Frances Duggan combines her work as an agency escort nurse with her passion for art to promote holistic healing experiences for patients
I like escort nursing because it is one to one with the patient and I have time with them and I like to hear their stories. The time out from the hospital creates a space for them to voice their concerns and be heard. All interaction with and regarding them is confidential. Sometimes they discuss things they can't even tell a relative.
My job involves explaining procedures and tests, locating the appropriate departments and generally making their transition as stress-free as possible. Routine tests can be a source of anxiety when the patient is already in a vulnerable state. The hours are irregular and I can accompany the patient for anything from two to 10 hours.
A typical day often starts with a cycle to whatever northside Dublin hospital I am assigned to. First stop is the ward for a handover and briefing from the staff nurse in charge of the patient. I take whatever notes, X-ray films or CT scans that are needed. After introducing myself to the patient, I tell them I am travelling with them and will assist them in whatever they are doing.
Sometimes it's a patient going from Connolly Hospital to the Mater cardiovascular laboratory for tests, another day it could be someone going from the Mater to St James's haematology oncology unit where they specialise in stem cell transplants. Other times I bring a patient to St Luke's, maybe for the first time, to undergo preparation and treatment with radiotherapy or it could be for a limb fitting in Dún Laoghaire.
For those few hours, it is time out for the patient from the hospital environment that they might have been in for a day or even months. It gives them a chance to interact with a taxi driver talking about jellyfish at Sandymount, or hear from another how he had been on the wagon for 15 years - anything other than hospital talk. If they want to talk about their illness, I am there to listen, too. Even the waiting around for taxis or ambulances can be time well spent, drawing their attention to the literature on support services.
Having trained as a general nurse and in midwifery years ago I went back into this area when my family was reared and I was studying art full time in NCAD. It allowed me a lot of flexibility and I could use other skills I had studied in the meantime such as counselling, shiatsu and metamorphosis massage. Simple techniques such as focusing on the breath can be very useful in their path to recovery.
The agency is very supportive and they allocate nurses to the nature of work they like to do and are best at. They facilitated me when I had to do college projects and there was as much work as I needed. They also provide regular training to update skills. For the past few years, I have also been studying family systems with the Bert Hellinger Institute of Ireland which has really opened up my awareness to the impact of the family on the individual and has helped me to improve my own listening skills.
My interest has always been in the healing process and I try to bring things I have learned from other areas of study to my work both as an escort nurse and as an artist. Studying art synthesis lately has also helped me with art groups facilitating people to explore their own creativity. I have seen people shine and their eyes light up when they go beyond what they think are their limitations which can be a very healing experience.
(In conversation with Angie Mezzetti)
Frances Duggan also works in the Duke Street Holistic Clinic practising stress management and Indian head massage. Tel: 085 1532529 or see www.dukestholistic.com.