Biography
Gill (Ghislaine) Smith, Darzi Fellow, RN, NP, PNA,BSc (1st class Hons) Contemporary Nursing, MSc Advanced Nursing Education.
Gill trained at Edgware GeneralHospital, starting her career in Accident & Emergency before goingtravelling and working for a year in a Western Australian Children’s Hospital. Onher UK return she trained as a Midwife before working in a neonatal unit, but was still not rid of the travel bug so joined BA as long-haul cabin crew for threeyears whilst moonlighting as an RN in a private hospital on days off. When her feet were firmly back on terra firma,she started a family whilst training and working as a Health Visitor in variousroles including Team Lead in Public Health for HIV/Aids, Smoking Cessation andSexual Health; Project Lead for the roll out of Community Nurse Prescribing and the NSF Coronary Heart Disease andTeam Lead for District Nurses and Health Visitors. This led her to work inBarnet & Enfield Out of Hours Service (OOHS), initially as a bank telephonetriage nurse, before becoming one of the permanent OOHS senior nurses. As a Senior Nurse she undertook her Nurse Practitioner (NP) training, and worked in a walk-in centre seeing, diagnosing, and treating people with minorillnesses and injuries. Other responsibilities included Safeguarding Lead, as well as beinginvolved in the local co-ordination of the 2009 Swine flu epidemic, and workingon a helpline for victims of sexual assault by a local practitioner. Whilstcontinuing to work as a NP at weekends, Gill became Head of Care forNoah’s Ark Children’s Hospice, setting up the nursing team and specialist respite carers as well as being involved in the architecturalplanning of the in-patient hospice building which has since been built inBarnet. A sports injury three years later forced her to take time off andreflect on her work life balance, resulting in her moving to a fixed term Surgical Oncology Research Nurse post, before going to HMP & YOI Hollowayas a Lead Nurse Practitioner.
Following HMP Holloway, Gill tookup the post of Primary Care Nursing Development Lead in Camden where she worked in collaboration with seniorfaculty members from Middlesex University who introduced her to her firstuniversity teaching post. As neither the Camden or university post were patientfacing, Gill held honorary contracts working one day a week in a local acutetrust Urgent Care Unit and a couple of years later in a primary care walk in centre to maintain her skillsand knowledge as an NP. She then returnedto the community as a palliative care nurse for a couple of years leaving to care for a sick close family member at the start of the pandemic. During this timeshe undertook a Post Graduate Course in Leadership (Darzi Fellowship) settingup and running a North London Community of Practice for NHS staff affected by LongCovid, as her work based project. When the course ended and after a short stint as a (private) school nurse Gill undertook a fixedterm contract working as a PastoralCare Nurse at the Royal Free supporting Internationally trained nurses tosettle into the UK culture and hospital environment and prepare for theirOSCE’s. At the same time she trained as a Professional Nurse Advocate, beforereturning to Middlesex University as a part time Nursing EducationFellow/Lecturer.
