Today is Giftys story. Gifty is a Nurse Consultant in Mental Health. She is also a Freedom to Speak Up Associate Guardian.
'My mum always wanted me to be a lawyer, but after my first degree in English and Theatre Arts, I decided to be rebellious for once and do something for “me” and something fulfilling. Choosing to be a mental health nurse couldn’t have been any better. I naturally enjoy supporting and helping others and mental health nursing has given me the opportunity to do this daily.
My journey started in September 2000 in Bristol, at the University of the West of England. My first nursing Job was in a male forensic service in Bristol, and later on moved to work as a charge nurse in the women service working with complex women with complex needs. While working within the women service in Fromeside, I had a fantastic ward manager and service manager who really inspired me into leadership. They identified the potential in me and invested in my development. This triggered my passion for working with patients with complex needs.
In 2009, I moved to London to work as a clinical Nurse Manager in the Orchard, Ealing. This was an enhanced medium secure service for women with complex personality needs. This was the most enjoyable part of my career and the most challenging of all the jobs in my entire nursing career. It gave me the opportunity to think on my feet daily and work cohesively with my team to support vulnerable women with complex needs.
This job taught me the importance of risk management and taking positive risks. The complexities of the patients allowed us the opportunity to work well together as a team in a consistent way.
Following a period of time, I moved from the Forensic services and took an opportunity to widen my scope of nursing, journeying to the world of acute mental health nursing in Somerset. This role gave me the opportunity to lead an age inclusive service which was a great innovation and an amazing opportunity to do something completely new and different. The team were great and the challenge of bed management was a great eye opener, introducing me to a new set of skills. I learnt to work effectively with limited resources. It helped me appreciate the amazing work the NHS does with the finite resources available. This was a great chance to build on skills of working with other services and different agencies to serve the needs of vulnerable people. Having worked in Somerset for nearly 5 years, I was given another opportunity to develop further develop my career in nursing with Dorset Health care University NHS FT
Working as a consultant Nurse for acute inpatient mental health services has been a real privilege. Being a Consultant Nurse has given me an excuse to do as much clinical work as possible and this is what I enjoy most. I am still able to go to a ward and support nurses to care for patients without any pressure. My role allows me to work with patients and support staff to achieve excellent care. The bonus of working in a county with beaches all around you makes the job even more rewarding. I have the opportunity to walk by the seaside on my lunch break and this feels like having a holiday every day. I have no regrets in being a nurse. I am proud to be a nurse and grateful for all the opportunities nursing has given me to support patients in their most difficult moments. '
This is definitely better than being a lawyer by far in my view…..(shhhh don’t tell my mum …… as she is still waiting for my law degree…'
Gifty we are so glad you chose nursing.