Meet Jamie Crew, one of the stars of BBC2's Hospital
I graduated from Nottingham University as a Children’s Nurse in 1998. After I qualified I worked at City Hospital on the Children’s Ward until 2001, then I moved to the Children’s Emergency Department at QMC. I was in Children’s ED for 12 years where worked my way up to Charge Nurse.
I also completed a post graduate study in Leadership and Specialist Health Studies and I’ve worked in roles in project management throughout my career.
Achieving a Matron/Deputy Clinical Lead post in 2013 in the Children’s Hospital was a big step which took me away from daily, face-to-face patient care.
I then worked in the Emergency Pathway Taskforce for a year until taking up my current role as Deputy Head Nurse within the Family Health Division. My portfolio now includes the Children’s Hospital, Neonatal Units, Sexual Health, Fertility and Genetics.
A typical day for me starts at 07:30am. I start with some planning, reviewing my diary commitments and responding to emails. I then try and walk the wards to address the daily operational issues experienced by staff. This is often things like supporting staff, speaking with families, anticipating delays in patient flow, and addressing any complaints.
Having an anticipatory and proactive mind set and ensuring I have a forward view of the week ahead and beyond is an important part of my job. My portfolio involves managing and leading teams with Dorothy Bean (Divisional Nurse for Family Health) for the Neonatal Units the Children’s Hospital, Sexual Health, Fertility and Genetics. Having a strategic and bigger picture approach to these services and ensuring we maintain high standards of care is also a big part of my role.
Managing my time can be a really challenging aspect to my job but it’s important to accept that you can’t be all things to everyone and be everywhere all of the time. It’s about balance, inside and outside of work.
I really enjoy working at NUH, especially when I get to hear feedback from families and young people about the amazing care they’ve received from our staff. It really does make me feel genuinely proud to be part of team NUH. As nurses we are in a very privileged position to be part of someone’s life when they are often at their most vulnerable in hospital – we must not forget the impact we can have, even by the little things we say or do when we are caring for our patients.