Maurade Maher

My main roles and responsibilities include the following:

• Support student learning: guide student nurses during placement, help link theory to clinical practice, provide teaching, supervision and encouragement.
• Liaise between college and clinical site: ensure placement objectives meet academic and professional requirements.
• Assessment & Feedback: Monitor student progress, assist preceptors with student assessment, provide constructive feedback to improve student performance.
• Promote safe & professional practice: support clinical staff and offer guidance on teaching and assessing methods.
• Staff training initiatives: Provide Clinical Supervision.
• Quality Improvement: Audit and Evaluate clinical placements. Improve the learning environment for future students.

As a CNS, I worked as part of a multi disciplinary team and was responsible for managing a caseload of approximately 25 Service User's. The following were my main roles and responsibilities:

• Therapeutic support: Engaging my service user's, building therapeutic relationships, providing emotional support, psychoeducation and recovery focused interventions. Helping service user's build resilience through coping strategies and self management.
• On-going assessment of complex mental health needs, in home and clinic settings, including risk assessment and management.
• Care planning & Case Management: Development of individualised care plans with service user'S, co-ordinating care, reviewing progress and adapting care plans regularly.
• Medication Management: Supporting medication adherence, promoting informed decision making, monitoring for side effects. Liaising with MDT and G.P regarding treatment.
• Crises prevention & Intervention: Responding accordingly to deterioration in mental state, participating in crises management and relapse prevention.
• Family & carer support: Involving families (with consent), providing education, support carer's experience stress.
• Advocacy & Inclusion: Promoting independence and recovery, supporting access to housing, employment, education and benefits, challenging stigma and discrimination.

As part of my role as a staff nurse, I worked in different settings such as acute inpatient and community mental health services. My main roles and responsibilities included:

• Assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating person centered care.
• Forming therapeutic relationships
• Observing and assessing risk
• Medication Management
• Multidisciplinary team working
• Documentation of assessment and care provided
• Maintaining professional standards: Adhering to policies, protocols and guidelines
• Supervision & Leadership: supporting junior colleagues and student nurses. Taking charge of the unit/ward when required.