I have worked as a MSW in Crumlin for two and a half years and I am qualified as a Social Worker 12 years ago. I work in the Cardiac ICU and Children’s Heart Centre Wards in CHI at Crumlin.

We see a wide variety of patients and diagnoses and all cardiac patients are referred for MSW input. My daily routine varies depending on the presenting needs of the patient and their families.  We work with all children linked to the Children’s Heart Centre including children who require heart transplant, open heart surgery and other major heart related procedures etc. We are also tasked in working with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders in order to appropriately support the presenting needs of the child and their families.

I attend weekly psychosocial multi-disciplinary meetings and therefore work closely with both my medical, nursing and HSCP colleagues to provide the best service for each child in the cardiac service.

Not to sound cliché, but working with children and their families is the thing I like the most about my job.

I also have a huge respect for the staff in Crumlin. Staff in Crumlin go to extraordinary measures to assure that the children receive the best holistic care possible. They often go beyond their roles, remit and function to ensure the best individualised care for patient.

I find bereavement work and the reality of working in a hospital with very sick children very challenging. However to be positive, we as MSWs can assist families in establishing a very positive and special narrative to families dealing with bereavement in a very difficult and unnatural time in their lives. In such tragic circumstances, we can provide coping mechanisms and tools for parents and siblings to deal with the death of their loved one.

I am very proud of my role in the Cardiology Department, particularly when parents return to Crumlin in the months following a bereavement to say that they are very thankful for the support I gave their child and family in the final weeks of their child’s life.

Outside of work, I enjoy hiking and walking with my wife and two boys. I also enjoy rowing. I am a member of St Michael’s rowing club in Dun Laoghaire and I will be rowing across the Atlantic in 2020 as part of a two man crew. We are hoping to raise funds for the Children’s Heart Centre in Crumlin.

The MSW Department has recently started to hold quarterly breakfasts with the team which help us to unwind and debrief. I also have monthly supervision meetings with my Line Manager where we discuss caseload and troubleshoot challenges of the job.

I enjoy working with my team and I admire how everyone strives to do the best for the children we work with.

We do everything we can, despite often having limited resources to cope with all demands. I am also motivated by the parents I work with. It is inspiring to see the strength that parents show when supporting their children through illness. It makes me think how I would react in a similar situation while being mindfully aware and thankful for my own children’s good health.

My children make me laugh and I enjoying watching the similarities between my eldest son and my wife. Just the other day, following my wife’s environmental endeavours, my son told me ‘not to leave the tap running’. He certainly did not ‘lick it off a rock’. Thankfully my seven month old hasn’t taken to telling me off…. just yet.

I love the hospital canteen especially the Italian Lasagne. The canteen staff really are amazing and make the atmosphere a really welcoming place to unwind for staff and families. The relaxed atmosphere is very much welcomed space to chill out, catch up with colleagues and relax away from the demands of a busy job.

What I like most about my job is the team within the Department.  There is a good spirit and ethos and everybody pulls together.  When we are trialling new stuff everyone does give it a bash.  I’m stumped by the question what do you find most challenging – I’d say the ad-hoc side. Sometimes you get parents that are a bit anxious after long clinics and waits by the time that they get across to us.

My proudest achievement since joining here is achieving the permanent Grade IV role and enrolling on the Green Belt 6 Sigma.  To keep mind and body healthy I suppose I start with a walk back up to the car after work.  In the evening I find a swim and a walk on the beach in Bettystown clears the head but is of course weather dependant so if the weather is good I do that a couple of times a month and then the pool more regularly.

What motivates me is a sense of achievement, teamwork, keeping all the cogs in the Department moving smoothly and doing as much as I can to relieve pressure from the clinical staff from doing admin ‘stuff’.

To relax and unwind I enjoy walking, swimming and generally getting out and about.  An array of things makes me laugh including being in good company, good friends where you can always guarantee a laugh whether that be at work or at home.

I have to say that the staff in general are what I treasure most about Temple Street.  Having come here from another hospital staff here are very friendly.  Coming in as an outsider, they all stop and chat – nurses, porters and everybody once they knew that you were new.

Travelling beside the water with moorhens, herons and swans as fellow commuters is a joy.

