#NewProfilePic for November 2024
01 November 2024 - Every month, a different member of staff features as our #NewProfilePic on social media.
This November our staff profile picture features Sam Archer, Advanced Clinical Practitioner in our Paediatric iMobile and Children’s Critical Care at King’s College Hospital. Sam’s been part of Team King’s for 13 years. He said:
“I’ve stayed for the same reason I came in the first place, the people. When I came for an informal visit all those years ago, the thing that made King’s stand out from every other hospital I looked around was how friendly and welcoming the staff were. And that’s one of the main reasons I’ve stayed for all these years, the teams might have changed but the attitude is always the same, King’s staff are friendly and have great teamwork.”
What inspired you to specialise in this particular field?
“I trained as a paediatric nurse and have worked across specialities and roles during my time at King’s. But I found my niche and a passion for critical care so I’ve been working in or around children’s critical care for nearly 11 of those years. I love seeing the impact we can make to children and their families during such a stressful and scary time, and watching as they improve day by day.”
What makes your role special to you and the patients you care for?
“I’m one of the Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs) in our (relatively) newly formed Paediatric iMobile team. As the adult side has had such success and benefit from their iMobile team we wanted to replicate this in paediatrics. The role of our team is to review unwell and deteriorating children across the hospital, providing advice or interventions usually found within a critical care unit, but out on the wards. We’re able to support both nursing and medical staff and prevent children from requiring admission to critical care. We also attend all paediatric emergency calls and act as senior nursing support across child health.”
Are there any special moments that you’ve experienced at work?
“Over the years, there have been so many. One in particular that stands out is a young man who came to us following a severe car accident. I cared for him during his first couple of days in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and formed a real bond with his family. Once he had recovered and came back for an outpatient appointment, his mum brought him into the PICU to see us all, and it was fantastic to see him up and about (and with his eyes open!). After speaking to his mum during those days and getting to know a bit more about him, I noticed so many similarities between him and me. It was lovely to get to know them and to be there to support him and his family during such a scary and confusing time.”
Can you describe how you support families through some of the most challenging moments of their lives?
“I think patience is one of the key elements of care and compassion. Giving a child or family the time to relax, to vent, to ask a million questions and to allow them the space to feel comfortable enough to express all those thoughts and feelings goes a really long way. I’ve seen families bottle up the stress, anger, and fear for days until it finally overwhelms them. So I always try to give them that chance to get it out and to have an ear they can say anything they want to, whether I can give them answers or not.”
Is there anything interesting about your role at King’s that people may not have known?
“Perhaps that our team has a lot of fingers in lots of pies! Not only do we cover critical care outreach 24/7, but we also teach multiple critical care courses across the region, we are involved in quality assurance projects, national forums, and service improvement. We are also key members of the Paediatric Vascular Access team and insert PICC lines (a long, thin flexible catheter put into a large vein in the arm) for children across child health.”