Dave James

Charge Nurse on a new, pioneering poly-trauma ward. With the Trust 8 years.

There's a real buzz working in Trauma, especially with London's air ambulance based here.

Trauma patients come in with multiple injuries, but instead of getting shunted away to the ward for their most serious injury, patients have a specialist trauma team, and all the specialists come here, to us. Which is better for the patient, but it also means I'm learning all the time by being around all those different disciplines, and seeing the way they work together.

Another thing that makes this place so lively is the amazing mix of people. Something like forty different nationalities work here, it's like the United Nations! But it's not all non-stop action, running about with a flashing blue light on your head. You get the quieter moments, too, when you can really get to know people.

You never get the same day twice, that's for sure.

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Q+A

How will I get to know how things work at the Trust?
There's a very user-friendly induction programme which, for nurses, is over a period of four days and runs every month. The first part is a general introduction to working at the Trust, the rest of the course is focused specifically on clinical practice for nurses and midwifes, to give you a really thorough grounding in every aspect of training and safe practice.
I'd like to cycle to work - would the Trust help me buy a bike?
Yes, if you want to buy a bike, you can get a loan - and it's interest free. Staff that work within cycling distance from work and intend to use a bike for their whole journey, can borrow up to 500 pounds to buy a bike, protective clothes and security equipment. The loans are paid back straight from your salary over a period of 50 weeks.

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Ask me your question about working at Barts and The London and I'll get back to you soon.



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