Celebrating International Nurses Day

Today, Thursday 12th May is International Nurses Day and we’ll be seeing Nurses from around the world join forces to celebrate the difference they make to residents’ and patients’ lives every single day. The theme of this year’s event is ‘A Voice to Lead – Invest in nursing and respect rights to secure global health.’ To mark the event, a few of our Nurses across our care homes have explained what they enjoy so much about being a Nurse and the satisfaction they get from working at Oakland Care.

“There is something very special about working in a care home as a Nurse, the relationship you develop with the residents and families is a gift”.

Sharleen Rudolf worked as a Carer in a Nursing home before completing an access to Nursing course and travelling from Ireland to train as a Nurse. Working alongside Nurses and getting encouragement from them inspired Sharleen to become a Nurse.

Having qualified in 1991, Sharleen worked with the district Nursing team and then worked as a Marie Curie Nurse in palliative care – finding this area the most rewarding.

After a career break to care for her children she completed a return to practice at St Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney and then applied for a role as a Family and Carers Nurse within the Camden Carer Support Services, which was a national demonstrator site for the departments of health research. With her input, this would eventually inform the refreshed National Carers Strategy. Carrying out her design of holistic health checks, this informed how caring for a friend or family member impacted the Carers health both mentally and physically.

Sharleen continued to work for the Carers Support Centre as the Carers Primary Development Coordinator raising awareness, managing a health team and counselling services for Carers. She then went on and developed the Carers Prescription model, and was made a Carers Champion by the Queens Nursing Institute.

Sharleen commented, “After 10 years working in the voluntary sector and lots of commuting and being largely office-based, I missed the contact and caring of Nursing. I took a job in a local Nursing home and I loved it! I intended to stay a year to brush up on my clinical skills and be a hands-on Nurse again, but the pandemic happened and I felt my skills were more needed with the residents and their families during this testing time.

There is something very special about working in a care home as a Nurse, the relationship you develop with the residents and families is a gift. So, from working as a Carer in a Nursing home I feel I have done a full circle and come right back to where I started, which is strange but wonderful”.

To find out more about joining the Oakland Care Family and to continue your Nursing career with us, get in touch today by registering your interest.