Everyday Excellence

NHS Forth Valley nurse and dementia champion, Yvonne Cairns, has appeared in a Royal College of Nursing Scotland (RCN) publication called ‘A Positive Choice: Everyday excellence in older people’s nursing,’ which celebrates nurses and health care support workers who care for our older people.

Yvonne was one of 8 healthcare workers chosen from across Scotland to share their stories due to her commitment to raising awareness of dementia. She was one of the first participants to graduate from Scotland’s Dementia Champions programme four years ago.

The aim of the publication is to emphasise the positives of working in older people’s care, which can often be seen by some as menial, repetitive, low-skilled work.

Yvonne said: “As a nurse and Dementia Champion at Forth Valley Royal Hospital, my job is to work with all of the hospital’s different teams to provide education and raise awareness of dementia.

“Like many other health professionals, I have made a positive choice to work in older people’s care. We are highly skilled, very passionate about what we do and are enjoying rewarding careers, high in job satisfaction. Despite the many pressures we face in caring for older people, I, for one, am proud to work in older people’s care.”

You can find out more about the Everyday Excellence campaign and read all 8 stories on the RCN website https://www.rcn.org.uk/scotland