I did it, my first Blog!
My first thought when I was asked by @BloggersNurse to do a short blog on my career: ‘Past, Present and Future’ was how do you do a blog? My second was, what, it’s only 500 words? Everyone who knows me knows I talk too much and I’m not the best with technology, but I’ve managed it!
I have a bit of an excuse though, as when I started nursing in the 80s everything was paper based, we didn’t have computers, email, or mobiles, incomprehensible to today’s tech-savvy nurses. I don’t miss the smoking in handovers though, yep, I’m not joking. We could smoke in offices; it was positively ‘de rigueur’ back then. I vividly remember an ICU Sister giving handover with a fag hanging out of her mouth, whilst I was entranced wondering whether the ash was going to fall on her nursing cardex or uniform first. I was partial to an odd Menthol Silk Cut myself back then (I hope my 10-year-old daughter doesn’t ever read this).
Find a job that suits your strengths
I proudly completed my first ever Webinar last month: ‘Transitioning to a Newly Qualified Nurse,’ for the lovely team at @RCNStudents and a student video message for @BrianWebster18 website @ThinkTheory19. I learnt that videos are out of my comfort zone and a completely different beast to lecturing. Containing my animated lecturing style into a video for a whole hour was no mean feat; I don’t do restrained very well. I’ve been called everything between ‘enthusiastic’ to ‘over-exuberant’ over the years. Great qualities for motivating learners as a nurse educator though, which is the career path I chose.
You can’t change who you are and it’s important to find a job that aligns with your passions and strengths. My current role as Divisional Recruitment and Retention lead at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is my ideal job, as it aligns with both. Thankfully, I’m encouraged by an amazing team of nurse leaders who ‘get me,’ support me and understand how to utilise my skills, something I’m very grateful for.
My future lay in nurse education
I hadn’t got a clue what I wanted to do at 18 and I turned my Mum’s hair grey overnight when I walked out of my A levels. There was no ‘dressing up’ as a nurse when I was a child or fluffy dreams of caring for others. There was high youth unemployment in the 80s and I needed a job, simple. My Irish aunties had come over to England in the 60’s and were earning good salaries as nurses and my Mum couldn’t afford to keep me. I was paid a wage as a nursing student and was basically a ‘pair of hands’ who was there ‘to do and not question’. Critical analysis and reflection were not in nurses’ vocabularies until the 90s. I loved caring for patients and teaching others and I quickly realised that my future lay in nurse education.
Align academic courses with your career pathway
Having embarrassingly failed my nursing final exams first time round, I eventually passed and progressed up a career pathway in neurosciences from staff nurse, team leader and Sister. My ultimate goal was to become a Lecturer Practitioner, which I did for over 22 years. To get there, I completed a part time degree, MSc and Post Graduate Diploma in Education, whilst working full time. Aligning academic courses to a professional career pathway gave me the best chance to progress my career goals, which still applies today.
I couldn’t do anything else
My 33 year nursing career has offered me the most amazing experiences and opportunities. I could never do anything else, the only thing I’m good at is nursing, being with people, supporting and guiding others, so thanks Mum. The 21 year old who failed her nursing finals would never have dreamt she’d go on to become a lecturer, write nursing books, start a PhD in Nursing and tweet this blog!
If you’re still with me, thanks for reading.
I wish you every success in your future career, where ever it takes you. Remember to go for those opportunities, whatever stage you are in your career, you’ve got nothing to lose and you never know where they’ll take you!
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