Jillian is our Specialist Nurse Familial Hypercholesterolaemia and she has cool names for her cats!
Read more about her here...
I worked as a civil servant from the age of 18 to 25 in local Job Centres where I met my husband Ian, who also works for the Trust. We have been married for 19 years and have two children, Kieran 25 and Evelyn,13. We also have a "ginger peril" of a granddaughter called Minnie who is five. We live locally in Lindley and have a collection of pets including a Siberian hamster called Count Squidgowski and three cats called Oreo, Lady Penelope and Fat Carl. I began my nursing career after attending a Jobs Fair at Huddersfield University while representing the Job Centre and quite liking the sound of the Nursing degree. I applied and was accepted and started in September 1995 and have been nursing ever since.
What is your position? Specialist Nurse Familial Hypercholesterolaemia.
F/H is an inherited lipid disorder and the most common cause of premature coronary heart disease. Without treatment affected men will frequently develop symptoms of coronary heart disease BEFORE the age of 40 and half of these will be symptomatic by the age of 50 years and affected women will be symptomatic by the age of 60. FH is underdiagnosed, with less than 15% of the affected patients being identified and treated in the UK.
The NICE FH guideline recommends genetic testing of relatives of individuals known to have FH as the most cost effective strategy for early identification, leading to treatment through diet, lifestyle and cholesterol lowering drugs. This is where I come in!
Tell us about your career background. I have worked as an Oncology and Chemotherapy Nurse at Greenlea Oncology Unit, a registered nurse at the Centre for Sexual Health in LGI and most recently a Practice Nurse Prescriber for the past 10 years at several GP surgeries in West Yorkshire.
What are the best bits about your job? Definitely meeting patients and their families and being able to reassure and educate them about living with their genetic condition. Also being able to make a real difference by offering potentially lifesaving genetic testing and treatments.
What is the highlight of your career so far? Gaining 90% in my Independent and Supplementary Prescribing Exam. I nearly passed out when I got my mark back!
Sum up your role in three words? Exciting, Challenging and Innovative
What did you want to be when you were growing up? A farmer! (not a Farmer’s Wife)
Who is your hero/heroine and why? Professor Brian Cox because he has a massive science brain and an excellent Northern accent …
When you are not at work how do you relax? Going to live music gigs, reading crime novels, sewing crafty items, cooking and baking, drinking Prosecco and lots of cups of tea…
What is your favourite place? Anywhere near the sea, especially the East Coast (of Yorkshire)
What would people be surprised to know about you? I can play the Clarinet to Grade 7 standard and have been to Glastonbury festival five times.