A Day in the Life…A Burns Nurse

Celebrating 25 years of Children’s Burns Trust & our relationship with the incredible people working in the UK Burn Services, we have asked those involved in the care of children who experience burn and scald injuries and who receive treatment in the specialist Burns Centres to answer a series of questions about their work. We hope you will find these stories as interesting and moving as we have. Our first story comes from Sue Boasman who is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner for a Regional Burns Centre and is also a Children’s Burns Trust Ambassador.

I have been caring for children and adults with burn injuries and their families for almost 30 years. During that time, I have worked in most areas of burn care including the adult and children’s burns wards, outpatients and outreach clinics. Most recently, I am enjoying the role as burns advanced nurse practitioner.

No two days are the same, which is one of the many reasons I enjoy the role. I usually start my day by popping into each of the burn wards and departments to check on the patients, families and staff. I am usually quite busy throughout the day assessing patients with new burn injuries and helping to plan their care. I also take the opportunity to provide burn education to colleagues and like to get involved in research projects to help improve the care we provide.

I took the opportunity to join the burn team a few years after completing my nurse training and soon realised how rewarding it was to help patients and their families recover from burn injuries. I am constantly amazed at how resilient patients can be, especially children, and how well they cope with the process of healing their burn. I feel privileged to be a part of their journey.

One of the biggest challenges of providing specialist burn care is remembering that the patient’s journey doesn’t finish when their skin is healed. Burn care can be life long and can affect the whole family and those around them.

I work closely with charities such the Children’s burns trust to ensure we are able to continue to support children and their families, not just during their initial burn care, but also into their future.

It is so important to work in partnership with families when a child has a burn injury, recognising that they know their child better than anyone else. By providing family-centred care, we can work together to ensure their child gets the best possible care. Taking the time to carefully explain everything and answer questions clearly and honestly is one of the most important things I can do to support children and their families in hospital.

Seeing patients start to heal from their burn injury, celebrate their progress, really get to know them as their personalities start to return and share their burn recovery is one of the most rewarding parts of working in burn care.

Caring for a child after a burn injury can be a little overwhelming for parents. The Children’s Burns Trust has a closed facebook page where families can support each other and share their experiences. We encourage parents to use this additional support network to help them feel less alone.

The charity also offers grants for families who are struggling with the financial impact of staying in hospital or travelling to and from the hospital. As healthcare professionals, we can help identify families who may benefit from financial support, leaving them more able to concentrate on supporting their child.

The Children’s Burns Trust also supports the burns team with purchasing specialist equipment such as adaptive chairs to aid rehabilitation and recovery. This helps us to provide the best care for our patients.

I really enjoy getting involved in fundraising for fabulous charities such as the Children’s Burns Trust. Last Christmas, alongside my lovely neighbours, we organised a Christmas celebration evening, with carol singing and a raffle. Some of the neighbours handknitted teddy bears which were “sponsored” and then given to children spending Christmas in hospital. The event was a great success and really bought everyone together.

Fundraising can be as challenging as running a half marathon, or as simple as holding a cake sale. Every penny helps the Children’s Burns Trust to continue their support to children with burn injuries and their families.

Burns can happen in an instant. Many of the children I care for are toddlers who are busy exploring the world around them and most accidents happen at home. Family lives can be hectic and fast paced. My advice would be to slow down just a little, take time to think about potential hazards in your home and make small changes to keep everyone a little bit safer – and if the worst happens, remember:

Over the years that I have worked in burn care, I think we have started to appreciate that providing practical and emotional support to the patient and their family is just as important as healing their burn.  We work more closely as a multidisciplinary team and also collaborate with outside organisations recognising the benefits of charities such as the Children’s Burns Trust.

The Children’s Burns Trust is an essential and important resource for children and families who have experienced burn injuries. Congratulations on your first 25 years of providing support and advice, and I hope with the generosity of your supporters you are able to continue your work for the next 25 years 😊 

Your donations to the Children’s Burns Trust 25 year anniversary fundraiser will go directly to help us continue our work for the next 25 years. Contribute to our fundraiser.