Career profile: Kate McCandlish, Hampshire

Why did you become a nurse?

I became a nurse because I found that I love spending time with older people and listening to their stories. It started when I dropped out of college at 16. My mum told me, in no uncertain terms, that I had to earn my own money, so I started working at a nursing home as a cleaner.

The owner of the nursing home saw how much I enjoyed talking to the residents and offered to teach me to be a care assistant. I loved it. I learned all the fundamentals of looking after someone who is frail and vulnerable, and watched the nurses caring for people at the end of their lives. I had an 'I can do this' moment and applied to become a nurse.