The navy offers great opportunities to those who make the commitment, Inga Kennedy tells Alison Moore Navy. Based in Portsmouth, she is head of the naval nursing service and deputy assistant chief of staff for health across the Royal Navy. She has trained nurses from across the three services, and been deployed to Naples and to Afghanistan, which she says was particularly rewarding. ‘It was testing but I Ioved every minute of it. It was the culmination of being a nurse in uniform.’ Her responsibility for healthcare governance and assurance meant she had to monitor the level of care being received by military personnel. The standard she witnessed in Afghanistan was excellent, she says. Capt Kennedy, 51, married in May – and almost immediately faced separation from her new husband, who also serves in the armed
forces and who was about to be posted to the Falklands. A two week leave period may offer the couple the chance to meet up in South America. QARNNS nurses must be prepared to be deployed – at sea or on land – at short notice. ‘You wear the uniform and therefore demonstrate loyalty and commitment,’ says Capt Kennedy. But there are great opportunities for nurses prepared to make the commitment, she says. QARNNS is relatively small – just 250 nurses in total – but is recruiting. Typically it takes on graduate level nurses directly from the NHS or final year nursing students. It supports some students through three years of training attached
SUMMARY
Fourteen years ago Inga Kennedy was a sister in an Edinburgh hospital, enjoying a comfortable lifestyle and a satisfying and respected job. But she was also a reservist for the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) and had spent two years on a full time secondment as senior midwife at the Royal Naval Hospital in Gibraltar. That experience prompted a dramatic change of lifestyle when she made the decision to join the service full time. Capt Kennedy is now the most senior nurse in the Royal
CHRIS BALCOMBE
Royal Naval nursing: ‘testing but worth it’
to the Defence School of Healthcare Education in Birmingham, and will also pay for specialist training in areas such as emergency medicine, intensive care, and trauma and orthopaedics. Nurses can be based in a number of centres in the UK, including Ministry of Defence units in NHS hospitals. Other opportunities include being a member of a surgical team on board a ship or in support of the Royal Marines. They may also serve on RFA Argus, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s principal casualty receiving ship, which can be sent to war zones. The Argus has 100 beds and a critical care unit. Overseas deployments in Naples and Gibraltar are also possible, and at the moment naval nurses still deploy to Afghanistan. The Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier will also have a primary care nurse on board and nurses are ‘queuing up’ for the post, says Capt Kennedy. Although she loves her current role, she has never regretted the years she spent in the NHS. ‘I benefited from a background which is half and half between the NHS and the military. The value of being able to have experienced both sides has been second to none’ NS
Inga Kennedy is the most senior nurse in the Royal Navy. She enjoys the commitment and discipline required by a career in the armed forces and says the work offers great opportunities for nurses. Her career highlights have included checking that injured personnel in Afghanistan were receiving the best care possible. Author Alison Moore is a freelance journalist
NURSING august 13 other :: vol uses 28 no 50 :: permission. 2014 27 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 23, 2015. For personal use only. No without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
forces and who was about to be posted to the Falklands. A two week leave period may offer the couple the chance to meet up in South America. QARNNS nurses must be prepared to be deployed – at sea or on land – at short notice. ‘You wear the uniform and therefore demonstrate loyalty and commitment,’ says Capt Kennedy. But there are great opportunities for nurses prepared to make the commitment, she says. QARNNS is relatively small – just 250 nurses in total – but is recruiting. Typically it takes on graduate level nurses directly from the NHS or final year nursing students. It supports some students through three years of training attached
SUMMARY
Fourteen years ago Inga Kennedy was a sister in an Edinburgh hospital, enjoying a comfortable lifestyle and a satisfying and respected job. But she was also a reservist for the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) and had spent two years on a full time secondment as senior midwife at the Royal Naval Hospital in Gibraltar. That experience prompted a dramatic change of lifestyle when she made the decision to join the service full time. Capt Kennedy is now the most senior nurse in the Royal
CHRIS BALCOMBE
Royal Naval nursing: ‘testing but worth it’
to the Defence School of Healthcare Education in Birmingham, and will also pay for specialist training in areas such as emergency medicine, intensive care, and trauma and orthopaedics. Nurses can be based in a number of centres in the UK, including Ministry of Defence units in NHS hospitals. Other opportunities include being a member of a surgical team on board a ship or in support of the Royal Marines. They may also serve on RFA Argus, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s principal casualty receiving ship, which can be sent to war zones. The Argus has 100 beds and a critical care unit. Overseas deployments in Naples and Gibraltar are also possible, and at the moment naval nurses still deploy to Afghanistan. The Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier will also have a primary care nurse on board and nurses are ‘queuing up’ for the post, says Capt Kennedy. Although she loves her current role, she has never regretted the years she spent in the NHS. ‘I benefited from a background which is half and half between the NHS and the military. The value of being able to have experienced both sides has been second to none’ NS
Inga Kennedy is the most senior nurse in the Royal Navy. She enjoys the commitment and discipline required by a career in the armed forces and says the work offers great opportunities for nurses. Her career highlights have included checking that injured personnel in Afghanistan were receiving the best care possible. Author Alison Moore is a freelance journalist
NURSING august 13 other :: vol uses 28 no 50 :: permission. 2014 27 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 23, 2015. For personal use only. No without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
