Meet Our Nurses
Valuable members of our team of health professionals.
In one of our recent articles, The Vital Role of Nurses, we took a closer look at the integral role our nurses play when it comes to the comprehensive service we offer as a team of health professionals. Their ability to be a reliable and trustworthy support to the Orthopaedic Surgeons as well as an advocate, educator, listener and carer all rolled into one, is a huge asset to us and helps us provide the best possible care for all our patients.
While we were able to delve a little into what our nurses do, we thought it would be lovely to introduce you to who they are. In this article, we asked Sister Nell Browne and Sister Kathie Troost to tell us a little more about themselves.
Sr Nell Browne (RN, RM, OHNP)
Sister Nell is a well-qualified Professional Nurse with a certificate in Medicine and Law (Cum Laude). She has diverse experience in many aspects of healthcare, including medical risk management, SHEQ auditing and training in business management systems. Her published work includes the contribution of several topics in the ‘Health and Safety Advisor’ by Fleetstreet Publications and many professional journal articles.
As a Registered Nutrition Practitioner, Sr Nell also has a special interest in nutrition and reclaiming wellness through healthy lifestyle choices. This includes analysing a patient’s polypharmacy for drug interactions, side effects and nutrient depletion and a programme then being devised for the patient to reduce or remove medication that may be causing them harm.
In partnership with Sr Kathie Troost, Sr Nell provides a patient advocacy service to patients undergoing hip and knee joint replacements done by Doctors Garth Grobler, Brendan Dower and Marc Nortje at Cape Hip and Knee. This includes preoperative consultations for sharing information about the proposed surgery and recovery, a hospital visit and a post-operative home visit for suture removal/ dressing change. In the time from discharge from hospital to six-week post-operative, she provides a telephonic patient care line and will refer patients to appropriate health care professionals as needed.
“To my knowledge, Cape Hip and Knee is the only practice that provides this (aftercare) service. Our patients are well informed and do very well with the comprehensive team approach. It’s health care risk management at its best!” – Sr Nell Browne
Ultimately, Sr Nell has a particular passion to help people. After she was retrenched in 2002, she established her own business. She integrates her knowledge from various work-related exposure and studies to help people live better lives.
Did You Know? As with most specialist fields of work, abbreviations are common in the medical world and can leave us a bit lost as to what they mean. If this is you, here are just a few you may recognise mentioned in this article as they pertain to the qualifications of our nurses:
RN – Registered Nurse, RM – Registered Midwife, OHNP – Occupational Health Nursing Practitioner
Sr Kathie Troost (RN, RM)
Sister Kathie Troost is a Private Nursing Practitioner who trained at Groote Schuur Hospital in the late 1970s, followed by Midwifery at Mowbray. After qualifying, Sr Kathie continued at Groote Schuur in Trauma, ICU and Operating Theatre. She then moved to the Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Unit and led the multidisciplinary team for six years. During this time, she completed a BSc (Med) Hons in Community Health part-time at the University of Cape Town (UCT), qualifying in 1988.
After the birth of her daughters, in the mid-1990s Sr Kathie returned to nursing part-time and later focused on acute orthopaedic wound care as a private nursing practitioner. She has been working with the arthroplasty team at the Cape Hip and Knee practice at Vincent Pallotti Hospital (VPH) since March 2006.
“CHK offers a comprehensive service from a health professional team including information, education and two home visits by a sister where possible, and “instant” communication with a sister when needed, who will refer appropriately. I think this is the only local practice to offer this level of service.” – Sr Kathie Troost
She joined Professor Mike Solomons and Dr Steve Carter at the Cape Hand Clinic (VPH) as a wound care sister in 2011 and also works with Dr Graham McCollum, the Foot and Ankle surgeon at Kingsbury Hospital, sharing this work with two other nursing colleagues.
For fun, Sr Kathie goes trail running and orienteering and also enjoys gardening, worm farming, sewing and reading.
Fun Fact: While you may have heard of the Hippocratic Oath taken by physicians, nurses also have an oath better known as the Nightingale Pledge. It was named after Florence Nightingale and was composed in 1893 as an adaptation of the Hippocratic Oath. Below is the version our South African nurses use, which differs in several respects from the original.
NURSE’S PLEDGE OF SERVICE
I solemnly pledge myself to the service of humanity and will endeavour to practise my profession with conscience and with dignity.
I will maintain, by all the means in my power, the honour and noble tradition of my profession.
The total health of my patients will be my first consideration.
I will hold in confidence all personal matters coming to my knowledge.
I will not permit consideration of religion, nationality, race or social standing to intervene between my duty and my patient.
I will maintain the utmost respect for human life.
I make these promises solemnly, freely and upon my honour.
Reference: South African Nursing Council
Our collaborative team approach at Cape Hip and Knee provides assurance that we only consider the most optimal treatment for patients from start to finish. You can read more about our approach to surgery under Pathway to Surgery, as well as explore our growing number of helpful articles on our website. And when you are ready, book a consult with us to discuss your injury and take the next step on your road to recovery and pain-free living.
