Justine always remembers the day she had a slippery encounter with a leech while she was busy working as a staff nurse at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.
She had not long qualified as a nurse and was working in her first job in the plastic surgery and burns unit in the Dundee hospital.
“We nursed patients who had had reconstructive surgery following traumatic injuries,” Justine, from Arbroath, recalls.
“We also looked after patients who had undergone reconstruction following cancers of the breast and skin.
“The surgery to reattach fingers and thumbs was very delicate, intricate work.
“But very occasionally there could be a problem with the circulation of the newly attached blood vessels becoming congested.
“So we used an ancient method of bloodletting to help improve the circulation – attaching medically-bred leeches to the body part to drain the blood, unblocking blood vessels.
“I never really got used to these slimy, wriggly creatures!
“But I would dutifully assist in attaching the leeches to a thumb full of blood and let them do their magic.”
Working with leeches and maggots
Justine recalls one day when a consultant walked into the room just when she was attaching leeches to a patient’s thumb.
“One of the creatures fell off onto my hand and I jumped as I got such a fright!
“The poor leech (which I think the patient had affectionally called Bob) went flying and landed at the bottom of the bed!
“All eyes fell on me. But I managed to regain enough composure to scoop ‘Bob’ up safely.
“Thankfully the treatment worked well and we saved the thumb.”
What inspired Justine to become a nurse
The 46-year-old advanced nurse practitioner, who is now a lead nurse in transforming roles and non-medical prescribing for NHS Tayside, has worked in nursing for more than 20 years.
After she left school she gained a degree in pharmacology – she never imagined she would end up working as a nurse.
It was only when she saw first-hand the treatment and care they gave a close family member, that she considered it as a career.
“My dad had a cancer diagnosis and was getting a lot of treatment at Ninewells,” she says.
“And that’s when I realised what was really involved in being a nurse.”
“I saw how they cared for my dad – how they were leading a lot of the chemotherapy treatment for him and how they supported him emotionally as well.
“That made me think differently about the role of the nurse.”
Her dad went on to make a full recovery and no longer needs any follow up care.
Qualifying as a nurse
And after being inspired by those nurses, she decided to do a graduate diploma in nursing at the University of Dundee.
Justine then qualified as a nurse in 2003, securing a job in the Ninewells plastic surgery and burns unit.
“Working in that ward really shaped who I became as a nurse because it was a really compassionate team I worked with.
“I think a lot of people might assume plastic surgery is where people go to get nips and tucks.
“But a lot of the time, we were looking after people who had had reconstructive surgery after really devastating injuries.”
DIY injuries in Dundee
Justine says they also had a steady stream of DIY injuries, especially over the weekends.
“It tended to be people who had never ever used a saw before and decided to have a go.
“And it was usually men, who had accidently sawed through their fingers!
“The person would end up coming in with their detached finger and we would have to keep it safe until they had surgery to re-attach it.
“We also saw a lot of women having breast reconstruction surgery after having breast cancer too.
She continues: “Some of the things were traumatic to see but because it wasn’t happening to me, I just saw it as my job to care and support them as best as I could.
“But it was also amazing to see first-hand what the plastic surgeons could do with re-attaching limbs or helping people with disfigurements.”
Moving into general practice nursing
After working in the plastic surgery and burns unit for six years, Arbroath nurse Justine decided to move into general practice nursing after she and husband Ryan, 47, had two children, Leo and Lexi.
She wanted a nursing job with more regular hours.
So she took up a role working between Townhead and Annat Bank GP practices in Montrose in 2008.
“It felt a world away from hospital nursing in the unit which was quite specialised.
“It was a fantastic opportunity for development though because I found myself learning about long-term conditions such as cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes in more depth.
“Plus, I enjoyed getting to know my patients better as I tended to see them often.”
Giving Dundee patients the Covid vaccine
Justine did further training to become an advanced nurse practitioner in 2018.
She went on to secure a role working at Lochee Health Centre where she worked for four years.
Justine was employed there when the Covid pandemic outbreak happened in 2020.
And in January 2021 she administered the Oxford/Astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine to the first patients in Scotland.
“A lot of elderly people weren’t even going out the house at that point because they were really scared of getting coronavirus,” she says.
“When we phoned up people to come in for the vaccine it was quite emotional.
“I remember people were crying on the phone and thanking me for offering them the appointment to come in for the vaccine.
“It was an amazing day. We ended up vaccinating over 100 people and it was a relief to know we had a vaccine that was going to protect our most vulnerable.”
‘Nursing is a great job’
Today Justine thinks nursing is still a fantastic career, despite the current pressures on the NHS, and would recommend it to anyone wanting to join the profession.
“You can do nursing which is patient-facing, bedside nursing that is still an opportunity,” she says.
“But if you want to progress further, there is also the chance to go into advanced practice nursing.
“My role now is stepping more away from patients, but it is still exciting.”
She adds: “Nursing is hard work and the workload is higher these days.
“But if you are passionate about your patients and helping people, then it is a great job and I would definitely recommend it.”
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