Career profile: Jackie Greer

Why did you become a nurse?
I always wanted to be either a policewoman or a nurse, but as I'm only 5ft 3in tall and there was a minimum height requirement for the police, I became a nurse.

How has your career developed since you started nursing?
After leaving school with no qualifications, I trained as a second level nurse in 1979. I enjoyed it and wanted to progress as a nurse, so I returned to night school to do my GCSE exams so that I could get the right qualifications. I started my training as a level one nurse in 1987 and after qualifying I started working in a local care home as a staff nurse. The care home manager left suddenly and the owner asked me to take on the role and I've been managing care homes ever since. I came to Blind Veterans UK (BVUK) in 1997 as the head of care.