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I have
worked in primary care since 1990, starting out initially as a
Practice Nurse
at Elmham Surgery, a general practice in rural mid-Norfolk,
in 1990.
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The many
changes in the NHS which have occurred since 1990 have provided me with a myriad
of opportunities to develop my role as a nurse in primary care.
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My
expertise in chronic diseases developed during the 1990s, and I have a
special interest in Type 2 diabetes.
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Alongside my clinical
development I have undertaken academic qualifications to advance my role
and to train as a Nurse Practitioner.
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In 2001 I qualified
as a Nurse Practitioner. I continued to be employed at Elmham Surgery
as part of a Nurse Practitioner pilot in Breckland PCG.
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In 2001 I began an MSc in Primary Care at University College London, an
excellent innovative web-based distance learning course,
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/openlearning/.
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In 2003
I took on a new role as Lead Practitioner for our second surgery which opened to
patients in February 2004, Swanton Morley Nurse-led Surgery.
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I
completed my MSc Primary Care in 2004 and started a PhD Primary Care in
2005.
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The
research study which forms the basis of my PhD Primary Care was undertaken
with the patients of Elmham and Swanton Morley Surgeries throughout November
2005 - February 2007.
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I am employed full-time
by Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust (PCT) and am the Lead Nurse Practitioner
for Health E1 Homeless Medical Centre. Health E1 is a nurse-led
practice located on Brick Lane, London E1.
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I work
with a multidisciplinary team that consists of 2 GPs, a Nurse
Practitioner, a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Mental Health, 2 Clinical Nurse
Specialists in Substance Misuse, a Health Care Assistant, a Practice
Manager, an Administrative Manager and a Receptionist.
Health
E1 Homeless Medical Centre:
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Health E1 provides
primary healthcare for the homeless in East London and the City.
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People who are street
homeless, in temporary or hostel accommodation or of no fixed abode in the Borough of Tower
Hamlets or E1 are able to register for healthcare at Health E1.
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Health E1 is a Nurse-led
service which means the patient's first point of contact may be with a
nurse. The nurses at Health E1 have undertaken additional training and
are able to look after many health needs that were previously only managed
by a GP.
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The practice aims to
provide an effective and efficient healthcare service to homeless people;
and to ensure equitable health service access to homeless people.
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Depression and how healthcare practitioners
look after these patients was always a topic of interest at Elmham and
Swanton Morley Surgeries.
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My
colleagues and I were aware that depression was not a disease area that had
as much attention focussed on it as other diseases (this was before
depression appeared in the Quality and Outcomes Framework - QOF).
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An opportunity to undertake a piece of research and develop
my interest in depression arose with my MSc Primary Care dissertation.
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The research for my MSc dissertation looked at the experience of patients with
depression in primary care.
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Subsequent to completing my MSc I developed a
preliminary plan to undertake further research into depression and contacted
The
Health Foundation about their Leading Practice Through Research Award.
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The
Health Foundation agreed my research plan would be a viable study, I then
went ahead and formally applied for this competitive award with my research
proposal entitled "Patients' Experience of Depression: What is the nature of
the concerns patients experience when they stop their antidepressant
medication?"
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I was one
of nine successful candidates to win a Leading Practice Through Research
Award in June 2005.
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The LPTR
Award is for two years and will not only support this study but will also
give me the opportunity to access personal development training to further
my leadership skills.
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Having got the research bug and identified an important area of
research, I decided to consolidate the Health Foundation research plan into a
proposal for a PhD in Primary Care.
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I
enrolled for a PhD at University College London in April 2005.
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I am undertaking
my PhD part-time; I have recently successfully upgraded from MPhil to PhD and aim to
submit the PhD
in 2009.
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The PhD topic is to research patients' fears and concerns when
the time comes to stop their antidepressant medication.
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My blog 'Depression in Primary Care - Story of a PhD' can be accessed at
Depression in Primary Care -
Story of a PhD.
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it is an evolving story of my experience of working for a PhD and is essentially
a personal on-line journal, but for those who access it I hope you find it interesting.
Penny Louch
Lead Nurse Practitioner
Health E1
Homeless Medical Centre
9-11 Brick Lane
London
E1 6PU
Tel: 020 7247 0090
Fax: 020 7375 0602
Email:
penny.louch@depression-primarycare.co.uk
My current CV may be found at
http://myprofile.cos.com/pennylouch
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