‘Could Olivia be the fourth generation of nurse? It wouldn’t surprise me’
AMY TURNER, 27, LIVES IN BERKHAMSTED, HERTS, AND IS A SINGLE MUM TO TWO-YEAR-OLD OLIVIA
Iwas always interested in working with children so, when I left school, I brushed away Mum’s suggestions of becoming a nurse and went to college to study childcare.
But when I got a job in a nursery, I realised I preferred the caring side to the teaching. After a while, I became a community carer – but that involved a lot of travel and I wanted a base. So I got a job as healthcare assistant in a hospital.
‘You’d make a great nurse,’ one of the Sisters commented one day.
It was something Mum had said to me countless times but, this time, the words stuck. So I went back to university to do a degree.
I fell pregnant with Olivia halfway through the course, so that was tough, but
I went back and finished – qualifying just three days before the pandemic struck last year!
Technically, because of my heart condition, I should have been shielding but I didn’t want to. I could see how safe the hospitals were, with all of the PPE equipment and the strong, supportive teams. So I worked throughout.
And actually, I think I’ve learnt more by having to roll up my sleeves and get on with it, than I would have done in a pre-Covid year. It’s been hard work but it’s incredible seeing the difference you’re making to so many people’s lives.
Of course, I have bad days and it’s hard to switch off when you lose a patient. That’s when I’ll call Gran – she’s brilliant at talking me through it, as she’s done it all herself. Although some things have definitely changed. She’ll remind me to turn over patients who are bedridden to stop them getting bedsores, but now we have special mattresses to stop them.
I’d never pressure Olivia to go into nursing, but she’s already so caring and loves giving her dolls check-ups with her plastic medical kit, I wouldn’t be surprised if she did. It would be lovely to keep it in the family for another generation!