Mrs Gill Smith

Biography

Gill (Ghislaine) Smith, Darzi Fellow, RN, NP, PNA, BSc (1st class Hons) Contemporary Nursing, MSc Advanced Nursing Education.

Gill trained at Edgware General Hospital, starting her career in Accident & Emergency before going travelling and working for a year in a Western Australian Children’s Hospital. On her 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 three years 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 various roles including Team Lead in Public Health for HIV/Aids, Smoking Cessation and Sexual Health; Project Lead for the roll out of Community Nurse Prescribing and the NSF Coronary Heart Disease and Team Lead for District Nurses and Health Visitors. This led her to work in Barnet & Enfield Out of Hours Service (OOHS), initially as a bank telephone triage 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 minor illnesses and injuries. Other responsibilities included Safeguarding Lead, as well as being involved in the local co-ordination of the 2009 Swine flu epidemic, and working on a helpline for victims of sexual assault by a local practitioner. Whilst continuing to work as a NP at weekends, Gill  became Head of Care for Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice, setting up the nursing team and specialist respite carers as well as being involved in the architectural planning of the in-patient hospice building which has since been built in Barnet. A sports injury three years later forced her to take time off and reflect on her work life balance, resulting in her moving to a fixed term Surgical Oncology Research Nurse post, before going to HMP & YOI Holloway as a Lead Nurse Practitioner.

Following HMP Holloway, Gill took up the post of Primary Care Nursing Development Lead in Camden where she worked in collaboration with senior faculty members from Middlesex University who introduced her to her first university teaching post. As neither the Camden or university post were patient facing, Gill held honorary contracts working one day a week in a local acute trust Urgent Care Unit and a couple of years later in a primary care walk in centre to maintain her skills and knowledge as an NP.  She then returned to 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 time she undertook a Post Graduate Course in Leadership (Darzi Fellowship) setting up and running a North London Community of Practice for NHS staff affected by Long Covid, as her work based project. When the course ended and after a short stint as a (private) school nurse Gill undertook a fixed term contract  working as a Pastoral Care Nurse at the Royal Free supporting Internationally trained nurses to settle into the UK culture and hospital environment and prepare for their OSCE’s. At the same time she trained as a Professional Nurse Advocate, before returning to Middlesex University as a part time Nursing Education Fellow/Lecturer. 

Teaching

Gill currently teaches Clinical Skills at Stone X.