It was 2014, I was 22 going on 23. I was in a dead end job working in a supermarket and had started to hate working there and knew I needed a change. Since I left school I had worked in opticians as an optical assistant and loved helping others 🤓
A job came up at an eye clinic at a hospital 1.5 hours away from my house. I had applied before for the same position but stupidly knocked it back a few years previous for a job in an office, that ended terribly 🙈
Anyway, I applied for the job and got an interview, the same day the called and said I had the job 😁 My role was a support worker at the eye clinic and I was very excited to get started. I started the job october 2014 and theres when I realised I loved caring for others 🏥
Fast forward a year, I was asked by a few of the nurses if I ever thought about training as a nurse. I laughed as no the thought never even crossed my mind 🤣 I always assumed I could never afford to go back to education or would not be smart enough. However, the curiosity got the better of me and I looked in to it.
Straight away I knew I could not just apply for university, I would need to complete my HNC Care and Administrative practice course at college first. So September 2015 I started my course at college part time in the evenings alongside working full time. This was the biggest test of my life!! 🙄
College almost killed me and no I am not exaggerating 🤣 The first year I was travelling 1.5 hours to work (2 buses) 🚍doing 37.5 hours per week. My college was just around the corner from my work so I would head there after work on Tuesday and thursday nights 6-9pm 😴 Then it was the dreaded 1.5 hour journey home. That's before I've even had the chance to eat, shower, study and sleep. THEN 2ND YEAR CAME!!! 😯😭
2nd year college was the same as 1st year but I also had the added pleasure of 12 hours of placement a week for 6 months to endure. Did I add on top of 37.5 hours of work and one night at college. Im exhausted writing this 😭 My placement started off in a care home but I knew deep down this wasnt for me. I started volunteering ontop of all the other activities I had going on at a horse riding school for children 🐎, this is were I realised childrens nursing was my calling. Luckily the college managed to get my placement changed to a special needs school in the end. So the start of summer 2017 I was singing songs and painting pictures in the school loving life 🎶🎨🧒
However I had applied for childrens nursing anyway at Glasgow Caledonian University the start of 2nd year. I was offered an interview and then successfully offered a conditional place. The condition was I passed my graded unit. The graded unit nearly killed me too, but I managed to get a C in the end. I was not bothered what grade I got aslong as I passed and got my place at uni. 🥳
So after 2 years of working full time, college part time and placement I was finally on my way to starting my training and to make it even better my fellow support worker at the eye clinic was coming along on the journey with me to study adult nursing ❤
Roll on September 2017 and I was starting my first day as a student nurse 😁
To be continued....
Comments
Post a Comment