Maxine Hallett

I am currently working as a Clinical Diabetes Specialist Nurse within the Adult & Young Adult team at Maidstone hospital. I am responsible for initiating Continuous Glucose Monitoring systems (CGM) and insulin pump therapy; predominately Hybrid Closed Loop ( HCL).

I offer pre pump assessments, to determine whether the patient meets The National Institute of Clinical Excellence ( NICE) criteria for HCL.

After this assessment, I organise & deliver, the patient's pre pump education one to two weeks before their pump start. These sessions are as a group to enable me touse my time effectively and efficiently.

Since starting in this post, I have reviewed the existing paperwork & re developed it, to enable a more transparent, straight forward and seamless process.

I conside accurate and clear documentation a crucial part of my role.

I schedule the pump starts, liasing with the medical representatives and patients. Good organisational skills are essential and I schedule all the pump start dates for the year.

I deliver the pump start education in collaboration with the pump company representatives.

I hold my nurse led clinics two - three times a month. At these clinics, I review the patient's clinical data on a virtual platform and advise relevant changes to their insulin doses or any practical changes that they can implement to improve their glycaemic control.

Within my role, I cover the adhoc insulin pump generic email and answer any challenging situations, the patients require advice on. This includes sick day rules, insulin dose adjustments and general advice.

I support the inpatient team when a patient with an insulin pump is admitted and advise them as appropriate. As an experienced pump nurse, I also offer education to the Team on new pumps and any technology developments that occur.

As an experienced Paediatric Nurse, within my role, I advise the Young Adult nurse if she considers there to be any safeguarding issues with the teenagers. This includes, attending multi professional meetings and help to develop individualised care plans, if they are required.

Although, I enjoy my current role, as it enables me to have a good work life balance, I would like to return to a Paediatric role, as I miss working with children and their families.

Within this role, I had a caseload of 65 children living with: Type 1, Type 2 & Cystic Fibrosis induced Diabetes. I was responsible for monitoring their overall Diabetes management. I offered advice on ways to improve the child’s glycaemic control, to ensure their long term clinical outcomes are positive. I educated, supported and advised the families from their child’s initial diagnosis through to their transfer of care to the young adult service.; SEREN is the structured education package that the Paediatric service use during the initial 6-8 weeks post diagnosis. I supported, educated & advised: nurseries, schools & colleges the young person attended; writing healthcare plans to support the staff to care for the child in their educational setting.

I initiated Continuous Glucose Monitoring systems (CGMS) & Insulin pump therapy for the children in my care. This was started usually in groups using the virtual platforms or face to face depending on the family’s needs. I assessed, monitored & evaluated the child’s glycaemic control & advised as appropriate.

I ordered the CGMS & Insulin Pumps as required & organised with the Company Representatives the pump starts. I regularly reviewed the Paediatric Pre Pump education & made improvements as was necessary.

I lead on Transferring of Care to the Young Adult Service. I initiated a Transition evening, where all young people transferring their care would attend at the beginning of the year to explain the process & meet their new Team.

I held my nurse led clinic alternate Fridays; I assessed & evaluated the children’s Diabetes management & advised changes as appropriate. I offeedr support & sign posted the families to other agencies if necessary. I also supported the Paediatric Diabetes Consultants in their clinics on a regular basis.

Safeguarding the children in my care is an essential part of my role. I worked collaboratively with the Trust Paediatric Safeguarding Nurse as appropriate. I am confident in writing referrals for the Front Door & challenging decisions I considered not in the child’s best interest.

I cover the Paediatric Diabetes Generic emails 1-2 mornings a week, responding to the family’s requests, offering support/advice or reviewing blood glucose levels.

I was responsible for ensuring that the child in my care receive their Annual Review screening either in their routine clinic appointment or in a separate Annual Review clinic.

I covered the Out of Hours Service as I am rostered; this service is provided to the families on weekends/Bank Holidays 9-5pm offering urgent advice.

I educated the ward staff, student nurse and junior doctors on Diabetes Management and updated them on any new developments that occur.

I collated data to enter into the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit on an annual basis.

The paediatric service receive Best Practice Tariff; each child has to meet certain criteria in order for the Trust to receive the payment; it was my responsibility to ensure that all the children in my caseload successfully meet the specific criteria

I worked as a Bank Staff Nurse at the Somerfield Private Hospital to ensure my Paediatric Nurse hours were completed to retain my registration. I was responsible for assessing, planning, implementing & evaluating care pre & post operatively for children undergoing minor surgery eg circumcision, hernia repairs & Ear Nose & Throat surgery.

I was the only Paediatric trained nurse on the day ward

I was responsible for was a medical 18 bedded Paediatric ward; the children’s ages ranged from 1-16years. I had 24 hour accountability & a Team of 20 nurses.

As a ward sister, I undertook the on duty roster, ensuring that the ward was safely staffed; this included ensuring staff numbers were sufficient and the skill mix was safe. I also had to be mindful of the ward’s budget.

I was clinically responsible for the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of all the children on my ward. I worked collaboratively with other professionals on the ward. As a ward sister, I ensured all care was evidenced based.

I was responsible for overall management of the ward, my staff and student nurses.

During the first 6 months, I undertook ‘ Managing the Total Healthcare Resource ‘ course. It was extremely beneficial and gave me a greater insight in ensuring my budget was used effectively and efficiently to provide the highest standards of care on the ward. Sometimes, this was challenging as difficult decisions had to be made.

I undertook staff Appraisals and set their objectives to not only develop them as nurses but to improve the care on the ward.

I deputised for the Unit Manager when she annual leave. This included: ensuring Paediatric Unit was safely staffed, dealing with complaints and solving any problems that arose.

The hospital was preparing to move to a totally new site; I attended meetings and cascaded any information down to my staff.

This role was challenging at times however, I did enjoy it. Although, with two young children, it became more difficult to juggle the demands at home with those at work; I decided to have a career break for a year.

I was responsible for setting up the Hospital at Home Team. Initially, that aim of the team was to facilitate early discharge for children with respiratory conditions eg Asthma. The team reviewed the child in their home environment, monitored their progress, reviewed medication and gave support and advice. As the team progressed, a year later, the children with Type 1 Diabetes were cared for by the Hospital at Home team. At this point, I undertook my Diploma in Diabetes Management. I was responsible for educating, advising, supporting and monitoring the child and their families. I worked collaboratively with other healthcare professionals and referred the child to other agencies if needed.

I was responsible for contacting the Diabetes representatives to provide education to myself and other team members as new developments materialised. I had to ensure, the team had all the relevant blood glucose meters etc and we were awre of any new insulins that became available.

Three times a month, I was responsible for organising the Consultant clinics; I reviewed the children in conjunction with the Paediatrician, discussed their progress and advised appropriate changes to the diabetes management.

As the team developed, any child with any medical condition could be referred for early discharge.

Within this role, I was responsible to teaching student nurses about the team, referrals and any medical condition a child may present with.

I worked autonomously, making decisions in the home environment depending on the child’s condition, medication and progress. I assessed, planned, implemented and evaluated the child’s care.

Within this role, I was a staff nurse on an eighteen bedded general Paediatric ward. The children admitted were either having booked or emergency surgery or had a medical condition.

I was a newly qualified staff nurse on a male surgical ward. Within this post, I consolidated my nurse training.