“YOU can’t teach anyone to have compassion – to be a nurse you must be compassionate and you must care for others.”

According to Prospect Hospice inpatient unit manager Liz Clements, it takes a certain special person to become a nurse.

Liz, who has worked at the hospice in Wroughton for six months having previously worked as a community matron for palliative and supportive care for Oxfordshire, wanted to be a nurse since she was a child.

She will help host a Nurse Recruitment Day on April 11 from 5pm to 8pm where the hospice will be open to nursing professionals, with the aim of recruitment at a later date.

Liz, who manages the 14-bed unit at the hospice for patients with any palliative care condition, said: “I always wanted to be a nurse from a very young age. I enjoyed supporting people.

“I find the job so rewarding, each day is so different and I enjoy all aspects of it because I have a mix of clinical work and managerial work.

“It is good for your staff to see you being hands-on and that you know what you are telling them to do.

“It can be very emotional but I think you learn to deal with it and we all support one another.

“We have got an understanding of each other. If someone is upset when perhaps someone in their family is suffering with the same condition as a patient, we will recognise that they are stressed.”

During the open evening, there will be an opportunity to tour the facilities at the hospice and learn more about the services they offer.

Liz said: “People often assume the hospice is going to be doom and gloom but it really isn’t, all hospices are different.

“We will welcome both qualified and unqualified people who are interested, people who want to know more about the hospice.

“They may have patients who may need our support. It is nice for them to come in and see us. We will have nibbles and lots of information available.”

For more information visit www.prospect-hospice.net