Why did you become a nurse?
I am one of those nurses that had always wanted to be a nurse from a child! I can vividly remember at approximately the age of 5 getting my first ‘nurse’s’ kit from Father Christmas and that was it; the seed was planted. At the age of 13, I became a St. John’s ambulance cadet, so I’ve always been very firm with my plan.
I started training at Guy’s Hospital in 1991. Sadly 12 weeks before the end of my training, I injured my back and was unable to qualify. This was my darkest time – I’d always wanted to a nurse and the thought of not achieving this was crushing. I then tried applying to become a prison officer and an RSPCA inspector! Needless to say, and rather luckily, I was unsuccessful.
Thankfully after a few years of getting back up on my feet, nursing was still where my heart lay, so in 1998, I became a Project 2000 DipHE student nurse and finally qualified in 2001.
How did your career develop?
I tend to make my decisions based on what my heart tells me, rightly or wrongly, and this has helped me over the years to develop my career.
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