What’s the first thing you do on a standard day?

Eat Breakfast!! Weetabix helps set my day 😊. Workwise, I attend In-Patient Unit (IPU) handover (to catch up on how patients have been overnight) and then attend the admissions meeting before catching up on my emails.

How many people would you come into contact with?

I come into contact with various patients, significant others for our patients, alongside staff and volunteers.

What’s your favourite task?

My favourite is providing psychosocial and emotional support for patients and significant others. This can be giving a ‘safe space’ for others to talk about how they may be thinking and feeling without the worry of what they say impacting on negatively on me (being a professional).

Which task do you dislike the most?

Having difficult conversations with external agencies who maybe do not have the same sense of priority as we may have – (frustrating sometimes).

What’s the most interesting thing about your job?

How varied our role can be – one moment we can be providing emotional support or talking about discharge planning with patients, advocating on behalf of patients and signposting to various external agencies where appropriate to do so. The next we can be completing pressure ulcer protocols or raising a safeguarding concern.

What do you think other people would be surprised to know about your role?

The amount of time we spend doing things ‘behind the scenes’ to try and make things seem so seamless for our patients.

Is this the first time you’ve been in a role of this kind?

During my social work course, I had a placement in childrens’ services (Local Authority). I also had my final placement at Princess Alice Hospice. This is my first Social Work role since qualifying so yes.

What skills do you need to do your job?

Active listening and communication skills are essential. Having a working knowledge of external and internal support available is also very important to extend support.

Who have you learned the most from at PAH?

I would say Sarah Dowd (now Head of IPU). Sarah is my line manager but has been such a positive role model in regard to what makes a great Social Worker. I would say she helped bring out various parts of myself which has helped form my professional identity.

Is there anything boring about your role??

Not really – even the most simple of admin tasks tends to feel like you are making a difference, somehow.

What’s the last thing you do before you leave the Hospice at the end of the day?

I will handover anything I feel that other members of the team may need to know. I also write myself a ‘mini plan of action’ for the next day, whilst being fully aware that these actions will likely change again on the day.