LIZ DONEGAN

RGN, BSc (Hons), SCPHN (School Nursing)

I started my career in nursing in 1980 and, after qualifying, spent several years working on a busy paediatric unit. When my three children came along - (three in four years!) -  I worked for twelve years on night duty in Orthopaedic, then Stoke Rehabilitation; During this time, I continued to work with young people in a voluntary capacity leading several community youth groups, which is something I still do now.

I was delighted to then be able to start school nursing in 1999 and have enjoyed a career working with children and young people since. I remain passionate about promoting the health and well-being of this age group. In my school nursing career I have been involved in a number of projects to promote the public health of children, young people and their families, such as:

• The Primary Care/Primary Link Project, which aimed to increase the role of primary care in primary schools with an emphasis on health promotion
• The School Nurse Sex and Relationship Education Project
• And more recently, The Integrated Teams Around Schools and Colleges (ITASC) Project.

I have been able to use experience from these projects, a sound knowledge of school nursing and the health needs of children and young people to support the development our service alongside commissioners and the local authority into a highly regarded school nurse service. The school nurse teams are now part of an integrated children’s trust known as Stockport Family, which has brought together partner agencies for service delivery - an exciting new challenge for us all.

I have been pro-active in school nurse education for over ten years as a practice teacher which has given me the opportunity to have a role in developing the SCPHN programme with the local university and deliver lectures on aspects of school nursing at both of the local universities, as well as supporting many school nurse students.

My nursing career also includes working as a contraceptive and sexual health nurse for many years.  In addition, I spent ten years in the public health on-call team within our foundation trust; this was a team with a remit in outbreak management and emergency planning.

I currently manage the school nurse teams, continence team and immunisation team and am involved in leading the school nurse growth programme in our local area and our team's further integration into the local authority.

Since becoming involved with SAPHNA over the last few years, I have gained a wider understanding of school nursing at a strategic level and look forward to being able to use my experience and knowledge to promote the school nurse profession and its significant public health role further, at  both national and practice level.