From Compassion to Commendation: Jamie’s Queen’s Nurse accolade

Clinical Nurse Specialist Jamie Jennings has made it a hat trick for St Luke’s after receiving the prestigious title of Queen’s Nurse.

It’s a title currently held by only 3,000 nurses in the UK – including St Luke’s Nurse Consultant Jen Nicholls and Clinical Nurse Specialist Debbie Hutchinson – and it represents a commitment to the highest standards of patient care, learning and leadership.

Jamie began her journey with St Luke’s at our specialist unit and now works in our community team. Although she never imagined becoming a nurse, stepping into the role made her realise it was exactly what she’d been missing.

“I had no designs on being a nurse,” she recalls. “I never knew what I wanted to do so after exams I worked in retail and ended up working in a newsagent. My colleague decided that she wanted to pursue a career in nursing and with no other plans I decided I would have a go as well.

“I knew as soon as I had started that this was what I had been missing, I then had my community placement and knew that this was the job for me.”

On qualifying, Jamie became a district nurse. “I loved it as you could see patients in their own environments and visits were always very varied. I found the palliative care aspects of the job really fulfilling and enjoyed the problem solving that came with them.

After district nursing, Jamie started working at a community hospital but found being in a hospital environment was not for her.

“A job came up at St Luke’s at their specialist unit at Turnchapel, so I went for it not thinking I would get it, but I did! St Luke’s has always been well known for its high-quality palliative care so I felt it would be a brilliant place to learn more.

After working on the IPU for a short time, a position on our community team came up and Jamie applied straight away.

“I love being out in the community again, I cover the Tavistock area and have built up good relationships with the wider multidisciplinary teams, so we are just like one big team.”

After seeing her colleagues Jen and Debbie receive the Queen’s Nurse award, she was inspired to look into it herself and apply. Her outstanding practice and dedication was recognised and last month she was bestowed with the prestigious title.

“Becoming a Queen’s Nurse is like a promise to my patients that I am dedicated to providing high-quality person-centred care in the community. It also allows me to connect with my peers to share best practices and to help me grow professionally, to improve practice and advocate for my patients by influencing policy.”