Charlotte Cole, Regional Quality Nurse, is shortlisted for the 24th National Care Awards.

We Care Group team is delighted to announce that Charlotte has been shortlisted for the category of Care Registered Nurse. This award recognises those who have made long-term nursing careers while maintaining training and demonstrating outstanding clinical and managerial qualities.

Charlotte has had a crucial role in We Care Group since she joined us. Her background as a registered nurse, junior sister and now regional nurse, allows her to deeply understand the needs of the residents and staff, as well as how to support them.

In her current role, Charlotte is the leading member of the onboarding team for new software. Part of her role is introducing Care vision into We Care Group. During this process, she has been supporting each of the 30 homes with training and development. Her goal is to streamline the processes and save time, which can be given back to the residents in care and quality time.

Meet Charlotte

Charlotte has always wanted to be a nurse from a tender age. She has been passionate towards helping others hence nursing as a career. She has dedicated herself to continually improving, becoming a better leader and motivating others. In her career, she has always considered education as a cornerstone which is why now as a regional quality nurse she makes sure to support all individuals who work for WCG with training and vital skills, to offer the best quality of care.

Charlotte is that person who can always rely on for support. In the past, the group had an instance of one person with learning disabilities struggling to understand how to use the digital planning software and Charlotte found the right information, videos and way to work this issue around, this shows her willingness to help and accommodate colleges and residents’ needs.

What do you think are the most important things for a registered nurse?

When we ask Charlotte about the important qualities of an RN, she immediately said passion for care, drive, compassion, optimism, flexibility, knowledge and hard work. Nursing is not easy but is one of the most rewarding careers anyone can choose. Impacting someone else’s life in such a positive way really is fulfilling. 10 years into her nursing career she is still as excited as she was at the beginning.

Besides the previous qualities, Charlotte thinks it is crucial to learn from your mistakes, innovate and seek ways to improve yourself and your colleagues.

When a nurse is knowledgeable as well as kind and empathic, she can boost the morale of the residents and colleagues, helping ease the mood of the facilities and making sure the work environment is enjoyable for all.

What are the most challenging aspects of being a nurse and how have you overcome them?

In recent years the biggest challenge for nurses was the Pandemic and how to learn from the new virus to protect our residents. As a regional quality nurse part of my role and the challenge I faced was training and raising awareness of the prevention methods making sure people understand the importance of prevention, infection control practices, the use of PPE and sharing my clinical knowledge to help deal with the local outbreaks, always keeping the resident’s health the centre of all our goals.