As the nurse manager of a fertility clinic, I oversee a team of fertility nurses. We work together to assist patients through the IVF process, providing specialist care to women and their partners who have fertility and recurrent miscarriage problems.
I work mainly as a resource in that I provide information, teach how to give medication, assist in the ovarian stimulation process and ensure the safe and effective running of an extremely busy clinic. A significant part of our role is being supportive and empathetic: the IVF process is extremely intense and at times stressful. Intuition and compassion are imperative. I have an MSc in health psychology, and this is utilised daily.
If you take a step back from the purely scientific standpoint of the IVF procedure, the process really is a couple or individual's realisation of a dream – a dream that has often had highs and lows and that has affected that person emotionally, physically and financially. The nature of the treatment means that we develop close bonds with our patients. Playing a part in making someone's dream a reality is what I enjoy the most about my job.
I know of no other job where one has the privilege to see life created in front of your eyes every day. It's easy to forget that while you're entrenched in the mania of the daily running of a very busy clinic. It really is quite miraculous.
The challenging part of the job comes when treatments have been unsuccessful. Breaking the bad news to people who have put their heart and souls into the treatments is upsetting.
Despite the often solemn nature of the treatment, the patients have a wonderful way of remaining upbeat and keeping us laughing. The light-hearted approach many of them take to the intimate and/or embarrassing demands placed on them is a wonder. Vocabulary such as 'semen' and 'periods' become so blasé that it's funny.
All the fertility nurses at the clinic are female. While many of the doctors are male, it is the nurses who provide the answers to many awkward and sensitive questions and queries. It is the nurses who see the patients every day. And it's the nurses that those patients come to for support when they are upset or crestfallen. I think that in this particular field being female is advantageous as it aids empathy and understanding.
As for the future, I'm currently working on a project with my brother that focuses on holistic care and living your life in balance. I'll also be doing a medical degree in 2014. My job will hopefully come full circle in the next few years, as my partner and I plan to have a few little ones of our own running around.
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