Barbara Connor

Senior Sister, Coronary Care and Acute Cardiac Unit, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust

Hi, my name is Barbara and I am a community specialist practitioner district nurse. I manage two community nursing teams, working across semi-rural areas of North West England with a combined caseload of approximately 380 patients. We provide complex care for patients at home including wound management and palliative care. I am responsible for managing approximately 30 staff members comprising of administrators, health support workers, community staff nurses and assistant team leaders. I have now been a district nurse team lead for 3 years. My development over this time has been immeasurable, in particular since managing a second team. Since completing the Community Specialist Practitioner programme and subsequently the Practice Educator qualification, there has been minimal opportunity to undertake a structured learning programme, largely due to the COVID pandemic. However, it is clear that the Inspire Improvement Fellowship will be an excellent opportunity to improve and consolidate my development whilst working with like-minded health professionals. The position of team leader can be isolating at times and therefore peer support is vital to share practice, problem solve and drive practice development. The supportive and encouraging environment offered through the fellowship will be extremely beneficial and enable me to make real improvements in our health care delivery and team culture.

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