as a Band two. The pandemic magnifies all the care we are trained to provide. I worked on a COVID-19 ward and it hit home the importance of providing compassionate care at all times. Some of the patients couldn’t see their families and the staff would be the only people there to talk to them in the beginning so I think, while it was a difficult experience, it was important both for the patients and for my own development.”
Jasmin who chose nursing following her own personal experiences of care within her family, now works to provide a broad range of care to elderly patients – from medicine management to looking after patients with dementia or delirium through to providing palliative care and supporting the families of patients during end of life care. Jasmin credits the team around her for helping her settle in, and highlights the importance of elderly care.
Jasmin said: “There is a huge need for elderly care and I’ve found it to be truly rewarding so far. It’s a difficult job and it can be emotional but it comes with a tremendous amount of learning experience.
“There’s no such thing as a stupid question here and I’ve never met a more supportive group of staff. They’ve all been here before so they know what it’s like. While I now have lots more responsibilities in the delivery of care, everyone is here to support each other which has helped me settle into the role.”
Morag Gardner, Chief Nurse for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s South Sector, added: “It is fantastic to hear positive feedback from our new nurses regarding the support around them. Despite joining during one of the toughest, if not the toughest time in the history of the NHS, they have hit the ground running.
“These are some of the most experienced, newly qualified nurses we’ve ever seen which is of huge benefit and we’re sure they will all go on to have successful and impactful careers within the health service. From the South Directorate, we’d like to reiterate our welcome to all new staff to the South sector.”
ENDS