International Nurses Day 2023 – David’s Story

David Young is a qualified nurse, working as a pre-hospital practitioner within the Trust.

Hello, my name is David Young, a pre-hospital practitioner (registered nurse) who joined EEAST in November 2022. I qualified as a nurse in 2001, and before starting with EEAST, I was a clinical nurse specialist in international emergency assistance and repatriations.

My role and scope of practice are identical to that of a paramedic, which is to deliver critical, emergency, and urgent care as part of a team on a frontline emergency ambulance.

As a nurse on a frontline ambulance, every day and every patient is different; one minute, we can be responding to a 999 call to a woman in labour to deliver a baby, then the next a road traffic collision, cardiac arrest, or transferring a patient between hospitals and anything in between. You never know what you will be asked to do next, which is fantastic.

Working in a frontline ambulance is a very different environment from a hospital ward or department. It is very daunting at first as, unlike a hospital where you have other clinicians close by, it usually is you and your crew mate who are the decision makers on the scene. However, you always have remote expert knowledge and advice available via your radio, to teams like the clinical advice line or critical care desks. Not forgetting the fantastic teams in control who always have your back and constantly looking out for you.

Traditionally this type of role was never open to nurses, and I had considered undertaking further study to become a paramedic during my 22 years as a nurse, but I never had the right time in my career. This role allows me to apply my previous nursing experience, but also to learn some challenging new skills such as emergency trauma care, advanced life support for all age ranges, emergency obstetric care, etc.

The role is fantastic, as it pushes you clinically; it is challenging, exciting, and sometimes frustrating. However, as a clinician, I love each job's uniqueness and the potential for me to make a difference to patients we come into contact with. The phrase 'every day is a school day' could not be a better fit; the learning curve is steep initially, but as a nurse, I believe we are committed to learn from all our patients, and that commitment generates a desire to learn to improve care. 

I would definitely recommend working for EEAST, the support, culture, attitude, and friendliness of all the staff I have met during my first six months have been amazing. Everyone seems to be optimistic about the service and our role, and people are keen to teach us and help us in our development, but also, people are open to us imparting our previous knowledge on them, which I find brilliant.

The role is challenging, but the support and training you receive will allow you to transition from the hospital environment to a pre-hospital one. The excellent tutors will guide you through your initial months of learning, equipping you with the skills and knowledge to allow you to be confident to respond to an emergency call.

I love this job. I look forward to putting on my green uniform, getting to the station, getting in the ambulance, and waiting for control to allocate us a job. It's amazing!

Does this role sound like it could be for you? We are hiring pre-hospital practitioners now!

Visit the 'our vacancies' section of our website to apply today.