The Rewarding Side of a Career in Nursing and Midwifery
A career in nursing can be rewarding, meaningful, and full of progression opportunities. Take it from the people who know - nurses and midwives with years of experience (who also happen to be part of the LSBU Nursing & Midwifery teaching team). If their stories inspire you, take the first step in your own journey and explore our Nursing & Midwifery courses.
I qualified as a Learning Disabilities nurse in 1997, and I have met some of the most amazing people during my career.
I started out working in care homes, and this environment meant that I could get to know the whole person. The chap who laughed at my fashion sense had bipolar disorder which made him frightened of going out. I will always remember the day when I managed to coax him out to have dinner in a local restaurant. Later, I worked as a community learning disabilities nurse, and I worked closely with families, supporting them through good and bad times, and supporting them to make choices in the best interest of their family members. I also advocated for the people on my case load to ensure that their health needs were met. I worked with tremendous staff who were determined to get it right for the people with learning disabilities they supported. Now I get to see that same passion burn in our learning disabilities students at LSBU.
Renee Francis, Senior Lecturer and Deputy Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery
the most rewarding part of the job has always been seeing the positive impact I have had on the service users
I have worked as a registered Mental Health Nurse since 2016, and over this time I have worked in a wide range of services and gained an even wider range of experience including becoming an educated practitioner in peer-supported open dialogue, motivational interviewing, and trauma informed care. I also became an eating disorder specialist. And as cliché as it may sound, for me the most rewarding part of the job has always been seeing the positive impact I have had on the service users I have worked with, and the pleasure of working with some truly wonderful nurses. Speaking with a colleague at LSBU recently, I reflected on the individuals I worked with on the eating disorder unit. For example, how I cried with pride/joy waving goodbye from the hospital car park to a woman successfully discharged after being her named nurse for 2 years (on her request so she could feel like she was in a film). To be part of her recovery journey, from acute care to discharge will stay with me. And I still have her thank you letter which was 4 pages long, along with all the cards service users have given me over the years.
Beth Peacham, Mental Health Nursing Lecturer
There are many opportunities for sponsored career development - seize them, as I have!
My first job as registered nurse was in adult medical oncology, where I was sponsored to study BSc (Hons) in Cancer and Palliative Care. In my fifth year of practice, I was sponsored again to study a Post Graduate Diploma in Advanced Cancer Nursing, allowing me to progress into specialist nursing for prostate disease. In this position, I benefitted from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) scholarship for MSc in Clinical Research. Since continuing my career in academia as a lecturer and senior lecturer in nursing, I have been sponsored to complete a postgraduate certificate in education, a senior fellowship in higher education, and a professional doctorate in education and social justice. You can sense the opportunities for sponsored career development - something that you should look out for and seize when you join the profession, as I have!
Dr Victor Kpandemoi Abu, Adult Nursing Senior Lecturer
The most rewarding part of my job as a Midwife is the relationships built with women and birthing people - I have been asked to be a Godparent to babies
I became a Midwife later in life after a career in law and administration. I always felt I had more to give but it wasn't until I had contact with maternity services as a service user that I realised midwifery was what I had been waiting for! I qualified in 2014 and worked in an obstetric unit, in the community and at a standalone birth centre. The most rewarding part of my job as a Midwife is the relationships built with women and birthing people, so much so that I have been asked to be a Godparent to babies whose parents I have cared for. I also loved having students, and this is where my pathway into education started. People often say midwifery is too narrow a field and to consider the nursing route, particularly for younger students - but there is significant potential for specialism post Band 6 and at its core it has a very different philosophy to nursing. I am now a Lecturer and proud to be an educator at LSBU, and equally proud to say I am a Midwife.
The photo is of me and my nominee for the SNTA Student Midwife of the Year Awards 2023 - she won!
Amanda Mankletow, Midwifery Lecturer