Rowena

She treated patients at an Ebola Treatment Centre in Kerrytown, Sierra Leone and trained critical care nurses in the management of COVID-19 patients at four hospitals in Lebanon. Hear more from Rowena in her interview here, or read below on how her experiences have helped her:

Leadership

My experiences and training gave me fresh confidence at work to realise what I was capable of – gaining the trust of the staff, being a role model, and setting a good example – really helped with my service improvement project back home.

COVID-19

Before I went to Lebanon, I was involved in the PPE training in my unit because of the work I’d done with Ebola and infectious diseases. That was something I could offer at my work which I wouldn’t have been able to do if I hadn’t worked with UK-Med.

Better informed career choices

Working for UK-Med has made me want to work in places that give me the right skills and training to be the best nurse I can be, and I think that’s brought me more job satisfaction. It’s given me a different perspective on the work I’m doing and the questions I ask.

Personal and professional development

It’s quite a humbling experience and you’re exposed to people who’ve had a completely different life from what I’ve been lucky enough to have. It just makes you realise the tools we’ve got in the NHS are so rich, even though the NHS is going through a hard time – the opportunities are there. With all the service improvement projects that are going on in the NHS.