Page 23 - QARANC Vol 14 No 7 2013

THE GAZETTE QARANC 21
A tour in the life of a Sexual Health GUM JNCO
As we all know, the life of a nurse is generally not a glamorous one. There have been many times that I can recall leaving work, exhausted, having dealt with many bodily functions. The life of a Sexual Health Nurse is not entirely different to general nursing, although maybe with some different bodily fluids to deal with!
Despite this, the idea of delivering nurse-led care to my patients and the ability to see rapid results in the treatment of those patients drew me into the world of Sexual Health nursing. It was the operational role of the Sexual Health Nurse, which I observed both on Op TELIC 11 and Op HERRICK 11 that really made me want to become a member of the cadre. The fact that even as a Corporal, I would have developed specialised skills to be able to assess, treat and plan care for patients that I saw was a huge difference compared to the other fields of nursing which I had been involved with previously. The Army Sexual Health nursing cadre is small and the nurses have many commitments and responsibilities that are required from a range of ranks. It matters not whether you are an Officer or a Corporal; the clinical role is the same, both in peacetime and on operations.
My first operational deployment as a Sexual Health Nurse was on Op HERRICK 17 from October 2012 to January 2013; in a position that I had not long specialised in. It was a tour that I thoroughly enjoyed and I was lucky enough to earn a commendation for “Distinguished Service in the
Afghanistan Theatre of Operations in support of HERRICK 17” from the Commander Medical for Op HERRICK 17, Col S Campbell L/RAMC. This was awarded to me for accepting an extension in post with positivity and awareness and for my efforts in role throughout the deployment in delivering specialised patient care, teaching medical staff, educating serving personnel and working with other Armed Forces. From my point of view, I feel I was just doing what I was there to do. I was, and still am, extremely honoured to be presented with such recognition. It goes to show that even if you believe that you
are “just doing your job”, but do it to the very best of your ability, it will be recognised and appreciated.
As a Sexual Health Nurse within a very small cadre, during a time of such uncertainty within the Defence Medical Services, it does feel good to see the acknowledgement of our work in managing patients with a wide variety of sexual health issues. Job satisfaction comes when we see our patients quickly returning back to their fighting roles, having had their symptoms and accompanying anxiety swiftly dealt with.
Cpl Teale
MDHU Frimley Park
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QARANC ASSOCIATION CHAIRMAN VACANCY
The Chairman of the QARANC Association Central Committee Lt Col Leslie Wright will be retiring from her
post in October 2014.
Interested parties are invited to apply, must be Lt Col or above and a member of the QARANC Association,
please submit CV’s to the Regimental Secretary regtsecqaranc@hotmail.com by NLT 14 March 2014.
For further information regarding the Chairman’s role and responsibilities please contact Regimental Secretary
The successful candidate will be invited to attend the October 14 Central Committee meeting as an observer to take up the chair from January 2015.