I usually start the working day by checking emails and catching up on admin tasks. The children and families I see are referred for psychological support from the General Paediatric clinics. They might be experiencing difficulties with physical symptoms such as tummy pains and headaches or have difficulties with toileting or eating behaviour. I support parents and children to manage anxiety or to cope with difficult experiences. Although every day is different, I generally have a number of patient sessions booked in. Therapy sessions last about an hour and might involve play, art, role play, and storytelling. My clinic room is large and airy, which means that there’s enough space for family therapy sessions or for getting down on the floor with children. It wouldn’t be unusual for colleagues passing by the room to see a parent, a child and myself all lying on the floor with teddies on our tummies practicing a breathing exercise. I love the playfulness and creativity that is a key part of therapy with children. Between patient sessions, there are opportunities to link with other members of the team, liaise with schools or community services, and to provide supervision to other staff.

Even after 20 odd years of doing this work, I am still inspired and moved by the resilience and strength I see in children and families, even when they are faced with adversity. This is what motivates me. There are challenging moments of course. It is very frustrating, for example, to see the gaps or delays in services such as disability and mental health related services.

If I need to refer someone to another service I might be doing so in the knowledge that they will be on a waiting list for a year or more. A year is a long time in the life of a child.

The OPD in CHI at Connolly was opened last July and I feel proud of establishing psychology as a part of this new service. I’ve been able to see at first-hand the positive impact of a purpose built, child-friendly environment staffed by a committed and enthusiastic team.

My days are quite busy and can be marked by moments of shared sadness with children and families. Because of this, self-care is really important. The thinking I do on my cycle home helps me process the day, so that I’m ready to come home to busy family life. With a number of resident comics in my family, laughter is a regular feature and a great way of relieving stress.

The treasure in CHI at Connolly for me is the trees – both the real trees around the Connolly campus and the balloon tree sculpture that sits in the reception area. The sculpture helps to create a bright colourful space for families as they enter the building and for me, symbolises the hopefulness and fun that is at the core of my work with children.

The first thing I do when I get to work is to open my contact listings in Excel and relevant information folders that I might need access to, to work through my shift efficiently. I also cover two afternoons in the post room, so firstly I organise the mail then price it through the franking machine.

There is no fixed routine to my day. Every day is different on the phones and at the main reception desk. The phones always keep us busy and dealing with members of the public can be challenging at times. But as a Telephonist/Receptionist I never have a dull day. There’s something new or different.

The thing I like most about my job is providing an efficient phone service for CHI at Crumlin and maintaining and working my Internal Contact Listings into Excel spread sheets. I also enjoy when work colleagues from different departments pop into the switch office to rack their bleeps or just pop their heads in to say ‘Hey’. That’s always great. It’s nice to see them all heading home for an enjoyable evening. I really like the amount of traffic in and out of the switch office every evening. It’s a truly great office to work in.

However working on such a busy switch board can be very challenging but it’s important to remain assertive, positive and professional when there are high volumes of calls coming in. The ladies in switch and I could hold and deal with up to eight or nine lines at any one time

My proudest achievement since I joined Crumlin was securing a permanent position in switch and reception after just two years on staff.

In order to keep mind and body healthy and well, I do weight training and ‘cardio’ four or five times per week.  I also aim to eat plenty of vegetables and I enjoy juicing veg and fruit. In addition I take in a great selection of vitamins to help maintain myself, including Liposomal vitamin C and B’s and 4000mg of Vitamin C on a daily basis. I also find Udo’s Oil fantastic and  CurcuWin is an great supplement (if a tad expensive) which last up to 12 hours in the body. I find keeping up to date with the latest health matters and clinical trials in supplements and their associated health benefits very interesting.

I enjoy meditating too, to soothing Andrea Bocelli, Sarah Brightman on Maria Callas on an evening off and I find going to the gym and then having a sauna or Jacuzzi a great way to unwind especially during the winter months.

Overall my job keeps me well motivated. I am also motivated by being able to help and assist the people in my life, work and home and I like being organised and efficient. This keeps me nicely motivated.

My grandson Frankie is hilarious and he is always making me laugh. He is so clever and funny. He does his bicep curls, sets of squats and stretches in the mornings. It’s funny stuff. He’s a tonic and really pleasant to be around. He also takes his Vitamin C & Multivitamins every morning after breakfast.

I also get a great laugh out of ‘Only Fools & Horses’, ‘Keeping up Appearances’ and ‘Are You Being Served.’

The routine and tasks at work every day are generally the same up until 5pm. However, after that I carry a bleep and depending on the number and nature of requests it can be challenging, but manageable. There is always the possibility of an unusual request that needs to be worked out. I usually learn from those situations and am prepared in the future should that type of request arise again.

The thing I like most about my job is assisting in a task that is unusual or unforeseen and knowing that I can help to complete it. I also feel really privileged when allowed to do other hospital work that is outside the Porter remit from time to time. For example when I helped to organise the Annual Book of Remembrance Day and when I was Santa Clause for annual HO HO day.

