Careers
See for yourself A varied career has seen Pete Gordon develop from a reluctant student shepherded into nursing to intensive support team manager working across the NHS. After 25 years in the health service, he now believes that the best services are clinically led and a good leader is crucial. Here he talks to Erin Dean
PETE GORDON, a member of the NHS national emergency care intensive support team, nearly didn’t enter nursing at all. He says he was prodded towards a nursing course by his mother, who is also a nurse, after having little idea of what else to do. Those first few weeks of study at Birmingham’s old Queen Elizabeth Hospital were a huge surprise, as he had no idea what to expect from the profession into which he had stumbled. ‘It was the biggest shock of my life and I didn’t take to it to start with,’ Mr Gordon says. ‘I only took to it once I was qualified. I always liked helping people, but learning that took me a while. I didn’t realise all the different situations that nurses dealt with, or the closeness and the intimacy that being a nurse involves.’ Critical care After completing his training in 1990, Mr Gordon took his first job on a surgical ward at the Birmingham General Hospital. After two years, he moved onto critical care at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He enjoyed the specialty so much that he stayed for seven years, working in various critical care units, progressing from staff to charge nurse. ‘I loved the opportunity to give the great care that exists in critical care, and to give the fundamentals of care, while continuing to develop knowledge. I have always focused on getting staff on board, on being a motivational, transformational leader who hopefully thinks differently.’ NURSING MANAGEMENT
In 1999, Mr Gordon moved to the then Royal Shrewsbury Hospital NHS Trust, Shropshire, as a specialist in intravenous therapy and enteral nutrition. A year later, he became the senior nurse for critical care, where part of his responsibility was for the high dependency unit and the critical outreach team, and then modern matron for critical care. ‘That was a fantastic role,’ he says. ‘I still looked after patients, but I also did a bit of management and spent a lot of time outside of the unit. One day I could be on the intensive care unit, the next on the high dependency unit, the next working in the critical care outreach team and the next on a management day; a perfect mix that meant I stayed close to patients and front line staff.’ After a brief stint as senior nurse for surgery, and a trust merger, he became directorate manager for anaesthetics and critical care, responsible for a team of 360 staff. ‘I worked closely with clinical staff in this job, and had responsibility for a large team. It involved managing everything from budgets to targets and cost improvements. During this time, I was introduced to improvement methodology. I soon learned that there are three simple things most leaders need to do to be effective. Go and see for yourself, ask why, and show respect to all members of staff. Many leaders in the NHS forget the simple things that help engage front line teams and create the environment for them to deliver great patient care.’ Mr Gordon briefly moved into an NHS procurement hub, where he learned about
supply chain methodologies and business processes. In 2008, he went to Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust as head of improvement. Here, he oversaw projects, such as the Productive Ward programme, which is designed to help ward staff work more efficiently. ‘I found that the leader had a direct impact on the project and how improvement happened. The better leaders were much more able to implement improvement. This post taught me a lot about leadership.’ Team manager In July 2013, Mr Gordon joined the NHS emergency care and intensive support team, as an intensive-support team manager. The team supports healthcare systems to implement good practice to ensure greater patient flow and safer urgent and emergency care. This year, he had a short stint at the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust as director of improvement, before returning to the emergency care and intensive-support team. He says: ‘It can often be basic things that need improving, like making sure that patients are cared for in the correct wards. You generally don’t find a lack of ability, but you do find a lack of alignment in services, which can have a negative effect on patient care. The best places are where organisations are clinically led and not driven by operational management.’ Erin Dean is a freelance journalist February 2015 | Volume 21 | Number 9 39
Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 22, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
See for yourself A varied career has seen Pete Gordon develop from a reluctant student shepherded into nursing to intensive support team manager working across the NHS. After 25 years in the health service, he now believes that the best services are clinically led and a good leader is crucial. Here he talks to Erin Dean
PETE GORDON, a member of the NHS national emergency care intensive support team, nearly didn’t enter nursing at all. He says he was prodded towards a nursing course by his mother, who is also a nurse, after having little idea of what else to do. Those first few weeks of study at Birmingham’s old Queen Elizabeth Hospital were a huge surprise, as he had no idea what to expect from the profession into which he had stumbled. ‘It was the biggest shock of my life and I didn’t take to it to start with,’ Mr Gordon says. ‘I only took to it once I was qualified. I always liked helping people, but learning that took me a while. I didn’t realise all the different situations that nurses dealt with, or the closeness and the intimacy that being a nurse involves.’ Critical care After completing his training in 1990, Mr Gordon took his first job on a surgical ward at the Birmingham General Hospital. After two years, he moved onto critical care at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He enjoyed the specialty so much that he stayed for seven years, working in various critical care units, progressing from staff to charge nurse. ‘I loved the opportunity to give the great care that exists in critical care, and to give the fundamentals of care, while continuing to develop knowledge. I have always focused on getting staff on board, on being a motivational, transformational leader who hopefully thinks differently.’ NURSING MANAGEMENT
In 1999, Mr Gordon moved to the then Royal Shrewsbury Hospital NHS Trust, Shropshire, as a specialist in intravenous therapy and enteral nutrition. A year later, he became the senior nurse for critical care, where part of his responsibility was for the high dependency unit and the critical outreach team, and then modern matron for critical care. ‘That was a fantastic role,’ he says. ‘I still looked after patients, but I also did a bit of management and spent a lot of time outside of the unit. One day I could be on the intensive care unit, the next on the high dependency unit, the next working in the critical care outreach team and the next on a management day; a perfect mix that meant I stayed close to patients and front line staff.’ After a brief stint as senior nurse for surgery, and a trust merger, he became directorate manager for anaesthetics and critical care, responsible for a team of 360 staff. ‘I worked closely with clinical staff in this job, and had responsibility for a large team. It involved managing everything from budgets to targets and cost improvements. During this time, I was introduced to improvement methodology. I soon learned that there are three simple things most leaders need to do to be effective. Go and see for yourself, ask why, and show respect to all members of staff. Many leaders in the NHS forget the simple things that help engage front line teams and create the environment for them to deliver great patient care.’ Mr Gordon briefly moved into an NHS procurement hub, where he learned about
supply chain methodologies and business processes. In 2008, he went to Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust as head of improvement. Here, he oversaw projects, such as the Productive Ward programme, which is designed to help ward staff work more efficiently. ‘I found that the leader had a direct impact on the project and how improvement happened. The better leaders were much more able to implement improvement. This post taught me a lot about leadership.’ Team manager In July 2013, Mr Gordon joined the NHS emergency care and intensive support team, as an intensive-support team manager. The team supports healthcare systems to implement good practice to ensure greater patient flow and safer urgent and emergency care. This year, he had a short stint at the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust as director of improvement, before returning to the emergency care and intensive-support team. He says: ‘It can often be basic things that need improving, like making sure that patients are cared for in the correct wards. You generally don’t find a lack of ability, but you do find a lack of alignment in services, which can have a negative effect on patient care. The best places are where organisations are clinically led and not driven by operational management.’ Erin Dean is a freelance journalist February 2015 | Volume 21 | Number 9 39
Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 22, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
