NURSES at Warrington Hospital have become published authors after contributing chapters to a new medical guide.

Nicola Cross and Carol White are celebrating after getting their names in print in the Association of Respiratory Nurse Specialists publication Respiratory Nursing at a Glance.

The specialist respiratory nurses at the Lovely Lane site authored their own chapters in the book, which is intended as a guide for students and newly-qualified practitioners.

Carol said: “It’s something I’ve always fancied doing – I said that one day I’ll be a published author and the fact that it’s in a proper book is really great.

“At first we thought it was just going to be this pocket guide for nurses but it’s ended up being this big book.

“We volunteered for three chapters and we ended up doing them between us.

“Each chapter is a concise guide or a snapshot on different things and we’ve done respiratory examination, pre-hospital care and respiratory history taking.

“It’s not completely in-depth – its basic assessments that we’d expect people to know as learning skills and things you’d develop.”

Respiratory Nursing at a Glance, which is now available in print or as an e-book, covers a wide range of topics in respiratory care and provides a highly-visual and evidence-based reference for those learning the ropes of the profession.

Nicola added: “I feel like I’ve really achieved something – at the time you’re doing it you don’t really think about it and you just write.

“I took a picture of my name inside the book and sent it to my mum when I first got a copy – I’m not sure whether I have a future in novel-writing but I think that Carol might do.

“It’s been really good for the respiratory team as well and just to let people know what we do.”