Personal development in nursing

Training reflections from Donna Mole, Registered Nurse

Donna Mole, Senior Nurse at Demelza in East Sussex, reflects on her own personal development in nursing and how the training she has undertaken has helped support the children and families she works with across the region:

“Since working with Demelza I have accessed many training courses that have helped support my job and enhance the care that is provided to the children, young people and families.

“Every year all staff attend mandatory training to ensure that best practice is followed and on top of this I have accessed palliative care, bereavement, and leadership training courses.

“In 2020, I passed my MSc in Palliative care for Healthcare professionals. This was a three-year course based at Cardiff University and allowed me to meet professionals from all areas of healthcare, all around the world. This was funded by Help the Hospices, Demelza and myself.

“In year one, I had to complete a case study and reflect on best practice and where improvements in care could be made. My area of choice was based around constipation in children with complex needs. Up to 85% of children with complex health needs may experience this distressing symptom. Looking further into the needs of individual children for the case study helped to formulate my year three dissertation, looking at research to better identify when a child is at risk of constipation, so that treatment can commence early and reduce the symptoms that the child may experience.”

Lottie McElhinney, Registered Nurse shares how she has expanded her expertise 

Lottie MchElhinney, Care Team Leader at Demelza in South East London has shared her experience of personal development in nursing in the hospice sector:

“Every day is different, there is no average day.  I could be managing the team as shift co-ordinator, making memories for families, providing one to one clinical care to a child at the end of their life whilst providing support to their family, or taking a child outside to enjoy to the fresh air in our playground. Working at Demelza has given me the opportunity to expand my clinical expertise surrounding complex end of life care in a nurse led environment.

“  their wishes is certainly one of the most compelling reasons to work at Demelza.

“Being able to offer families choice about where to spend the final days or moments with their child is so important, this could be in hospital, at home or at the hospice. We are able to provide expert clinical support and offer a very personalised service to each family with an element of choice. Making a positive difference during such difficult times reminds me why I chose to be a nurse.”

Join our nursing team

We’re recruiting for Registered Nurses to join our team, with opportunities to work in our hospices in Kent and South East London or our community teams in Kent, South East London or East Sussex.