Balance for better - lead practice development nurse Tosan Okubule

She shares how she came to her career, why she's passionate about professional development, and what advice she’d give to those starting out in nursing.

 Q: What are you proudest of in your career?

“For me it would be coming into King’s College Hospital (KCH) 11 years ago, two years after qualifying as a registered Nurse, to undertake the Anaesthetic Nurse training to enable me to become a competent and qualified Anaesthetic Nurse.

Seven years on, I was tasked to put together an in-house Anaesthetic Nursing curriculum, ensuring this was all agreed with the Royal College of Anaesthetists and King’s College London, the who would be academically crediting the course. The course has now been in place for over three years and has trained and equipped over 50 people to become qualified and highly skilled Anaesthetic Nurses.

The course is now also attended by staff at a neighbouring Trust, so also serves an income generator for KCH.

I would like to think this is definitely the proudest point in my nursing career, starting off as a novice, then becoming the lead for the course.

And of course not forgetting the opportunities I have had over the years to meet with patients and their family members."

Q: Why did you decide to become a nurse?

"I went into adult nursing due to my love of caring and nursing unwell people to health. I have always wanted to become a nurse since childhood, I guess having a mum in the profession possibly may have influenced my mindset. The decision to specialise in Anaesthesia was down to my passion for wanting to work within the perioperative environment; although some people aren’t interested in this due to lack of patient contact, for me every moment I have reassuring the patients and their family members when they are brought down to the operating theatre I value. I always aim to reduce their anxiety levels using different techniques I have obtained over the last 11 years."

Q: What advice would you give to women who want to go in to nursing?

"Since qualifying I have now progressed on to a Band 8a Lead Nurse. This is something beyond my dreams as I never for once thought I could get to where I am today. With hard work and determination, everything is possible.

If you are delegated roles during your career, some may appear unfair or not needed, but embrace every opportunity and experience as you will definitely utilise them as some point in the future.

More women are now been recognised in leadership and management roles, it is very possible to change lives."

Q: Who or what made you want to become a nurse?

"I wouldn't say anyone made me want to work as an adult nurse, the only influence may be from my mother, who is a mental health nurse. It just has always been a passion since childhood for me." 

Q: How has your field changed since you started, and where do you see it going in the future? 

"The field of adult nursing has greatly changed over the last 10 years, the career is evolving and becoming more profession than vocational. The changes made to the end point qualification from diploma to degrees has been great for the profession, as well as opportunities to study at various Masters level and PHD research.

Recently a new Nursing Proficiency and Education Standard document has been released by the Nursing and Midwifery Council highlighting the huge changes that have been made to the way the education is now to be delivered and the expectations of skills and competencies of the nurses of the future 'future nurse'.

The required skills are now enabling nurses to take a more pragmatic approach to nursing, giving opportunities to specialise very early on in the profession, whilst encouraging the development of leadership skills."