The MAXO Awards were created to celebrate individuals within Pharmaxo who embody and demonstrate our core values:
- Where patients come first
- Can it be better?
- Is there more to learn?
- Our commitment to you
In this blog series, we’re excited to highlight our Spring MAXO award winners who have gone above and beyond in their roles, earning recognition from their colleagues for their outstanding contributions here at Pharmaxo.
In this Meet the Staff edition, we talk to Olivia Blackburn who was given the ‘Where Patients Come First’ award.
Tell us about your job and how you came to join Pharmaxo
I’m a registered paediatric nurse and I visit paediatric patients in their homes and at school, delivering care such as enzyme replacement therapy for rare diseases. I mainly work with children and young people, but I fill in with adult patients as needed.
I came here from A&E at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. It was intense and I learned a lot, but there’s no time in an emergency department to focus on looking after patients. It’s also really hard to establish a work-life balance.
I decided that I wanted to do something different, but I wasn’t quite sure what. I was looking at school nursing when my mum saw the advert on Leanne Brant’s Facebook page. I applied, and Leanne’s now my boss.
I’d seen metabolic patients in A&E and thought that the area was really interesting, so this has given me the opportunity to find out more. I almost don’t feel like I’m at work, because I have the opportunity to get to know the children. They make me laugh and I get to play with them.
I saw my nomination, and I thought it was really nice, but it didn’t cross my mind that I might win. I read the email about the Maxo Award winners, and was really surprised when I saw my name. I just see putting the patients first as doing my job. I’m using the voucher to go out for dinner with my partner.
What would you say to someone who wants to join Pharmaxo?
Working at Pharmaxo is lovely. Just take the chance. The Maxo awards show that it’s a company that recognises what people do.
The paediatric nursing team is small and tight knit. We support each other, answer each other’s questions, and help each other out when we can. There’s always someone there on the end of a phone.
What are your interests outside of Pharmaxo?
Well, now I’ve got my work-life balance back I can spend more time with friends and family. It’s a real treat to be able to say ‘yes’ to socialising and going away.