It is really great when you can bring a little light to the patient’s day especially at Christmas time and other holidays. Also the recognition I receive after those events from parents, and staff alike is invaluable to me. I am also motivated by moving forward and learning more. It is exciting to wonder what lies ahead for not only our Department but our entire organisation at Crumlin along with our colleagues at Tallaght and Temple Street hospitals under the CHI umbrella. The next number of years presents a brand new chapter in my working life. I believe that this new chapter will create opportunities for my colleagues and will be based on the collaborative strengths that already exist. These building blocks in my opinion will help our transition to be a lot smoother and a new culture will be created.

My proudest achievement since I joined Crumlin would have to be receiving the hospital Bursary Fund back in 2014, so that I could go to college. It was a difficult process and I was one of the ten chosen out of over a hundred applicants from all hospital grades. I was also the first ever from the support grades to receive the fund. Since then I have completed courses in Emergency Management, Leadership and Entrepreneurship. Following that I was also given the opportunity to research and evaluate our hospital’s Internal Incident Management programme and present my findings to a multi-disciplinary group.

In order to relax and unwind, I enjoy five-a-side football. I also love going to the beach with my family and swimming in the sea. I have always felt that if I can get at least ‘one dip in the sea’ a year then I am refreshed and ready for what the rest of the year has in store for me. I am also a ‘movie buff’ and more recently have become accustomed to ‘bingeing’ on TV Series when I have the time.

I love it when one of my colleagues makes a joke or does something funny especially during break time. And some time passes, whether it is a few days or weeks, and we all turn around and say, “Do you remember when so and so did that”.

The thing I treasure most in Crumlin is our Front Desk and main reception area. I spend the majority of my working life at Crumlin based there. The people you meet, whether they are patients, visitors, colleagues or even celebrities can be very memorable. Also it brings me a great sense of pride when someone recognises you and says, “Ah you’re the fella that works at reception”.  Sometimes a person would say thank you for an impact you made during their visit or stay at Crumlin, even if was something small. A little can mean a lot for someone.

At 7.25am I go onto the ward and check my allocations for the day. Then between 7.30 – 8.00am I get handover from the night staff. During this handover I take notes on what needs to be done with my patients first thing in the morning and I prioritise each task. After handover I check on each patient, performing safety checks at the bedside.

There is a generalized routine on the ward of 50-100 tasks that need to be performed each morning, such as vital signs, feeds, medication administration, hygiene needs, checking of drains. However while making my way through these usual tasks for each patient, there can be more crucial tasks with tighter time constraints that take priority, for example, preparing a patient for the Cath Lab or theatre, looking after patients that may show signs of deterioration, being called to arrests and looking after admissions and transfers to the PICU.

The cliche that every day is different is especially true for nursing and it’s generally what I like about nursing. In the CHC (Children’s Heart Centre) my favourite thing is seeing how well the children are doing months down the line when they attend the hospital for follow-up checks. We meet babies who are very sick and seeing them months or years later living a normal life because of the care and treatment they received with us is very rewarding.

Unfortunately treatment and intervention is not always an option or always successful for some of our patients. When it is a case that there are no more treatment options available for a child, it can be incredibly challenging at an emotional level. We form relationships with these children and their families and therefore we go through the highs and the tragic lows with them.

My proudest achievement since I join Crumin is when I passed in Extra Cardiac Foundation Course in January 2019.

In order to relax and unwind I can reflect on my work days with my husband who is also a nurse and there is that extra level of understanding and comprehension that you cannot get from your non-medical friends and family. My husband and I enjoy going on nature walks with our dog and I have recently taken up Pilates and yoga. I also like hanging out with friends and family, going to the cinema and sun holidays. All of this helps to maintain a healthy mind and body.

My main motivation in nursing is self-improvement. It was hammered into us in college that nursing is a profession whereby continuous professional development is required. I am never happy being stationary and am always looking for my next challenge, whether it is learning a new drug therapy or partaking in an official course

My colleagues In CHC are amazing. There is always a good laugh to be had in the break room or at the change of shifts.

At 9.15am I chair the Rehabilitation Huddle, a meeting for the team providing rehabilitation to children with Acquired Brain Injury.  These injuries are most commonly caused by road traffic accidents or falls, but there are many other causes. After the Neurosurgical Team has managed the initial injury, rehabilitation begins.

Rehabilitation involves a team of expert nurses, therapists, doctors and others. It is about helping people overcome barriers to participating in activities which are important to them; this might include doing well at school, playing sports, or being more independent at home.

With many professions involved, rehab plans for young people can quickly become complex. We meet regularly to keep things coordinated and to discuss plans for each child.

