Sam qualified in 1990 and has worked in a mixture of nursing jobs before studying for an MSc in Advanced Nursing Practice in 2019 with an emphasis on diabetes management in Primary Care. Her dissertation on the post-natal care of women with gestational diabetes won the University Prize and earned her – to her surprise a distinction. She has worked as a Practice Nurse and now ANP (Advanced Nurse Practitioner) for 14 years working for a large Primary Care GP surgery with a specialist interest in Long-term conditions.

In 2020 her surgery merged with 16 practices to form a super practice with over 9,000 people with diabetes and an eligible population of 95,000. Together with the nurse consultant in Diabetes they are highlighting awareness within Primary Care on the best practice in Type 2 diabetes management and the importance of safe, holistic reviews. Working with 30 nurses with varied and differing nursing backgrounds to one goal is a rewarding and exciting.

Working in Primary Care has allowed her to develop her interest from practice nursing where the holistic care of the patient is promoted and included assessing lifestyle, renal disease and cardiovascular risks through to her ANP training and progression to managing complex patients with medicine management and injectable initiation. She is developing a pathway where the nurse / GP and pharmacist run virtual clinics from which the patient will then be triaged and booked into the correct team member for assessment and management. Therefore ensuring high quality and relevant care.

She has a particular interest in people with Type 2 Diabetes and creating a culture of shared care amongst the variety of new roles in Primary care, including the clinical pharmacists and in particular training the new apprenticeship role (Nursing Associates) with the skills to care and manage type 2 diabetes within the  GP partnership.