Amanda, Professional Careers Graduate with NHS Lanarkshire
If you had told me a few months ago that I would be standing in an Accident and Emergency department learning about hospital flow with two management nurses, I wouldn’t believe you and I would assume that I was in some kind of surreal dream waiting to wake up!
Now over a month into my placement with NHS Lanarkshire, I’m still pinching myself with a whirlwind of experiences and new faces.
Being in an acute hospital but not being a patient has been somewhat ironic for me. An on-going joke with my friends is that I was so often in and out of hospitals that the NHS decided to just to keep me there!
Not that long ago my life-long illness took its toll on me, shattering my life and isolating me in the process. My skin condition (atopic eczema) was misunderstood as an ailment but after two serious infections, I had given up on myself and resigned to the tedium of tri-weekly visits to a dermatology unit for photo-therapy in a vain attempt to control it and regain my health.
After years of on and off voluntary work (which really helped my confidence), and latterly a part time job as a classroom assistant, I felt ready to challenge myself since my degree in Journalism was left redundant and my degree certificate was gathering dust in the living room!
I found the GCIL Equality Academy completely by accident when my left arm brushed off my laptop when scoping employers. When I looked into the Academy it was as if it was what I had been looking for all along and I got excited applying, knowing that for once I could be honest about my condition rather than feeling that my application would be binned for mentioning ‘long term illness’.
I was shocked to learn that I had been short listed and began to feel a bit overwhelmed going to my interview in Dundee; luckily my best friend drove me there and reassured me the whole way plus knowing a familiar face , Kelly (now my Placement Co-ordinator), was there kept me at ease.
I had to read my job acceptance a few times to believe it as I was used to rejection emails! Thankfully the Academy arranged to keep me in the Lanarkshire area, not too far from where I live, which was great for my initial nerves!
Suddenly I was in NHS Lanarkshire HQ meeting all the heads of the service, from medical/ nursing to public health and HR. This really helped me to understand the organisation from the top down leading on to my now 3 month placement with Hairmyers Hospital in East Kilbride.
I have met some really lovely people here and some characters too! So far I have covered hospital management, nursing management, patient affairs and I’m currently helping to co-ordinate their first ‘Staff Awards’.
It’s been a strange but rewarding experience so far but I can’t thank the GCIL Equality Academy enough for their support and help into employment!
GCIL Equality Academy 