At 10am I do a ward round with the medical team- we discharge children who are well enough to go home, and plan further treatment for those who aren’t quite ready yet.

Most patients admitted with acute illnesses get home quickly; those in hospital following brain injuries can be with us for months. The period following an injury is an important time where recovery can happen with the right rehabilitation support. This is an under-resourced area for children in Ireland.

Children often don’t look any different after a brain injury (it is sometimes referred to as an “invisible disability”) so it can sometimes be hard for friends and teachers to understand when there are problems. These can include tiredness, learning problems, low mood, headache, and difficulty controlling impulses.

At 1pm We break for lunch –  Temple Street’s canteen is great! The hospital is in an old building but has a special atmosphere.

Then at 1.30pm, the multidisciplinary Spina Bifida Team meet for our clinic. Ireland has a higher rate of spina bifida than almost any other country, and Temple Street is the national centre for their care. Children with spina bifida have many different doctors and therapists involved in their care, who all come together to one clinic to improve care and reduce separate appointments.

At 6pm when the clinic finishes I head for my bike or the DART, and home. I try to get to the gym, but the couch and a good book sometimes get the better of me.

As soon as I get into the canteen at Temple Street, I begin preparing breakfast for the busy day ahead. It is a good time to get everything organised and quickly catch up with everyone who works in the canteen.

Each day has a certain routine to it, but at the same time each day can be different. I also work doing functions or special events like Christmas dinner for staff. This is the busiest day of the year and can take a whole week to prepare. We do the full turkey and ham with pudding and it is available for all staff and parents and families free of charge. It’s a great atmosphere and management also take part to help out in the canteen.

I like everything about my job. I have a great manager, Marie, here who is very supportive to her staff. We also have a great catering team and work well with the other staff in the kitchen.

It can be very challenging when a child passes away. I usually offer tea and toast and bring it to the grieving parents. It can be very sad, but all the canteen staff want to be there for parents and help in any way that we can.

My proudest achievement since joining Temple Street was when I represented the hospital and gave a talk about my job on International Women’s Day 2018 to a group from the HSE and when I finished I received a standing ovation. It was a very unique and memorable moment for me.

I am motivated by doing the best job I can and not let the team down in the canteen. It can also be really nice when me or a member of the team gets a nice compliment from a member of the public. It’s a bit of a reminder that sometimes something as small as making a parent a cup of coffee can make a little difference

I think it would be fair to say that all of the staff in Temple Street wherever they may work will always show compassion and support to an upset parent or child.

In order to relax and unwind, I like to walk in the evening with my son and my Huskey dog, Bruno. I also really enjoy sitting and talking to my family with a nice cup of tea.

The girls that I work with often make me laugh. We are a great team and it can be really fun at times. Our ‘Break Room’ is also a real ‘treasure’ in Temple Street, just to visit and catch my breath.

When I arrive to work I sign in and say hello to my colleagues and I confirm that nothing has happened overnight that needs to be dealt with urgently.

I have daily and weekly planned meetings. Inadvertently things urgently crop up every day. It is the nature of the Department that different and new items crop up daily and need to be dealt with urgently.

The thing I like most about my job is the variety of chores and tasks that come up our way. I also enjoy interacting with so many people across the campus in different areas who are all good work colleagues. This helps with the type of work that we have to complete.

The most challenging thing about my job is the time constraint. The quantity of requests versus the time available to get things done is difficult especially when we have such tight schedules & restrictions to work within.

I can not name one specific thing about what I have delivered in my role that I am most proud of but I am proud to be part of a team that has on a large scale, enhanced patient experience and provided better environments for the patients’ treatment to be being delivered in.

For example, I was involved with the construction and fit-out of the Medical Tower building which provides OPD services in a MDT (Multidisciplinary Team) setting. I was the Project Lead for the extension and refurbishment of three large in-patient wards, the total refurbishment and equipment upgrade to the hospital Kitchens and the construction of two new Haematology Labs.

Outside of work, I like to keep fit and healthy by exercising including walking and swimming. I also love gardening and reading, especially reading the Irish Times.

I am motivated by getting a job well done and my mantra is that if a job is worth doing, do it right the first time.

Funny things that happen in the hospital in unexpected or unplanned ways make me laugh. ‘Big firm syndrome’ happens here often with public and staff and when it does, all you can do is laugh and correct the error.

I treasure the fish tank in CHI at Crumlin. It serves as a landmark for many a direction in the hospital and a greeting point. There are always parents and families congregating around it and there are always reactions from the youngsters. It is a real ‘wow’ feature here and a nice therapeutic element to the hospital.