An Cosantóir

34 | what i do HEATHER WALSH SISTER ST. BRICIN'S, LOGS BASE HOSPITAL, 2 LSB I joined the Army Nursing Service (ANS) in 1981 after graduat- ing as a registered General Nurse and Mid-Wife, gaining ex- perience in paediatric infectious diseases and psychiatry. Here in St Bricin's nurse's work as part of a multidisciplinary team comprising of medical officers, medics, para-medics, radiographers and administrative staff. The hospital is staffed 24/7 providing inpatient and outpatient services. A working day for an Army Nurse starts at 08:00 receiving a handover from the night staff. This is a detailed report on the condition care and treatment of the in- patient admissions and outpatients attending overnight. Throughout the day Army Nurses work on the ward caring for day cases, admissions, and patients requiring monitoring following outpatient procedures. A comprehensive outpatient's service is provided in St Bricin's and the medical facilities in Cork and the DFTC. Both civilian and military doctors attend these faculties daily. In St Bricin's Ear Nose and Throat, Optimology and Medical Consultants also attend. A daily sick parade takes place each morning. Normal cases would be flu's, sports injuries or acute conditions requiring stabilisation and transfer to centres of excellence providing specialised care. Our daily phlebotomy clinic carries out routine bloods for routine and overseas medicals, and bloods ordered by the doctors on the sick parade. Daily dressings, removal of sutures and injections are all part of our daily work load working in the Accident and Emergency, or patients referred back to us from civilian hospitals. An important aspect of the work we provide is health promotion. "It is a very busy, demanding, and fulfilling job, 'Everyday is Different' " This is the process of enabling people to improve their health by making healthy lifestyle choices. The ANS implement, promote and document the vaccination programme for the Defence Forces personnel. This includes initial vaccinations for recruits and cadets, updating vaccinations for personnel following an- nual medicals, administration and documentation of specific vaccinations required for overseas missions. Post graduate education has greatly developed the role of the ANS enabling the provision of nurse led services in areas such as women's health, diabetic assessment and treatment, and counselling. ANS personnel do not serve on UN peacekeeping missions. However Army Nurses have served in humanitarian missions such as Honduras, and often visit overseas missions in an ob- server status to gain first-hand experience. It is a very busy, demanding, and fulfilling job, 'Everyday is Dif- ferent'. As an Army Nurse I am very proud in the competent and efficient modern medical contribution the ANS has made and is making to the Defence Forces. An Cosantóir October 2011 WHAT I DO

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