Chapter 17

‘Education is the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom.’ Oprah Winfrey.

As you’ve probably realised by now, my education and training didn’t stop once I’d qualified as a nurse. Almost immediately I completed a multitude of teaching and assessing qualifications and completed my Bachelor of Education Degree [with Honours] in 2001.

In 2004 I commenced my Master’s in Specialist Community Public Health Nursing – Occupational Health. In 2006, I literally had six weeks to submit my nursing portfolio and my anxiety levels were particularly high. My portfolio ultimately became in excess of 20,000 words, a massive task, and I didn’t have one line written. In absolute despair, at the time I saw an advert for a level one Reiki course and joined it.

Reiki is a form of hands-on or hands-off therapy, designed to reduce stress, enhance
relaxation and promote healing. They
say that Reiki finds you, and for me,
that was certainly the case. I loved
the experience as it created a sense of
calm in my life that was missing at that time. After completing the training, I
went home and started my portfolio
and submitted it on time, getting a
merit grade for my efforts, all the while practicing self-reiki as a means of helping to keep my stress levels to a minimum. I still practice self-reiki today, when my stress levels reach fever pitch. I then went on to complete level two training and in 2010, I completed level three and became a Reiki Master Practitioner in the Usui form of Natural Healing.

In 2007, I completed a Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support Course, designed to train healthcare professionals to care for those seriously injured before ambulance crews arrive. At the time I was working for a high-risk organisation and considered I needed the extra skills of pre-hospital trauma management, so I was prepared for any eventuality. I walked through those doors along with about 20 other colleagues and wondered what the hell was in store. I was soon to find out.

This is probably the most challenging and the most stressful training course I have ever attended. I literally paid for the privilege of metaphorically being ‘scared to death’. It was a three-day course, working with primarily ambulance crews, and fire fighters. I was so out of my depth, it felt like I was drowning in a swamp. I remember calling my friend and bursting into tears due to the sheer level of anxiety I felt at the time. Well, unbelievably I passed both the theory and practice elements of the course and I have to say I was flabbergasted. I was told at my feedback I behaved as good as any trauma nurse they had seen.

The third day was essentially a fun day, working with paramedics and fire fighters rescuing people from simulated ‘car crashes’. It wasn’t obligatory to take part, which I was grateful for and instead I sat behind the ‘car crash victim’ holding her head steady and talking to her. I was told I had done a great job keeping her calm. It was a surreal experience being cut out of a car and although it’s 16 years ago since I did that course, strangely enough, I would love to do it again. Of course, there would be less pressure now than previous, so I might just enjoy it.

In 2021, I embarked on a postgraduate certificate in Health Coaching and Behaviour Change with York St John University. Health coaching is becoming increasingly popular as we attempt to reduce the health risks associated with smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity; to name but a few. Health coaching aims to create a collaboration between the patient and the health coach, the aim of which is to enable the patient to create their own achievable goals, self-manage their own health problems, and change behaviours accordingly. Not simply those associated with addictive type behaviour but any long-term condition [or short term], including diabetes and arthritis.

In 2023, I also achieved my second master’s; this time in Education. With a distinction no less, a very proud moment.

I also decided to apply for the Rosalind Franklin NHS Leadership Academy Award in Senior Healthcare Leadership. My manager told me it was an ‘itch I needed to scratch’. And she was right. I passed. There were some great senior leaders in my cohort, their passion for appropriate care and the love for the NHS shone through, but I truly wonder what they will do with that course and whether they will strive and be successful at improving the care of patients, as they get dragged back into the cacophony of change, insurmountable problems, waiting lists, angry patients and equally angry staff. I truly hope so.

It’s easy to criticise the NHS, but I have received nothing but good care for a number of ailments in the last year, usually poor communication and cancelled appointments are the main issue. I wonder if the NHS has ever considered trying to work out the cost to the nation of those appointments cancelled and to the  lives of those involved. It’s quite alright for the NHS to tell us every day how much missed appointments cost the NHS, but how much does cancelled appointments cost the population.

Finally, something completely off the scale. I qualified as a civil celebrant in 2019. It had become
an interest of mine and at the time I was drawn to starting my own business.

Civil celebrants, depending on their qualifications perform a number of different functions, including leading funeral service[s], the aim of which is to celebrate the life of the loved one, and may include favourite poems, music, prayers, hymns, readings and stories that remind mourners of a full life led.

They can also help couples celebrate their wedding day, but they are not allowed to marry anyone. Civil celebrants also undertake naming ceremonies, milestone ceremonies in fact any event where an additional person might be needed to help support the event and ensure everything runs smoothly. I had a civil celebrant help me manage my 60th birthday. It was great and certainly different.

We worked together to create a wonderful narrative about my life and the various things I’d got up to. We had to cut it down a bit, with 10 or more pages, it would have bored my guests to death. We managed to cut it down and it went like clockwork. Well almost! We were interrupted by the compere of the club selling bingo tickets. Twice!!! It was funny. Such events simply add to the rich tapestry of life. Don’t they?