Sarah Banham and Marion Lynch are both Advanced Nurse Practitioners and freelance Clinical Associates for Primary Care International. Hear below from Sarah and Marion on why they decided to do this and their experience so far.

[PCI currently has a call for applications for new Clinical Associates (Nurses, GPs, Health Systems Advisors and Co-facilitators). The deadline for applications is March 16th. Find out more here.]

Sarah – what’s your background and why did you want to become a PCI Clinical Associate?

I have been working in primary care 30 years. I am an Advanced Nurse Practitioner and ran my own GP practice as lead clinician for 15 years. I have worked at local, government and international level in the UK and abroad running a primary care company in India and as a Director of Bupa in the international Markets.

I had worked alongside PCI previously and our philosophy was similar. However, I was struck that no associates were nurses. I remember Christina Hancock [Founder and Director of C3 Collaborating for Health] and myself raising this issue at a seminar in 2018: stressing that not to engage such a large, important, skilled body of healthcare workers by demonstrating that the organisation had nurses ‘at the table’ could be perilous to the impact they may have in the future. PCI listened to us, and to feedback from project partners, and put out a call out for Clinical Associate nurses.

What work have you done so far with PCI?

As an associate I am working with an organisation in Bangalore, in India, who employs nurses working in community clinics, factories and services for marginalised communities. I have helped to design and deliver training and support both face-to-face in Bangalore and remotely. [Read PCI’s related blog here]. As a nurse I bought a set of skills that helped to focus the project on the purpose, which is the provision of safe, good quality care, even in a more challenging setting. I believe I brought a strong set of values but more importantly clinical leadership and commercial acumen.

Marion – what’s your background and why did you want to become a PCI Clinical Associate?

I have worked as a nurse across the world with communities delivering one-to-one care, and with governments designing whole systems for care. I have been working with NHS England to assure professional standards of work and to improve the quality of care, plus put the public voice in public health. This has required me to work with politicians, senior professionals and patient groups. Last year I worked for six months with the Zambian Ministry of Health helping to design the country wide system for improving quality and improving health. This showed me I wanted to work on a global scale. PCI offered the opportunity to work on NCDs, (an area of health I have seen is often missed) and to bring a nursing perspective and a patient focus into the design of care and training.

What work have you done so far with PCI?

I have worked with the Ministry of Health and WHO team in Jordan developing clinical guidelines for hypertension and diabetes. My nursing and health system strengthening skills added to the work by keeping the focus on patient needs and specific country and cultural context and aligning the work to the country’s strategic health plans and priorities.

PCI currently has a call for applications for new Clinical Associates (Nurses, GPs, Health Systems Advisors and Co-facilitators). The deadline for applications is March 16th. Find out more here.