Pam’s career path sees her go from bouncer, to HCA, to ATP in robotic surgery – in just six years!
A former nightclub bouncer has made the incredible journey from working on the doors to helping save people’s lives in Theatres as a key member of our robotic surgery team at Royal Derby Hospital.
Pam Higginbottom first joined UHDB as a Healthcare Assistant (HCA) six years ago and has spent the last two years training to become an Assistant Theatre Practitioner (ATP) in Urology – following more than two decades in the hospitality industry.
She said: “I was a nightclub manager and a nightclub doorman for 25 years, but I just decided one day that I wanted to retire from it and I always thought I’d like to get into healthcare. This hospital actually saved my daughter’s life about four times, so I thought I’d like to do that. Seeing the care they provided to my family, it just made me want to do it more.
“I didn’t have the qualifications to do anything else, so I started out as a HCA to try and get my foot in the door and to then see where I could go from there. In my first week, I looked at the scrub nurses and thought that I wanted to do that, but wasn’t quite sure how to at the time, so I stayed in the role until the opportunity arose to do this course.”
At 50 years of age, Pam’s unique career change has come a bit later than usual but that didn’t dissuade her from deciding to study for a university degree to become an ATP, with her determination being rewarded as she has since gone on to really break the mould.
In addition to being presented with the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement by the University of Derby, Pam has also become the first UHDB colleague doing the ATP course to go on to assist with robotic surgery in Theatres.
Pam has now scrubbed up to assist in around 200 Urology robotic surgery cases – passing instruments to the surgeon and setting up and preparing the robot beforehand – and has admitted that it was quite “daunting” at first.
She added: “Robotic surgery is also fascinating though, although you’ve got to have a passion for it, as you can see the difference it makes to the patients. I’m so grateful for the support of my colleagues and the Trust for giving me this opportunity because I wouldn’t have been able to do this otherwise, especially at my age.
“Without this Trust and this team, I wouldn’t be here doing this. They’ve been so supportive over the last year. Doing this through the pandemic wasn’t simple and I lost my mum in December to Covid-19 as well which wasn’t easy, but I’ve always had the support of my work family and I’m really grateful for that.”
Pam, who is from Derby, is one of four colleagues who are currently completing the two-year ATP course, with all of them set to qualify next month across a number of different specialties – Urology, Head and Neck, Colorectal and Vascular Surgery.
Over the years, more than 20 members of staff have completed the University of Derby course at UHDB, with Nigel Roberts, Deputy General Manager in Theatres, pointing out that Pam’s story is evidence that the development pathway is there for a HCA wanting to progress their career with the Trust.
He said: “I think that the ATP course has given all Theatre staff a different option to look at in terms of recruiting staff. Nationally, Theatre roles are hard to recruit into, so this gives us another avenue as a Trust for training staff within Theatres that want to develop further. We now have a pathway where an Apprentice HCA can progress and develop all the way up to the ATP role, as Pam has done, and then also maybe go on even further into the Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) role.
“Pam’s story is evidence to other HCAs in the Trust that there is progression and people can do it. It’s just down to sheer hard work, grit and determination, which is what Pam has shown, and we’re all extremely proud of her.”
There are now two ‘da Vinci’ surgical robots based at Royal Derby Hospital, which are operated by trained surgeons and allow major surgeries to be completed in a minimal way with greater accuracy.
Mr Stephen Thomas, Consultant Urologist, said: “Robotic surgery is hugely beneficial for the patient, in the fact that major surgery is delivered in a minimal way, so it allows for faster recovery and minimal time in hospital. The robot is very complex to set up in Theatres though, so having Pam on board as an integral member of the team gives us more flexibility as we look to recover our surgical capability.
“To have Pam come in rather late on in her career to take on becoming a robotic assistant is a huge achievement, and to also get an academic Deanery Award is the icing on the cake, so I think she’s done exceedingly well. She’s going to be an absolute asset to the first class Theatre team that we’ve already assembled and we’re all exceedingly proud of her.”
