Mature graduate talks about her career in nursing

Christine returned to education at the age of 38, where she completed a workplace funded Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care at the University. Four years later, Christine was given the opportunity to complete an Adult Nursing Degree here, funded by the NHS Trust she worked for.

Christine’s journey into nursing has not been easy. She longed to be a nurse early on in life but was unsuccessful initially so she started working as a Funeral Director. For the next two decades, Christine worked in various healthcare settings looking after dementia patients with complex needs.

Sadly, Christine experienced a family tragedy when her father died shortly after being diagnosed with oesophageal cancer and then, five years later, her brother was diagnosed with bowel cancer and died aged 39. Christine felt she needed a new focus and wanted to give back to the NHS after the excellent care and treatment her father and brother received during their illnesses. Due to this, she sought employment within the NHS and secured a role as a Healthcare Assistant at Royal Preston Hospital.

During her time at Royal Preston Hospital, Christine worked in a medical assessment unit and progressed to be a Band 4 Assistant Practitioner within her first year. This fuelled Christine to want to progress further and she decided to study a foundation degree at the University.

During her time at here, Christine worked at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as an Assistant Practitioner within the Endoscopy unit, as well as working for agencies running insourcing contracts across the UK within endoscopy units.

A few years later, after graduating from her foundation degree, Christine was promoted through the Widening Access to Nursing scheme which enabled her to become fully qualified in nursing with a BSc (Hons) Nursing with Registered Nurse (Adult).

After graduation, Christine applied back to the endoscopy unit at the Trust and was accepted back as a Registered Nurse. After just 14 months, Christine was appointed as Sister of the unit and then, after two years, was seconded to Chorley and South Ribble Hospital as Unit Manager of the Endoscopy Unit, where she managed a team of approximately 20 nursing staff.

Christine took the decision to leave the NHS in 2023 and now works for Remedy Healthcare Solutions as their Endoscopy Matron, where she leads the endoscopy teams to deliver innovative, high quality, patient centred care for diagnostic endoscopy services. Christine works to support new endoscopy services within the NHS  and beyond to provide additional capacity, reduce patient waiting times and help to relieve pressure on healthcare services and improve patient experience.

Commenting on her career journey, Christine said: "My biggest achievement in my career is working my way through every nursing level from Band 2 right through to Band 7. Seeing the work at every level really does give you a deeper understanding and insight into all the complexities within the NHS. It also makes you have an added respect for all the nursing levels within the hospital so I can communicate at many different levels, which has shaped me into the nurse I am today. Also, experiencing illness and loss within your close family makes you more empathic to all the patients you meet."

Reflecting on her time at University, Christine said: “I enjoyed my time at University, even if I was the oldest student in the village. I was 42 years old the second time! I wouldn’t be where I am today If I hadn’t studied for both of my degrees and had support from the University and the Trust.”

When asked about what advice she would give to prospective students, Christine said: “Don’t put anything off, do It now. There’s never a perfect time to study but it can be so enjoyable and the feeling when you achieve your degree is fantastic."