Camilla Colazzo
C. Colazzo - Uno sguardo oltre la malattia
SUPSI Image Focus
Camilla works at the Centro Diurno Terapeutico della Croce Rossa (Red Cross Therapeutic Day Care Centre) in Manno; she obtained her DAS Family and Community Nursing qualification in 2023.
Where do you work and what’s your role?
I work at the Therapeutic Day Care Centre (TDCC) of the Red Cross in Manno. Initially I was hired as a nurse, later I was offered a DAS in Family and Community Nursing, also in response to the challenges and opportunities related to the Cantonal Pilot Project for Therapeutic Day Care Centres and the Cantonal Dementia Strategy.
Today, in addition to taking care of the daily nursing activities provided in the day centre, I have developed inter-professional relations with various local professionals as a contact person for patients, as well as being the interface between the Therapeutic Day Care Centre and the caring family members.
For the past year, I have been collaborating frequently with the Pro Senectue social worker to ensure all the support that the territorial network can offer to delicate and complex cases that arise and are announced for TDCC care.
What motivated you to attend DAS Family and Community Nursing?
Since the beginning of my professional experience at the TDCC, I have always been involved in the development of the Cantonal Pilot Project, one of the objectives of which was to create a relationship with family carers to support them in caring for their relatives.
The advent of Covid-19 in March 2020, and the consequent closure of the TDCC to the outside world, convinced the TDCC managers of the need to create a figure who could interface effectively with the outside world and give continuity to the work established and created in previous years with caregivers.
Attending DAS thus enabled me to acquire new skills, broaden my knowledge of territorial services, of working with families in order to offer a professional and specialised service to the territory.
How would you describe your experience attending DAS?
During the course, I got to know new points of view from other professionals attending the course; I was also pleasantly surprised by the variety of testimonies but also topics covered that enriched the programme offered by the lecturers.
There was no shortage of moments of reflection and we were urged to carry out research to motivate and understand the notions acquired during the lessons by consulting databases and authoritative sites.
What are the main skills acquired? How is what you learnt in the classroom transferred to your professional context?
One of the main skills I have acquired, perhaps also because of the context in which I find myself working, relates to collaboration and interaction with local professionals. The knowledge of what the Canton of Ticino has to offer, and the openness of collaborating with other professionals in the area, guarantees a continuity of care and support that improves the quality of care in conditions of chronic degenerative diseases.
This training enabled me to internalise and recognise a particular moment in the life of the user but also of their family member(s). I am referring to transitions, considering both the process of change of the illness, but also of the taking over by the care network.
This DAS allowed me to go beyond the illness of the user attending the centre and also to see the context of this person's life, the social and family relationships they have, working to improve their lifestyle and that of the relational nucleus in which they are placed by also considering non-family figures (carers, for example).
To whom would you recommend this training course, and why?
This training is strategic for all those professionals who interface with the chronically ill patient living at home by improving continuity of care, the creation of projects related to wellbeing, prevention and collaboration aimed at relieving the caregiver and increasing the communication of those present.
Mainly I am referring to home care nurses, nurses working in offices of the various cantonal districts, in both social and therapeutic day care centres. Nurses working in outpatient clinics can also benefit from this training as they interface with people living at home but in need of integrated care and lifestyle improvement.
This training increases job satisfaction, in an environment that is constantly evolving and improving, as they possess the necessary skills to be able to operate under optimal conditions.