Real-life story - Nadia Halley

My mother trained to be a nurse and told me lot about it as a career. She taught her lots of practical nursing skills too. I volunteered in India in the early 1990s, working for a charity that provided medical and nursing care for people living in slums. It was then that I decided to train to be a nurse myself and returned to England to start my training.

After qualifying in 2005, my first job was a community nurse before progressing to a district nurse role when the team I was in changed to be an integrated care team. Working in the community, I developed a wide range of skills, including palliative care, wound care and liaising with hospitals and other care providers. In my team we also provided a rapid response service during the evenings. After I qualified, I also spent some time in Malawi, using my nursing skills to help people.

After 18 months, I started an apprenticeship as a practice nurse part time, working as a community nurse the rest of the week. I began specialising in managing diabetes and have been a full time practice nurse in various clinics in Essex since 2009. I am now the senior practice nurse at Acorns PMS in Grays.

I love what I do and working with the wide range of people who walk through my door every day! I have patients from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Nepal, eastern Europe, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and from several African countries. A typical day could see me doing routine work like childhood immunisations, cytology and ear syringing, electrocardiograms and wound care. And I also look after people with conditions like diabetes and patients who may self harm or are homeless.

I enjoy knowing I’ve been able to help someone from another nation and the fulfilment that comes with making a difference to someone’s life and knowing it’s appreciated.