Kath Newlands

I’m Kath, I’m new to the University of Bolton and have come from a background of critical care where I have worked for the last 13 years, initially as a Staff Nurse and then progressed to being a Sister where I regularly co-ordinated shifts and managed patients, staff and beds. Critical care is different from the ward environment in that, when co-ordinating, beds are managed through the critical care network not just through the hospital so there are more people and organisations to liaise with.

This is because critical care beds cannot be made and critical care patients cannot outline in other areas so if a critical care bed is required and none is available then a patient has to be transferred to another hospital to create a bed. When caring for patients within critical care, that care is provided on a 1:1 ratio as these patients require some form of life support be that for single or multi organ failure. A typical ICU patient can be on a ventilator for respiratory support, inotrope infusions for cardiovascular support and haemofiltration for renal support.

Within my new role as nurse lecturer, I am keen to develop my teaching skills and educate nurses of the future. I am looking forward to starting my PGCE soon and taking over a cohort of students.