Clare Waymont is President of the British Association of Urological Nurses (BAUN). Having been a nurse for 32 years, including 21 years within urology, she is well-positioned to help the association navigate a changing world. She is on a mission to sell urology as an exciting specialty for nurses, sharing practice and initiatives nationally.
New techniques in urology over the last 15 years, such as robotic surgery, have reduced hospital stays for patients and led to a loss of urology-designated wards. This, Clare says, has reduced nurses’ exposure to urology and there is a need for a national effort to encourage nurses into the specialty.
For her, the development of her team is critical so that they can offer high-quality care to the patients they look after. In her role as BAUN President, she aims to support other urology nurses across the country to extend their knowledge and skills. In particular, she is keen to develop leadership skills in urology nurses to take a more prominent role in identifying and leading service improvement.
“Until you’ve got that leadership element within a urology specialist nurse service, it’s very difficult for nurses to drive forward their own services,” she says.
Clare highlights TUF as being a fantastic source of support for urology nurses: “This is what we need as an organisation, for our nurses to be able to access development support and grants.”
