Geraldine Queen
Geraldine Queen, from Coatbridge, is the general manager for the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth locality for primary care.
She has experienced some major changes to the workings of the NHS since she completed her general nursing training in 1980.
These include the increasing emphasis on better communications between the different health care professionals to improve patient care.
And Geraldine, who is pictured receiving the Henry J Thomson Memorial Gold Medal from Bellshill Maternity Hospital in 1981, also revealed attitudes to women have also changed.
Changes
Geraldine said: “There is a much stronger focus on management and leadership and that has improved the level of care the NHS provides for patients.
"There is now more awareness of the inter-dependency of all the different areas involved in health care.
“In the past we all tended to work in isolation within our own clinical area thinking about your own role and that it was the most important.
“We didn’t always consider how different services could be connected for the benefit of patients.
“Now there is stronger leadership and management to help bring all the different areas together and ensure we’re all working towards the same goals and improving outcomes for patients.
“We have developed stronger partnerships and links between the various areas in, for example, acute and primary care and also social work.”
Women
Geraldine has also noticed a major change in society’s attitudes towards both women and nursing.
She said: “I went for an interview before being accepted onto the midwifery course at Bellshill Maternity Hospital in 1981.
“I had just returned from my honeymoon and the culture at that time meant they asked me if my personal circumstances would stop me completing the course.
“At the interview they asked me ‘this course is a huge undertaking, have you fully considered whether you will be able to balance your changing role as a new bride and completing this course?’
“I walked out thinking I’ll prove to them I can.
“It gave me the push to do well in my academic studies and at the end of the course I won the Henry J Thomson Memorial Medal.
“Students with the highest marks in the year were nominated for the prize and then the winner was selected by the sisters in the ward.
“It felt great to win the gold medal as it was quite a prestigious honour and I was pleased for my mum, dad, and my husband who had been very supportive.
“In addition to attitudes changing the role of nurses has changed considerably. Nursing is now much more diverse, with many different specialities and opportunities.
“There is a structured career path and there are plenty of opportunities if people are willing to develop their abilities and take them.”
Geraldine's NHS Career
Geraldine is the General Manager for the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth locality.
After completing her general nursing training at Stobhill in 1980, she undertook the midwifery course at Bellshill Maternity Hospital and qualified in 1981 – winning the Henry J Thomson Memorial Gold Medal as the top student that year.
Geraldine, from Coatbridge, then worked as a staff midwife on the labour ward at the hospital until June 1982 when she went to work in Airdrie as a community nurse/midwife.
The following year she completed a District Nursing course at Bells College and worked as a DN from 1984 to 1990, before she was seconded to a joint project, between the NHS and Lanarkshire Social Work department, on incontinence in residential homes.
In 1991 Geraldine became the first ever Continence Liaison Nurse in the Monklands/Cumbernauld Division and in March 1995 was promoted to Continence Advisor.
In January 2004 she was promoted to Continence Manager for Lanarkshire.
She was Clinical Development Manager from 2005 until 2006 when she became Service Development Manager for Long-term Conditions in the North Locality.
Geraldine is now the General Manager for the North Locality, a position she has been in since November 2006.