We are proud to have a diverse range of work roles at Medway Community Healthcare (MCH). Take a look at what some of our staff have to say about their jobs.
Nursing is...full of variety
Amanda Caldicott
What is your role at MCH?
Clinical Nurse Manager, Gillingham Community Nursing Team
Why do you do what you do?
I have been a nurse forever. It's the only thing that I ever wanted to do when I was little! I didn't do particularly well at school with grades, so I really had to fight hard to get into my nurse training, but 23 years on and I'm still going!
What is your favourite thing about your job?
Variety. Every day is different, you never know what you will have to deal with.
What is your favourite thing about MCH?
MCH as an organisation has been very welcoming and I like the idea that they listen to their employees and take forward ideas and suggestions.
What is your favourite thing about your team?
My team have been very supportive to me in my first few weeks here and still are. They have given me the time and understanding to explain policy and practice so that I can undertake my own role.
How has MCH supported your development and career?
Moving here in itself was a huge learning curve as I had not previously worked within the community nursing environment, so I'm learning lots at the moment each day. I'm refreshing my clinical skills over the next few months, as I'd previously worked in acute care which is a totally different skill set and then I'm looking to do my mentorship after this. Nurse prescriber is also on my wish list. All of this is very much achievable here at MCH.
If you could give a potential applicant any advice when thinking of joining MCH, what would you say?
Coming from an NHS organisation, I heard a lot of people saying that I'd be losing long standing NHS terms and conditions, but having looked closer, there wasn't really anything significant. Here at MCH we have recieved the national pay uplift, other non-NHS organisations haven't and won't be doing this sadly. I personally felt that MCH was an organisation that was going to listen to me not only as a manager but as a nurse too. I saw this as an opportunity to do something completely different withing the nursing arena, with the knowledge that I'd be fully supported.
David
Community dietitian
I joined MCH because it has a reputation as a leading healthcare provider in England as well 
as the location as I wanted to move to the south. My previous work experience was in Scotland and Singapore. This is my first job with MCH and I am proud to work for an organisation with such great leadership in the healthcare industry.
I enjoy working in a team environment, and I get along well with all of my colleagues. I believe that contribution to teamwork and sharing of knowledge are the key to getting things done quicker and more efficiently. I also believe that regular feedback is important to ensure everything is done in the correct way and at MCH I have been motivated to provide concrete feedback using many different approaches.
Since working at MCH, I have made an effort to develop my clinical skills and working relationships with both colleagues and patients. Having built up a broad range of clinical experiences. I am now much more productive in my role and much better equipped to handle difficult situations. In terms of training, I have learned about the IT system and administrative tasks, which have helped to develop a structured workflow that greatly improves productivity.
My current short-term goal is to develop and use my clinical knowledge and communication skills within the service, however, I eventually want to develop into a leadership position in the future.
Sarah
Operational lead for long term conditions, advanced community practitioners and anti-coagulation
As a student nurse I spent my management placement at MCH with the Rainham community nursing team. I loved how friendly and supportive Sarah everyone was and the level of patient care that I witnessed was exceptional. I was particularly impressed with how dynamic MCH was and how the organisation encouraged staff to progress and be a part of changes and have the chance to implement new ideas.
Once qualified I started working for another organisation in the emergency department. When I decided to change my career path from the acute setting I applied for a position with the community nursing team at MCH as I knew I would be supported to develop and be the nurse I wanted to be. I enjoy working for MCH and have always felt supported and encouraged to develop.
MCH is a very team driven organisation and as an ‘ideas’ person I have been really supported to develop these to improve patient care and service delivery. In the long term I want to progress further in my career in project and strategic development to improve healthcare services.
Suzanna
Dietetic assistant
I joined MCH as a health and social care apprentice in January 2012, working in the nutrition and dietetics department as a trainee dietetic assistant. My role involves reviewing basic oral nutrition, supporting patients on inpatient wards, assisting the dietitians in keeping up to date clinical records and completing administration tasks for the dietitians including dealing with letters to GPs and other clinicians who have referred patients to us.
I applied for the apprenticeship because I have always wanted to work in a medical setting and have a keen interest in nutrition. Undertaking the apprenticeship has helped me to develop my basic knowledge of human nutrition and the different roles of dietitians. It has also given me confidence in the working environment and when communicating with patients and other health professionals.
The apprenticeship has given me on the job training, a recognised qualification and essential experience of being in a working environment. In addition, I have also enjoyed learning about basic human nutrition and this has led me to decide that I want to progress and continue my career within nutrition and dietetics at MCH.
Chris
Head of stroke services and clinical lead for research and design
Upon graduating from Brunel University in 2004, MCH gave me the perfect opportunity to apply my trade as a physiotherapist.
I soon began working in the stroke team which gave me a fantastic chance to work within a highly skilled specialist multidisciplinary team, which lead me on a journey to my current position as service manager.
In the stroke team I was given superb clinical and managerial support that contributed to my promotion to become a senior stroke physiotherapist and then a specialist stroke
physiotherapist. With further training and development I became the first physiotherapist in the country to be an extended scope practitioner within hyperacute stroke care.
My journey continued further; with further development support I became an advanced practitioner, which gave me a much wider remit across the stroke team as an expert practitioner; leading and developing the whole service from acute hospital care to inpatient rehabilitation and community rehabilitation.
I have now worked my way up through the service to be the service manager for stroke services. This is an exciting and challenging new role for me and one in which I am learning new things every day.
In recent years I have further broadened my professional career by taking on the management of a community Adult learning disabilities team but am also the clinical lead for research across the organisation. This role enables me to support teams to become research active and working in partnership with the Kent, Surrey and Sussex clinical research network to deliver clinical trials locally within the organisation.
I feel MCH has provided me with brilliant training and support over the eight years of my professional career and it is this, that has given me the confidence to progress and become the leader I am today. If MCH can do it for me, it can for you too.