Thank you so much for popping over and joining my nursing journey! I am so excited to share the next three years of student nursing life with you all.
My name is Jessica. I am 26 years old, a first-year Adult Nursing Student at the University of Wolverhampton and mother to my five year old daughter.
For a considerable amount of time - even before starting my nursing degree I knew I wanted to create a blog to document everything, mostly to be able to look back one day at the highs, lows and great memories made! To be able to connect with other student nurses and anyone interested in what we get up to.
Nursing for me was never a set-in stone future career, and if anything, it has been a bit of a topsy turvy journey! Wanting to become a nurse was a gradual realisation. There was no underlying, exciting reason or story behind it. As time went on, nursing just seemed to be the perfect fit.
In 2013 I completed an Access to HE Diploma in Nursing and Healthcare, alongside the course I volunteered within residential care and later on was accepted onto the BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing course. This was one of the proudest moments in my life!
Around about six months into my degree I sadly made the decision to leave the course due to personal circumstances and becoming pregnant with my daughter, which I since then awaited a more suitable time to re-apply with the hope to one day become a qualified nurse in the future.
When my daughter turned four, I had been in my office job for nearly four years, but I started to overthink and debate on whether I was truly happy there. I had to face the fact office life was no longer for me, for months I felt utterly lost with no real clear direction going forward.
I was clearing out my wardrobe of all things one day and emptying old handbags which I hadn’t used for some time, and randomly out fell a boxed fob watch which my parents had brought me years previous for Christmas. It hit me. I sat there in utter silence and had the most overwhelming feeling. I just knew that nursing was the lost piece, I knew that it was the right time to go back and complete my nursing degree.
That same day I sent off my UCAS application and now here I am!
I have always known that I wanted to make a difference in my job and within the career path I choose to take, but being in a role that changes lives and has the opportunity to make even a slight positive impact is something I have always wanted and dreamt of doing.
I have worked within office-based settings for most of my working life and since leaving the course many years ago, the thought of being able to one day come back at a suitable time was something I held onto.
As a single parent, the thought of going back to University was so utterly daunting, but honestly, I am four months in and already I know it’s the best thing I ever did!
No matter how crazy and upside down your journey is, not just in nursing but in life! Pursue your dreams!
I would love to hear about how you started your nursing journey!
- Jessica X
