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Endoscopy Nurse Sudha Autar’s career spans over 40 years, and she is as enthusiastic about her work as the day she began. What’s more, she has worked with TTM as an agency nurse in the UK for many years and loves the freedom and flexibility of being able to control when and where she works. We thank her for sharing her story with us…

“Hello, I’m Sudha and I am an Endoscopy Nurse. I am based in Bristol in the UK and I work with TTM as an agency nurse for the Bristol NHS Trust. I work at Inhealth’s Prime Endoscopy Unit as well as at their mobile unit in Southmead. As and when I can, I am a bank nurse for a private hospital in the area – Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital - The Chesterfield.

My Career in a Nutshell

My story began in Mauritius, where I grew up and trained as a General Registered Nurse. My mum was sick for a time, and I looked after her, which made me realise I could enjoy nursing. I have two sisters, and both are nurses. I worked as a theatre nurse for one of the general hospitals in Mauritius, as part of the country’s public health service, which is like the NHS in the UK.

I left Mauritius for the UK in 2003 – to grow my career and gain more experience. I was recruited by BUPA (now Spire) and became a scrub nurse/theatre practitioner. After five years I joined Paediatrics in Bristol but developed a growing interest in Endoscopy. I began my training in Endoscopy which took about 6 months. I then became Endoscopy Lead Nurse at the Nuffield. An Endoscopy Nurse is responsible for assisting the Endoscopist during procedures such as Gastroscopies and Colonoscopies and provides patient care before, during and after the procedure. Their primary responsibilities include answering patient questions and concerns, observing and monitoring their vital signs, and administering the necessary patient medication.

I made the move into agency work when I discovered TTM. I could see they had lots of opportunities for Endoscopy Nurses and I could be as busy as I wanted to be. Increasingly this suited me well as I became a grandmother and wanted to have the freedom to spend time with my grandkids and provide support to my children.

Why do I work with TTM?

Apart from the flexibility of temporary nursing, I really enjoy the way it lets you have many different experiences in different settings. I get to work with different people, understanding their style of working, and I never stop learning.

I also think that one of the reasons this works so well for me is the support I get from TTM. I work with Claudia Faraoni (Recruitment Consultant – Endoscopy Division) and she really looks after me. She’s a great coordinator, is always helpful and I know I can completely rely on her. What I really love about Claudia is that she’s very human – approachable and understanding. Working with TTM is easy – and I have recommended so many of my colleagues to the company.

Why do I love Endoscopy?

It’s a fantastic job! I have always found Endoscopy a rewarding field of nursing. It’s interesting and is advancing all the time. I enjoy the fact that there’s the medical side, assisting the doctor and getting to know how they work. We work as a team, and there’s a lot of trust there. But then there’s the patient side too. A big part of the job is making sure the patient is comfortable throughout – reassuring and supporting them – and I have always enjoyed this.

There’s always something to learn as an Endoscopy Nurse. I do courses whenever I can – such as TECNA, which is The Therapeutic Endoscopy Course For Endoscopy Nurse Assistants & Nurse Consultants. Endoscopic instrumentation progresses constantly - so I like to keep up with these developments and make sure I’m trained to use the instruments.

A Last Word?

I think if you have a passion for people, a curiosity to learn and the ability to work as part of a tight team – Endoscopy is a great nursing specialism to consider."

You can find out more about working as a Locum Endoscopy Nurse with TTM and view available jobs here.