We spoke to Sasha, one of our Staff Nurses, about a typical day on the Inpatient Unit here at Trinity and what it’s been like working in palliative care for the past year.

 

What is a typical day like at the hospice?

We usually have handovers in the morning around 7:30am, I say hello to the team and everyone on the IPU and then I walk around the ward and say hello to all the patients and any visitors that might be there. It’s nice for them to know who they’ll be spending the day with.

After that the day can get quite busy, I do medicine rounds, administer some personal care to my patients, attend meetings – some days this can be bereavement meetings, staff meetings, meetings with family members, it can really vary.

Another medicine round may follow depending on which patients I’m looking after but then I usually have some free time in the afternoon to spend with my patients. Sometimes I paint their nails, have a chat with them, take them into the gardens, talk to them and their loved ones and really get to know them. We’re really encouraged at Trinity to spend time with our patients and to make those moments matter, we always make time.

What is your favourite part of your day?

The best part of my day is coming in and seeing my patients first thing in the morning. I enjoy saying hello, getting to know them if they’re new, or just having a nice chat and asking how they’ve been since I last saw them. It really puts a smile on my face and usually theirs too!

 

What do you like most about Trinity?

The patient to nurse ratio. It’s busy but I have time to spend with my patients and do things with them that make a difference to them and their loved ones.

It’s so important that we make those last few moments/days/months/years matter as you only die once. That’s something we really focus on here at Trinity.

 

What do you like about working in palliative care?

It’s a technical and specialist area of nursing but it’s very people focussed. It brings together those 2 aspects of nursing that you might not get anywhere else.

 

How would you describe your IPU team?

They’re amazing. I can’t fault anyone, it’s a great interdisciplinary team. As it’s a smaller environment here at the hospice, you get to know everyone on a more personal level.

I’m proud to be a Trinity nurse. I’m passionate about palliative care and palliative care nursing, and it’s something that Trinity has inspired in me.

You can hear from some of our other nursing team about what it’s like working at Trinity below: