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Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist Day - Barbara Bone

Can you introduce yourself and your job role?

I’m Barbara and I am an upper GI cancer nurse specialist and clinical nurse endoscopist.

Can you give us an overview of your key day-to-day-duties?

My key day to day duties include:

Triaging patients referred by GPs on a 2-week wait pathway with suspected upper GI cancers. This involves conducting telephone clinics to assess patients’ symptoms and request the appropriate investigations.

We offer support to cancer patients from the point of referral, during their investigations, when being informed of their diagnosis and throughout their cancer treatment. This involves answering the nurse helpline, attending endoscopy and outpatient appointment to support and attending oncology clinics.

I will attend the endoscopy units to be present and inform patients of their results when a new cancer is diagnosed.

I attend the weekly cancer multidisciplinary team meeting (MDT) and action the outcomes of the meeting (onward referrals, requesting further investigations, arranging outpatient appointments, informing patients of results).  

I run a monthly telephone clinic for patients diagnosed with Barrett’s oesophagus, which is a condition which can increase an individual’s risk of developing oesophageal cancer. During which I will explain their diagnosis and advise and request further follow-up. 

I also am an upper GI clinical endoscopist and part of my job role is performing diagnostic gastroscopy procedures for a variety of patients, including those with suspected cancer.

Why did you want to become a clinical nurse specialist?

Quite early my career I developed a particular interest in upper GI. I worked with several upper GI nurse specialists during my time as an endoscopy staff nurse and I was inspired by their knowledge and advanced skills. I have always been keen to further expand my learning and skills within my interest field and the variety upper GI offers was of great interest. The upper GI MDT covers a lot of different cancer groups (oesophageal, gastric, pancreatic, biliary to name a few!), this means there is a lot of variety in the patients I care for which is very interesting.  

What’s the most rewarding thing about your role?

The most rewarding part of my role is being able to provide support to patients and families during an extremely difficult and stressful time in their lives. Being a trained endoscopist I find it very rewarding being able to offer continuity of care and be there during each step of their cancer journey.   

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of becoming a clinical nurse specialist?

My advice for an aspiring nurse specialists would be to find an area and speciality you love and enjoy. The role of a CNS can often be demanding and intense but it is so rewarding. Don’t be scared to take jump, there’s often lots to learn and this can feel overwhelming when first starting, but you’re supported every step of the way.