My health career started in the Spring of 2021 when I worked in the community providing care for people in their own homes.
This was during the time when Covid-19 took hold and after about 6 months I decided to take a change in direction, to pursue a role in a hospital, following in the footsteps of my parents who also work in the NHS.
I joined Newcastle Hospitals as a healthcare assistant in November 2021 when I attended the HCA Academy and started my 2 year apprenticeship.
Spending time in the Academy was really beneficial – in particular getting hands on experience of different clinical scenarios with the simulation mannequins.
I spent two weeks with the Academy – the first week covered healthcare essentials, and the second week focused on the expectations of the apprenticeship.
I’ve found the apprenticeship program very thorough on guidelines and policies, which has helped me a lot and enhanced my skills.
My adjustment to working on the ward took time but my ward sister and colleagues helped me to adjust and my assessors have been very helpful in all aspects of my learning.
My ambition is to become a nurse and am currently working towards an ILM Level 2 Award specialising in understanding more about autism – once complete I’ll embark on Level 3 of that topic.
Once I’ve achieved that I can apply to become a Trainee Nursing Associate giving me the opportunity to do a 2 year programme – learning ‘on the job’ alongside academic studies – resulting in a foundation degree.
The future’s exciting!
#WeAreHCSWs
