Role: Cancer Prevention Officer
Company: Cancer Focus Northern Ireland
Track Record:
Track Record
Suzy O’Kane is a Cancer Prevention Officer for Cancer Focus Northern Ire-land. This is her first job and she has been in post since June 2013.
At university Suzy studied Food Quality, Safety and Nutrition with Professional Studies at Queen’s University Belfast and then proceeded to study a Masters in Health Promotion and Population Health at University of Ulster.
Her role is to support people who want to stop smoking through the Cancer Focus Stop Smoking service via group or individual support.
The clinics take place in all types of settings, including schools, further and higher education institutes, youth clubs, GP surgeries and workplaces, and run for 12 weeks in each location.
7.45am
Alarm goes off and I get up, get ready for work and check my diary to see what I’ve got on today. It will be a long and busy day so I pack plenty of snacks to keep me going.
8.45am
I get to the office, switch my laptop on and gather the equipment I need to bring out to the school workshops today.
I grab the poisons board, which shows just 25 of the 4,000 chemicals there are in cigarettes — and a jar of tar — they always get a great reaction from the young people.
9.00am
I quickly check my emails and respond to schools interested in using our Stop Smoking service.
I then set about text-ing all the young people who are due to attend a stop smoking clinic with me at their college later today. This helps remind them to come in and see me.
Those who respond that they can’t come along will receive some text support messages from me over the coming week until our next clinic.
9.30am
I pack up my suitcase with Nicotine Replacement Therapy, which includes various strengths and pack sizes of patches, gum, lozenges, mouth spray and inhalers.
I load up the car with all the equipment I’ll need today and hit the road.
10.30am
I arrive at my first workshop of the day at a college in Lisburn, meet the teachers and get set up. Surprisingly I found no pupils who want to stop smoking in this school today.
Occasionally this happens, but pupils may advise teachers afterwards that they are keen to stop, so I’ll always contact the school a few days after just in case.
12.30pm
I arrive at my next workshop. It’s the first of 12 Stop Smoking sessions with eight pupils who signed up following a presentation on our service made to them last week.
I’m advised by the youth worker that a number of the pupils have ADHD and that it may be hard to keep them engaged.
I already have experience delivering
our programmes to young people with this condition, so I tailor my first session to allow students to complete interactive tasks to help maintain focus.
There is a lot to cover during first sessions, but it is important to get to know each young person’s habits so that I can provide them all with a personal goal for the next week, for example, to stop smoking in their bedroom or house.
One of the big challenges I face is working with young people who are trying to quit, but who are still surrounded by smokers within their school and home life.
It’s also difficult to disassociate smoking from the sophisticated and glamourous image that is portrayed in the movies and unfortunately the media has a huge impact on young people.
I have worked with young people in youth clubs who say they’ve never smoked but are starting to use electronic cigarettes.
My concern is that these young people could potentially go on to smoke tobacco. The challenge for me is that electronic cigarettes are currently unregulated and I can’t advocate their use.
However, I can offer tried and tested support methods for young people who wish to stop smoking, which can quadruple their chance of success.
Without question the most reward-ing aspect of my work is listening to those who have successfully stopped smoking.
They are always very grateful and thankful for the support they have received through the Stop Smoking service.
For most people, I can see a difference in their appearance between when they started the programme and when they finish.
2pm
The session went well, but I have to rush off to get to a regional college for my first of five one-on-one appointments at 2.30pm. Lunch is on the run.
5pm
Everyone attended their private appointments and all five are doing re-ally well. Now on to a workplace-based clinic in Dunmurry for 5.45pm
5.30pm
The clinic in this workplace is held on the factory floor in the first aid room, so I don a high visibility jacket, ear plugs and goggles before I can gain access to the building.
Once I get into the first aid room, I send a quick text reminder to clients here to ensure they know to come on time.
7.30pm
After five successful appointments it’s home time! I’m looking forward to some leftover homemade chicken curry and brown rice.
It’s always good to have a few handy dinners to eat when arriving home late.
9pm
When I’ve been working in the evening, I like to unwind by chatting with my housemates.
Tonight, they are working so I browse the web and research things to do in Amsterdam for my upcoming holiday with my boyfriend.
10.30pm
Bedtime! It has been a long day, so I’m glad to get to bed with a hot water bottle and rest and get ready for what tomorrow will bring me!