Julie Critcher

SAPHNA Senior Leadership Team member and SAPHNA Committee Member.

I qualified as nurse in 1982 and began my career in Accident and Emergency Nursing, initially working days and then having had children returned onto nights. I firmly believe that this experience provided me with some excellent transferable skills for school nursing for example the ability to manage complex and uncertain situations, when you visit a school or a family home you are never too sure what may be shared or what you will be exposed to.

I chose to move into school nursing in September 1994 and started my career as a Band 5 staff nurse. The role was predominantly screening children in Years 1, 3 and 6 with some classroom based public health delivery. I completed my Diploma in Nursing, had my third daughter and undertook the BSc (Hons) SCPHN School Nurse pathway 2001-2002. I was a Band 6 nurse and then became a Team Leader and undertook my PGCPE in 2005.I had a combined role as Team Leader and Practice Teacher. During 2017-2018 I was the Acting Clinical Lead for the service and TUPE’d the service to a new provider in April 2018, this experience enabled me to be fully engaged with the Commissioners and the new service provider.

 I am currently the Clinical Service Lead and Practice Teacher in a London Borough, I continue to hold a case load and have responsibility for the clinical aspect of service delivery. I joined the team in September 2018 and have reviewed some processes and successfully managed change in relation to these.

I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work a day a week on a secondment with a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse team delivering to health visitor and school nurse students’ .I would lecture on early intervention, school aged children and young people’s development and leadership. I developed a day with a child lecturer for their students in relation to safeguarding  children and young people, the morning consisted of theory and the afternoon session was a simulated initial child protection case conference ,feedback was consistently positive particularly in relation to the simulation experience . I continue to undertake some sessional delivery.

I have an interest in children and young people who are managing long term health conditions, some of this interest stems from personal experience. In 2006 I was nominated by a parent of a young person I had been supporting for a Well Child award and I was extremely honoured to receive the Best Community Practitioner and even met Dick and Dom. More recently I presented at a Conference for SAPHNA in relation to how school nurses can holistically support children, young people, families and education.

I believe in the ethos of early intervention and supporting children, young people , families ,education and other partners to hopefully intervene early to support and manage situations to prevent them escalating.

I thoroughly enjoy being part of SAPHNA, it provides a great platform for like-minded practitioners to come together, share practice and ideas to enhance practice .I have also had the pleasure of attending Parliamentary receptions and currently represent SAPHNA at the Paediatric  Continence Forum  and if required Managing Medical Conditions in Schools forum.

Twitter: @J_Critcher