Nurses Work in So Many Settings Some You Would Not Think Of
Julie is an amazing nurse who has worked in areas of nursing not often spoke about and would not be typical of what people imagine when considering nursing, prison healthcare.
Here is her story
My journey into nursing was fairly traditional. My father was a general nurse, trained in the RAF, although I recall being told my primary school classmates that he must be a doctor because he was a man.
I wasn’t entirely sure it was for me and had considered tourism but having volunteered on an orthopaedic ward for 2 years I had the experience that stood me in good stead at my university interview, securing a place at Birmingham.
Whilst studying I worked as an agency healthcare assistant and recall meeting an elderly patient on an oncology ward. He was clearly quite lonely and I talked with him about his family in Australia and saw pictures of his granddaughter. He told me I was the first person that had spent time with him and I knew then that I wanted to be able to help people emotionally and physically.
My first mental health placement was in a medium secure unit and I absolutely loved it, even being slightly disappointed when I had a day off! So I picked the mental health branch and never looked back. It led me from medium and high security into an extended time in prison health which brought together in my role physical and mental health as well as substance misuse.
Now I’m back in mental health and am leading on the physical health of our mental health patients.
It’s demonstrated to me the need to refocus on holistic care where my journey in nursing began.
Fair breakdown of just how diverse nursing roles can be beyond the traditional hospital ward. Pointing out less obvious settings like occupational health, forensic units, and school nursing really shows how broad the qualification actually is. Getting a handle on all these different career pathways takes time though, and balancing clinical placements with theoretical studies to do my nursing assignment tasks before major deadlines can get pretty overwhelming for students trying to map out their future. It’s a great reminder that bedside care isn't the only option after graduating. I’d be curious to know if most nursing students start out aiming for general hospital wards first before transitioning into these more niche community and specialist roles.