At last I’ve found the career I always wanted

After 25 years of hairdressing Zena Paterson now has her dream job, as an NHS radiographer

AT 16, after her GCSEs, Zena Paterson didn’t have a clue what to do, so she followed her father into hairdressing. It wasn’t until 30 years later that she finally found her vocation.

Now Zena, 46, from Basingstoke, is a year away from qualifying as a diagnostic radiographer. She admits getting there has been hard work, but she’s delighted to be on the right path at last.

“I knew hairdressing wasn’t what I really wanted to do. I even got a place at university to study counselling. But after much thought I changed my mind and went back to hairdressing. Then at 23 I started a family – I’ve got two daughters now, aged 24 and 14 – and it just fitted in around them.

Zena had already decided she wanted to move into the health sector when a friend joined the ambulance service and trained to be a technician.

“I loved hearing her stories,” says Zena. “It sounded so dynamic. I joined the ambulance service as a community first responder, giving vital first aid before the paramedics got there.

“Then, at an observation day in the cardiac lab at Basingstoke Hospital, the superintendent radiographer encouraged me to join as a radiology assis

tant, so I did – and

“I learned to prepare patients for scans, give injections, perform X-ray exams and more. After a couple of years, I applied for another job as a trainee assistant practitioner. I’ve just completed my diploma in Diagnostic Imaging, and enrolled to take my degree in Diagnostic Radiography next.”

People often comment about the big difference between Zena’s old and new jobs, but she says the gap isn’t as wide they may think.

“People might not realise how many transferable skills they have. As a hairdresser you hear clients’ stories, and listen and offer advice, so I was already on the path of helping people. I can talk to patients and calm them if they’re worried. I can share a joke and have a laugh.

“The imaging side satisfies the curiosity in me. With a CT scan I am the first person to see if, for example, someone’s got a brain tumour or cancer, and I can reassure them that this is, hopefully, the first step to recovery.

“I’d lost confidence as I got older, and when I first took the job as trainee assistant practitioner, I thought, ‘I’ll never be able to do this.’ Now I amaze myself at what I can do.

“I’ve worked so hard, but I now have a rewarding and fulfilling career. And it shows what I’ve always believed, that where there is a will, there’s a way.”