Saturday 11 February 2012
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A day in the life of Joanna Longden - specialist community nurse in palliative care
12 May 2010
I grew up listening to my mum and her two sisters talking about their job as a nurse. I used to spend hours listening to all their stories and how their job made them proud of themselves as they knew they could help people at a difficult time of their lives, when they were ill and fragile.
For me to become a nurse was a natural choice. I have been working as a nurse for the past 30 years and been working for Sue Ryder for the last 20 years, and I have never regretted my choice. Sometimes it can be sad when someone dies, sometimes it can be really tiring when you finish a long shift, but it is always rewarding.
Initially I was working in the in-patient unit at Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice, near Keighley, but in the last 12 months I have been working as a Specialist Community Nurse in palliative care. My role is to help and assist people in their own homes and if they wish to die at home, to make it possible.
There is something extremely rewarding in knowing that I can help people have a better quality of life, I am in a position to help people ease their pain. The people I care for are patients with a terminal condition - it may be cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Motor Neurone Disease or renal failure. They are not going to recover from it, but I can help them to lead a life free from pain, with dignity and enjoy every day of it for as long as possible. I can’t change the fact that they are going to die, but I can make a difference to how this is going to happen. I can help them to die peacefully and surrounded by the people they love most.
My day always starts by checking my case load and consulting on each patient’s personal health condition with our doctor and other specialist community nurses before I go visiting patients in their homes. I also work with district nurses and GPs and advice and discuss with them how to best support patients.