Sophie Bail

During my time at The Park I have continued to increase my skill set and speciality knowledge within theatre. Whilst still maintaining my skills within Anaesthetics and Plastic & Breast surgery, I have also started to expand my knowledge in ENT and Ophthalmology. I have become proficient in scrubbing for cataract cases, FESS and septorhinoplasties and hope to continue to increase my scope of practice. I pride myself on my flexibility within theatres, scrubbing for minor general, gynaecology and urology cases when staffing needs have made it necessary. I'm not afraid to ask for guidance when needed and appreciate being challenged when I have a reliable team to work alongside.

Whilst working within a private healthcare setting I have received personal cards from local anaesthetic patients to say thank you for distracting, reassuring and caring for them during their time in theatres. Due to my previous work experience I feel like that is due being able to stay professional as well as showing empathy during what can sometimes be an overwhelming experience for patients. I plan to bring this same dedication to any future roles I pursue.

After I completed my training with NUH, which lead to experiencing a lot of different specialities and anaesthetic responsibilities, I specialised working within Burns and Plastics Theatres, Due to needing to work unsociable hours and night shifts I also have varied experience withing Thoracic, Urology, as well as Obstetrics. In addition I have experience within Cath Lab out of hours, attending arrests around the hospital and assisting in the transfer of patients within the hospital.

During the initial covid outbreak I was sent to work alongside nurses in critical care to help manage the influx of patients, this brought about additional skills and the ability to work in new and uncomfortable environments. I'm a strong believer that we are our patient's advocates and take that role very seriously. Working within such a varied environments has resulted in brilliant communication skills talking to anxious clients and an ability to stay calm when working in very demanding situations. Anticipating and preparing for potential issues, and the ability to take initiative to help lists run smoothly were essential. Organising tasks and priorities has become second nature. In addition to my everyday role, I was tasked with training all other staff on Difficult Airway Management, as well as mentoring new ODP students during their rotation with Burns and Plastics.

I was in direct contact with the company clients, answering phones and dealing with queries as well as managing the clients during workshops. I acquired great verbal and email communication, as well as an understanding of personality type strengths and weaknesses due to the nature of the workshops (Mayer's Briggs). This added knowledge about different personalities has greatly improved the way in which I interact with colleagues and clients, ensuring that I am able to keep my cool and deal with difficult situations rationally and not take things to heart in the heat of the moment. Additional skills include using Microsoft programs such as Excel as well as basic website coding, data collection and report building. I was also tasked with booking and organising workshops, ensuring aspects such as lunches, transport and accommodation were taken care of, so each day ran smoothly.

Working part-time during sixth form and college. Front-of-house within the restaurant, dealing with a variety of customers and great time keeping, ensuring the flow of service. It was necessary to complete and prioritise different tasks within a lot of time constraints during my shifts, all while giving an efficient and warm service. Additional experience included working large events such as weddings and charity events in the events hall adjacent to the restaurant. Met challenges set to increase sales of gift vouchers and more expensive menu items. Required knowledge about the food I was serving and where it was sourced so I confident and comfortable giving recommendations.