Carla Maguire

From the inception of the Integrated Respiratory Team Virtual Ward, I have led the service and consistently fulfilled the following core clinical responsibilities:

• Conducting timely reviews of patient data and symptoms, using insights from the remote monitoring platform (Doccla) to inform clinical decisions and care prioritisation
• Leading clinical escalation pathways in response to red flags identified through Doccla’s monitoring system. This includes completing urgent home visits or facilitation hospital admission as appropriate
• Developing and overseeing individualised COPD management plans, including medication titration, oxygen therapy, and self-management strategies
• Providing clinical guidance to the virtual ward/Doccla teams, supporting complex case discussions and ensuring evidence-based COPD care standards are maintained
• Working closely with Doccla’s technical and clinical support teams to ensure accurate monitoring, timely alerts, and seamless data integration into clinical workflows

I currently complete occasional bank nursing shifts at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability, Putney. This often includes care for patient in the ventilation unit. My duties & responsibilities include:

• Being responsible and accountable for the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of the care needs for patients ensuring safe practice and maintaining high standards of care
• Incorporating health education and health promotion within clinical practice through providing verbal and written information to patients/relatives/carers
• Care of airway adjuncts e.g. oral airway, nasal airway and tracheostomy
• Care of patients on primary types of ventilators. This includes setting up and safety checking primary types of ventilators
• Acting in such a manner as to promote and safeguard the interests and wellbeing of patients
• Utilising effective verbal and non-verbal communication and interpersonal skills with patients/carers/relatives and healthcare professionals with internal departments and external agencies. This includes effectively communicating with those who may be
• Complying with and participating in the DHSC framework of Clinical Governance within ward/department, seeking advice or guidance where necessary
• Being aware of and complying with policies, procedures and guidelines. This includes the identification of risk, maintaining appropriate knowledge about and involvement in agreed strategies and programmes to continuously improve the standards of clinical care through continued practice development

Rotations completed:

• Thoracics
• Integrated Respiratory Team inpatient (0.5)/Pulmonary rehabilitation (0.5)

My duties included:

• Completing inpatient assessments and treatments of stable and acutely ill patients, with chronic respiratory problems, with multi-pathology including those who have highly complex presentations, to determine clinical diagnosis and treatment indicated and to maintain associated records, as an autonomous practitioner
• Providing advice to patients, carers or to health professionals via our Integrated Respiratory Team advice line
• Promoting effective self-management of patients and providing professional intervention for community management in order to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions, improve quality of life and to actively identify patients who would benefit from case management
• Working closely with other members of the multidisciplinary team including clinical nurse specialists, physiotherapists, pharmacists and doctors with the aim of delivering person-centred and co-ordinated care for all of our patients. This included presenting and discussing complex patients at our weekly multi-disciplinary meeting
• Identifying patients who are suitable for the new virtual ward service and working with our partner agency Doccla with the aim of providing early supported discharge or admission avoidance for this patient group
• Providing patients with an exacerbation of COPD or asthma with education about their condition and how to self-manage plans

Rotations completed:

• Emergency Department and Acute Medicine
• Orthopedics
• Respiratory
• Neurology

My duties and responsibilities during my time working as a Band 5 Physiotherapist included:

• Being professionally and legally responsible for all aspects of my work, including the management of patients in my care
• Being able to carry and prioritise my own designated clinical caseload, working as an autonomous practitioner, with regular supervision from my supervisor within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment
• Undertaking competent physiotherapy assessments in line with department and professional standards, to form diagnoses, establish impairments and limitations and to plan and implement individual physiotherapy programs for all patients
• Using clinical reasoning, understanding of the medical diagnosis, previous experience and knowledge of treatment options to plan and implement individual physiotherapy programs, formulate accurate prognoses and develop appropriate discharge plans
• Monitoring and evaluating treatment to measure progress and to ensure effectiveness of the intervention. Identifying problems and modifying treatments in routine cases but with support of senior in more complex cases
• Understanding the Trust clinical governance framework, and participating in the promoting and safeguarding of high standards of care, through effective risk management & governance, and adherence to the Trust values
• Being an active member of the respiratory weekend and on-call rota thus undertaking the assessment and treatment of acutely ill patients

On commencement of working in the ICU, I completed a six month training course in which I received a first class honours. On completing this course, I assumed responsibility of caring for critically ill individuals on a one to one basis. This work involved:

• Care of ventilated patients including blood gas drawing and interpretation#
• Assisting in the insertion and care of PA catheters, arterial and central lines
• Monitoring cardiac rhythms and responding to deviations of same in an appropriate timeframe and manner
• Regular chest physiotherapy, invasive suctioning and adjusting of ventilation requirements when appropriate

Whilst working in a busy medical ward, I gained several skills and achievements such as:

• Proficiency in the areas of efficient patient care and time management
• Completion of the preceptorship programme and teaching of students
• Appointment to the position of the cardiac arrest link nurse to 1B ward
• Attendance of several other training programmes such BiPAP therapy, anaphylaxis and NEWS/Sepsis
  

Throughout my two years stay in Australia, I worked as a night duty nurse in one of Melbourne’s leading private hospitals. This often involved assuming the role of nurse in charge of a busy 30 bed surgical ward. Throughout this time I also worked hospital's high dependency unit. During which I
gained a wealth of experience in the areas of:

• Caring for patients whilst they were acutely unwell, recognising such and ensuring the appropriate care actions were undertaken and followed up
• Staff allocation and management
• Working in conjunction with physiotherapists to ensure optimum patient rehabilitation
• Ensuring all patients on the ward received appropriate and efficient care
• Patient care planning/discharge planning

As a newly qualified nurse, I was privileged to work in one Ireland’s largest university teaching hospital and the only Level 1 Trauma Centre in the country. My duties involved:

• Organisation of patient care from admission through to discharge
• Ensuring accurate time management and prioritization of patient care
• Communicating with the entire multidisciplinary team, patients and family on a daily basis
• Documenting correct and accurate details of daily patient care
• Working as part of a multidisciplinary team or working on my own initiative as required

This position involved:

• Facilitating nursing staff with such duties as attending to patient personal hygiene needs, assisting with meals and ensuring a safe environment was
  maintained for the elderly residents
• It was also my duty to ensure that the highest of hygiene standards were adhered to throughout the ward in accordance with ‘HIQA’ standards