Career profile: Simon Littlefield

What initially drew you to nursing? 

I probably have quite a different story to most people. It was a little bit of a happy accident. I was very academic and my school were really pushing me to do something around accountancy. I remember thinking ‘that doesn’t feel particularly a good fit for me.’ I was 16 working part-time in a supermarket and my mother’s friend had a nursing agency at our local hospital and she was encouraging me to join as a care assistant so I thought, ‘What have I got to lose?’ I tried it and I really liked it. So I started as a healthcare assistant just filling temporary shifts whilst I was still doing A-levels. I guess because I was balancing working versus school I left school halfway to work full time. From there, I applied for my nurse training. So it wasn’t a heartfelt draw that I’d had from a child. It was more of a ‘I tried it. I liked it. I was enjoying it. So why would I not try to pursue a career from it?’