Vanessa Gibson
Community Nursing Services Manager writes:
As a small girl I was accident prone, I was forever falling off my bike, walls and swings. But it was an accident with a boiling kettle which was to change my life. At around ten years old I managed to knock a kettle of boiling water down my leg. As my scald healed I was visited by a District Nurse. She came regularly to dress my leg and I vividly remember her seeming to put magic gloves on – one minute they were on a piece of paper the next on her hands.
What magic! I was hooked- I wanted to be a nurse. This decision never changed and at 18 I commenced nurse training. A decision I have never regretted.
I have now been working as a nurse for 30 years and I still love my job, how many people can honestly say that? Two days are never the same and I learn constantly, not just from books but from the people I meet. All through my career I have met fabulous people who at very difficult times have let me into their lives to try and make things just a little better. I have many happy memories of my career not least meeting a very old ex-service man who whilst I dressed his wounds told me all about meeting the king, or the retired miner who whilst I helped him wash and dress told me all about how the coal mines used to work and his life crawling around underground. I have seen amazing things including both kidney and toe transplants – yes really!
Now in a more senior role I take huge pleasure in helping my team of specialist nurses and Hospice at Home team be the very best they can be – to support patients and families in challenging situations and often at the very bleakest time. I am hugely proud of my teams and the work we continually undertake to make sure we meet the changing needs of our patients and families.
I still feel I make a difference to lives be it through the development of a gardening group or a drop in clinic within St Richard’s Shop in Worcester. I still hold on to my key reason for becoming a nurse, even though the magic gloves have long since gone. I became a nurse to try and help, to give back, to support and care for people at their darkest times, to walk with patients and their families and to try and make the situation just a little bit better.