Jo’s community commitment

When experienced palliative care nurse Jo Taylor decided she wanted to improve her skills even further and become a qualified district nurse, she had no idea she would end up with a First Class Honours degree and a special academic prize.

Her commitment to community based care and working with patients in their homes led her to enrol on the University of Teesside’s full-time Promoting Practice Effectiveness BSc (Hons) District Nursing Pathway Degree Pathway.

Originally from Coventry, Jo, 39, has been a qualified nurse since 1987 after training in London. Following a year in Sydney, Australia, Jo and her husband Mark settled in the North East and began their family. Now a mother of four children, Stefan, 12, Gabrielle, 7, Jared, 5, and Oscar, 3, Jo juggled the demands of a young family with her studies.

Jo, who lives in Brotton in Saltburn, was sponsored through her course by her employers at Langbaurgh Primary Care Trust where she works as a Community Staff Nurse. This sponsorship enabled Jo to attend all of the lectures and take part in the work placements. Now back in her part-time position with the Trust, she says the course has increased confidence and commitment to promote quality evidenced based nursing care.

She said: “I love working in the community, helping people in their own homes. I strongly believe that someone should only be in hospital for as long as it is necessary – the home environment is a better place to recover from an illness or operation.

“I really enjoyed my time at the University. It was a bit daunting at first, returning to full-time education after a break of over 15 years, but I soon got back into it. All of the other students were in the same situation as me, so we supported and helped each other a lot. Managing and organising a family along with full time study was hard, but I had a lot of support from my husband and especially my parents in-law, Jack and Janet Taylor. Everyone was fantastic and really rallied around to take care of the children and household chores.

“I was flabbergasted when I found I had won the prize for Best Overall Student. It came as a complete shock. Getting a First was unbelievable and winning the prize has made it even more special.”

Jo is aiming to enrol on a Nursing Masers degree at the University of Teesside and is seeking a suitable Sister’s post, with the aim of becoming a community Macmillan nurse specialist in the future.

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