Pauline Kilcoyne, clinical nurse specialist in general practice in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, explains the pivotal role of the practice nurse in primary healthcare.
I work with a team of three GPs, two practice nurses and four secretaries in the High Road surgery, one of four GP practices in Letterkenny, Co Donegal.
The town has a rural/urban catchment of 15,000 people.
My nursing duties cross the entire spectrum of primary healthcare.
A typical working day begins at 9 a.m. usually with my appointment diary already full. These appointments include ear syringing, wound management, routine blood screening, ECGs and emergency treatments such as nebulisations for acute asthmatic attacks.
Good listening skills and communication are at the heart of each consultation.
As a qualified midwife, I see mothers for ante-natal and post-natal care. Most women in Donegal opt for combined ante-natal care which is shared between the GP and the Maternity Unit at Letterkenny General Hospital.
During an average working day, I also see patients with diabetes, asthma and coronary heart disease. I see these patients often as they require long-term management of their conditions.
On the preventative side of medicine, I administer childhood, holiday and flu vaccinations, give family planning advice and cervical smear tests.
Helping patients start and continue smoking cessation programmes is another part of my work which has developed more since the smoking ban was introduced.
I have been working as a practice nurse for 13 years. I left midwifery to join practice nursing when it was in its infancy.
In 1992, there were five practice nurses working in Donegal. Now, there are 52 in the Donegal branch of the Irish Practice Nurse Association.
As chairwoman of the local branch, I represent my colleagues at meetings of the Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Education, the Primary Care Unit, the Nursing and Midwifery Planning Development Unit and the Irish Practice Nurse Association's national committee.
I believe the role of the practice nurse is a very important part of the current primary healthcare strategy.
This year, I was honoured to receive the Practice Nurse of the Year award from the Irish Practice Nurses Association and I will do all that I can to raise the awareness of the role of the practice nurse in primary healthcare.
My working day is very busy with a lot of close contact with the general public.
As practice nurses, my colleagues and I play a pivotal role for some patients in that they rely on us for all kinds of emotional support and nursing advice.
I find my work very rewarding and stimulating and I would recommend it as a career choice to other nurses.
Interview by Sylvia Thompson