Sarah Trigg

Sister, GP Surgery

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When did you graduate and what degree did you complete?

I completed a three year Adult Nursing BSc (Hons) degree at Canterbury Christ Church University in August 2015.

Tell us about your current role – what does it entail?

My current role is in a GP surgery as a Practice Nurse. It is a large surgery, caring for around 15,000 patients. We care for people of all ages and backgrounds, offering services which deal with walk-in emergencies right through to chronic disease management.

I went straight into the surgery following registration and then the real learning began. It helped that I had been allocated a placement there in my final year, but it is true when they say that a prerequisite of nursing is ‘lifelong learning’. My role day to day can be a mix of monitoring those on anti-coagulants; ear syringing; dressing anything from chronic leg ulcers through to cuts and accidents; child immunisations; removal of sutures and post-operative care. I’m also undertaking a diabetes diploma and a cytology course which will enable me to care for diabetic patients and take smears.

What excites you most about your work?

I love going to work and being able to offer the standard of care which makes the patient feel that they have been listened to and been treated holistically. I work autonomously, but have the support of colleagues and a mentor whenever I need help. Some days this is invaluable when you need someone more experienced to reassure you that you are on the right track or gently steer you onto the right track if you just don’t know. I love having the rapport with the regular patients and catching up with them. Especially some of our elderly patients who come to the surgery to connect with the outside world as much as for the physical treatment services they require.

It is a forward thinking practice where urgent care services are offered at the weekend to help avoid admissions to A&E. I enjoy the acute side of job and not knowing what will come through the door. It is also interesting to look at in the bigger picture of local services and preventing hospital admissions which not only benefits the NHS, but often means that the patient can remain in their own home.

What advice would you give students trying to get into your profession?

I was fortunate to have the support of the university, personal tutor and my mentor in practice which meant that I was able to access primary care during my training.  Saying that, I worked hard and had to be so organised; this would be my main piece of advice to anyone undertaking a nursing degree. Plan ahead and get on with academic work when it is given. This might simply be planning out how you are going to tackle an essay or who is going to be doing what in a group or even printing off some relevant articles. You will find that at times, you will have a few deadlines together and they usually occur when you are on placement.  If you have been organised, it really eases the stress knowing that you are ‘on the case’ after a long few days (or nights) on placement. Make the best of your placements and ask questions which not only shows that you are interested, but often helps you understand a bit more about the speciality.

In what ways did studying at Christ Church prepare you for your current role?

I was given a good range of placements when at Christ Church and this gave me an idea of what I wanted to do post qualification as well as what I definitely didn’t want to do.Talking to students from other universities, I was grateful that I was attending a university that organised placements and ensured that I got to experience different aspects of nursing.

Academically, I cannot fault the support I received both with my coursework and personally when at times it all felt too much. The structure of the course is constantly being reviewed and altered to guarantee that students will meet the criteria set out by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Knowing that if you follow this criteria and work hard for your three years, you will come out of the other side as a Registered Nurse is worth every step.

Do you have a favourite memory of your time at Christ Church?

The final study day when everything was signed off and we received our Christ Church badges.  The feeling that I had done it and was a registered nurse was amazing! Sitting there with the forever friends I had made along the way, knowing that we were going off to do what we had worked so hard to achieve.  It was the end of an era, but the beginning of a much more exciting adventure.