Diagnosis & Therapy Sub Committee

Maria has worked in respiratory medicine since qualifying as a registered nurse (RN) in 2010. She began her career on an acute respiratory ward, including caring for patients with chest drains, non-invasive ventilation and tracheostomies. She became a senior nurse within 18 months of qualifying and completed a course in mentorship.

She first gained experience in spirometry working as a research nurse, performing these tests for patients daily. She became a respiratory nurse specialist in 2014 where she worked with the Integrated COPD team. She developed a standardised method to implement COPD care bundles for patients being admitted to hospital. This is still being used within the University of Southampton Hospital Foundation Trust today. She was regularly involved in MDT meetings (including morbidity and mortality) and the National COPD audit.

She began working in Primary care within the private sector, as a respiratory nurse advisor. This allowed Maria to work within different CCGs, providing mentorship and education for practice nurses, GPs and other allied health professionals. She regularly delivered respiratory education modules on a 1:1 basis and in larger groups. She jointly developed a pathway for acute asthma admissions to ensure appropriate follow up with a respiratory nurse specialist post discharge. This aimed to reduce the likelihood of re-admission to hospital and referring patients who were suitable to the Difficult Asthma / Severe Asthma service at University of Southampton Hospital Foundation Trust.

Maria is currently working as a clinical respiratory nurse specialist at a large Primary Care Network (PCN) in Southampton. She has played a pivotal role in the implementation of a new respiratory pathway, which includes the re-introduction of Spirometry post COVID19. She supports and mentors practice nurses and HCAs within the PCN as well as providing reviews for complex respiratory patients with multiple co-morbidities. She also works closely within the Urgent Care Team alongside Advanced Nurse Practitioners to deliver urgent reviews for respiratory patients, providing acute care and further optimisation of their treatment. She is working towards becoming an Advanced Respiratory Nurse Practitioner within the PCN.

Maria has completed courses in COPD and Asthma. She is also a previous winner of the ARNS Respiratory Rising Star award in 2016. After this, she completed a course in “Respiratory Diagnostics” which further increased her passion and interest in the field. She has full ARTP accreditation in performing & interpreting spirometry. She is part of the “Southampton Airways Forum” committee and is passionate about improving and maintaining communication links between Primary, Secondary and Tertiary care. She is part of the Diagnosis & Therapy Sub-Committee for ARNS. She would like to use this opportunity to focus on the re-introduction diagnostic services, including Spirometry and Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) in Primary care throughout the UK.