Jill Fozzard is a nurse colposcopist at the Royal Victoria Infirmary and is one half of Newcastle’s infamous ‘Cervix Sisters’!
We meet her in episode six where – alongside colleague Jilly Goodfellow – she raises awareness of the importance of cervical screening.
What made you get into this area of work?
At the age of 18 I thought I was following my dream of studying the arts and went off to do a course in theatre design and English, but it wasn’t for me and I subsequently explored physiotherapy. I had done a work placement whilst at school and it looked interesting.
However, as I looked more into the profession, I thought nursing might offer a greater variety of options in healthcare.
I’m still nursing many years later and very happy with my choice. It has offered me many opportunities and enabled me to have an additional role to my main one in teaching and training nurses to take cervical samples.
What is your favourite part of your work?
What I value most about my role is being able to reassure women. We have a short period of time in a consultation to engage with women, reduce their anxieties and gain their confidence whilst at the same time seeing them at their most vulnerable.
For me, the best part of my role is seeing and feeling the relief women experience as they leave the department and I know I have, along with the amazing team I am proud to work with, given the woman an experience that is tailored to her individual needs.
What would you say to someone who is interested in progressing a similar career?
I would say to anyone who is interested in exploring nursing as a career that it is not for everyone – you do need to be resilient; an ability to get on with people is a good quality to have; it can be stressful at times but it is very rewarding and there are so many different areas to specialise in that it really is a job for life, looking after people from cradle to grave.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I’m a great fan of all kinds of crafting like knitting and crochet as well as watercolour painting and dog walking.
How did you find the filming?
We felt a bit anxious beforehand but the team helped us to feel very comfortable and after a while we forgot they were there altogether!
How to you feel about being part of the series?
It was great to be asked and to have the opportunity to engage with a wider audience, to be able to show how important cervical screening is and what a colposcopy examination looks like.
We hope it helps to raise awareness and debunks some of those unhelpful myths.
