Nursing Opportunities

Case Study

Tess Cunningham
Senior nurse

Tess spent all of her 13-year nursing career as a hospital nurse in the NHS before joining Complete Group in June 2007.

Having previously worked in the Intensive Care Units at hospitals in Blackpool and Chorley, she was able to use her skills in ventilation and tracheostomy management in a community setting when she became Clinical Nurse Specialist for the north of England at Complete.

Less than two years later, she applied for and got the position of Senior Nurse, with responsibility for devising nursing policies and protocols across the company. Tess said she was attracted to the role by the degree of independence and responsibility that Complete offered its staff.

She said: “With changes in the unit and management at the hospital I worked in, I decided it was time for a change, and a former colleague of mine who’d joined Complete a few months earlier told me about the vacancy.

“As clinical nurse specialist, I very much enjoyed the autonomy of the post, having my own case load and planning my own diary together with the hands-on training of personal assistants and managing the clinical issues faced by my clients, most of whom had high spinal cord injuries and were fully ventilated.

“Senior nurse is a very challenging role which requires me to manage all the nurses in the company, working alongside clinical director Sheila Bowden. I’m now responsible for all clinical issues that arise with the company, from checking health questionnaires for new employees to writing clinical policies and procedures.

“I’m also consulted by staff in all areas of the company on training issues, our response to current issues such as swine flu – for which I’ve had to write policies and a business continuity plan – and many other matters.”