Heartbeat: Sam Beck – from student nurse to matron
November 16, 2018
Sam Beck has been on an incredible journey since joining our Trust in 2004 as a student nurse.
She has held a variety of positions across the Trust including joining the surgical day unit at Sandwell Hospital as a newly qualified nurse and briefly working at the sickle cell centre before returning to surgery.
After these roles, Sam then progressed to a band 6 position before being offered a senior sister post in 2015 covering day surgery, pre assessment and plastic surgery clinical nurse specialist cross site. In October 2017 she was seconded to a matron position.
All this was topped off with her being crowned New Leader of the Year and the 2018 Star Awards alongside Natalie Whitton.
Heartbeat recently caught up with Sam to reflect upon her fantastic achievements.
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges throughout your career so far?
SB: Each step in my career has been a challenge, you always think you are ready for the next step then when you get into post you realise the role is a lot more complex than you thought!. However I enjoy a challenge and contributing and improving the care of patients in our organisation.
Q: What advice would you give to younger nurses looking to progress like yourself?
SB: I never dreamed that one day I would be a matron when I first started my nurse training. This organisation is very supportive and has allowed me to develop in my role. I would say go for it, a lot of the roles I have taken have been secondments these are a fantastic opportunity to try new roles.
Q: What advice would you give yourself if you were starting out now?
SB: I would say believe in yourself, the possibilities within nursing are endless and you need to take risks and step out of your ‘comfort zone’.
Q: How did it feel to win New Leader of the Year at the 2018 Star Awards?
SB: I was highly honoured to have won New Leader of the Year; I was genuinely shocked and surprised because for me being nominated and attending the evening was more than enough!
Q: Where do you see yourself in the next 3-5 years?
SB: I hope to secure a permanent matron position within the organisation. I hope to continue to improve the areas I am responsible for and improve the care that the patients receive within our organisation. I hope to continue to develop new processes and pathways for our patients which in turn improves care.
Q: Any other comments?
SB: I work alongside fantastic colleagues within surgical services and I am immensely proud of all of the teams I look after, they work relentlessly hard day in and day out to do their best for patients. Thank you for their continued hard work.