Story Series: Khoosh Seewooruttun
2020 is the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, a time to reflect on the skills, commitment and expert clinical care that nurses and midwives bring, and the impact they make on the lives of so many. Here Khoosh Seewooruttun talks about his nursing career.
"I have been working in health and care for the last 20 years. I started as a care worker in a care home before going on to do my nurse training in Scotland, while working as a healthcare assistant. After qualifying, I worked in several NHS and private organisations before joining SLaM some 15 years ago. During my time at SLaM, I have had the opportunity to work in various teams and various roles. I have worked as a nurse and in management roles on the wards before moving to Trust-wide roles.
"I have a passion for improving patient safety and staff development. I worked in the nursing directorate and in education and development in a few different roles, where I had the opportunity to support and influence staff development and careers. It makes me feel very proud and privileged when I see staff whom I have supported as clinical support workers, go on secondment to do their nurse training and then start work as nurses and ward managers. Many of the clinical support workers who I supported doing their Care Certificate when they joined the Trust are now doing apprenticeship programmes or have taken on exciting roles across the Trust.
"My current role in SLaM is in Digital Services as a Digital Health Lead Nurse. It is a very rewarding role, working alongside digital and clinical colleagues to improve the care we provide. I get to bring my clinical and education experience together to support the development of digital health and clinical systems as well as teaching staff how to use them. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to live and work in different ways and digital tools have never been so important. I am also a senior tutor in PSTS, teaching staff in the trust and training staff to become trainers.
"SLaM is a fantastic place to work with lots of opportunities for professional and personal development. I have lectured in higher education and completed my masters to become a registered teacher. I recently became a Digital Pioneer Fellow and have done many courses, sometimes in my own time or at my own costs, but opportunities won’t always come to you. Sometimes you have to put yourself out there and find those opportunities or go the extra mile.
"It’s important to network with the right people because they can point you in the right direction and give you advice and tips. There are many fantastic role models at SLaM in nursing, clinical and non-clinical roles. A senior nurse, whom I have a lot of respect for, recently reminded me of the night when I led a group of staff and patients to safety in a major fire incident that resulted in the ward closing down. The role I played on the night was recognised by the Trust and London Fire Brigade.
"We are not perfect, but SLaM offers a rich variety of opportunities, and we can all make a difference."
