Surjeet is passionate about her work

This week we focus on the story of one inspirational nurse and how her fear of the chronically sick shaped her career path.

Surjeet Kaur is one of the UK's modern matrons.

Based in the adult intensive care unit at the Royal Brompton Hospital, London, Surjeet deals day in day out with the sickest of patients.

But she admits her career path could have easily taken a different path.

She only decided to take a job in intensive care as a way of overcoming her fear of working with the extremely sick.

"I went into intensive care because I was frightened of the ill patient. So by working with them more the better I got."

Stress

Now Surjeet has had more than 20 years in intensive care, but acknowledges that working with the very sick can be stressful for all concerned.

"It is the case because critical care is very demanding and the cutting edge of life and death. The patient is totally dependant on you.

"Some patients will do well and go home, and some you can do nothing for, but you know you have done your best.

"If there is a death we like to make it as peaceful and dignified as possible."

"We need to recruit the right type of nurse because this is difficult work.

"We need to try to minimise stress.

"If you are dealing patients who are forever ill, you try to make the environment a little less stressful, by having people around you who know what they are doing.

"If someone is stressed we try to move them the next day to a patient who is less ill.

"You can show the staff you have noticed their stress and are there for them. It is just making them feel valued and their contribution valued."

Staff

But she said that she recognised things could be very difficult, particularly for the younger or less experienced staff.

"Some of the nurses are very young and have not seen death and some of the deaths are very traumatic, but you need to let the nurses know that you care.

"We all work as a team we do not have this attitude that this is my role and I will only do my bit."

She rules her department with compassion and care, but with a strong degree of realism.

She is passionate about her work in the adult intensive care unit at the Royal Brompton Hospital, London, and is keen to ensure her nurses have the same enthusiasm for their work.

"There is this fire in me and I want to make things better. I want people to come into work and enjoy their work like I enjoy mine.

Support

"And if that fire dies then I know that it is the time for me to go. But I still feel that I can make a difference and that my team can make a difference."

Surjeet has an open door policy so that any staff needing support and assistance can come to her for help.

There is this fire in me and I want to make things better Surjeet Kaur

"When staff want to see me I am around and will see them where I can. And if I can't see them then I will go to find them later.

"But if there is a problem the staff need to be told. If they are doing something wrong they need to be told that this is not right, they are not always being mollycoddled."

But she acknowledges that working with patients who are so sick can bring extreme pressures for the nurses who care for them day in and day out.

Sandra Downs', Nurse Careers Advisor, who works closely with Surjeet said she was full of admiration for the inspirational nurse.

"It is inspiring to work so closely with Surjeet. Her staff and colleagues respect her knowledge and the manner in which she manages the Adult Intensive Care Unit at Royal Brompton.

"Surjeet has fully undertaken the requisite responsibilities of a Modern Matron.

"She has both the practical and theoretical knowledge of the jobs her staff do, as well as the management skills that have developed the Adult Intensive Care Unit into the modern unit that it is.