Being a Nursing Apprentice - A Training Hub Case Study
National Apprenticeship Week seems the perfect opportunity to share with you all a great example of how apprenticeships can help an individual to achieve their career goal and in return, for a GP surgery to be able to develop their own Practice Nurse.
Back in February 2020, Kirsty Dodd was one of our first primary care Health Care Assistants to join the Open University Apprentice Nurse Associate programme. Despite the additional pressures of the Pandemic and Lockdown, Kirsty gave her all to her apprenticeship which she saw as a stepping stone to enable her to achieve her goal to become a nurse. She joined Parkland Surgery in Rushden in November 2015, and had the passion and commitment to become a nurse, but as a parent with a young family, the traditional full-time university route was not an option.
The apprenticeship provided Kirsty with the opportunity to combine her academic learning with working in the practice, further developing her clinical skills and knowledge. She successfully completed her programme in February 2022 and became an NMC Registered Nurse Associate. But her success doesn’t end there! This qualification has enabled her to sign up for the Registered Nurse Degree Top-Up Apprenticeship and as we celebrate National Apprenticeship Week, Kirsty starts on her second apprenticeship with the Open University. All being well, in 18 months time, she will be a qualified nurse!
It goes without saying that alongside Kirsty’s own hard work and dedication, the support of her practice and her colleagues has been equally important. Mandy Hack, Practice Manager at Parklands Surgery said:
- “We could see the potential in Kirsty to upskill to become a Practice Nurse and the apprenticeship pathway has enabled us to support her development. It has been just as rewarding for us as a practice to be able to provide this opportunity and fingers crossed, we will gain a Registered Nurse!”
As a Training Hub we are really keen to encourage more colleagues to explore the benefits an apprenticeship can offer. When we asked Kirsty what she would say to others thinking about their own development and career aspirations, she told us:
“ Talk to somebody. I didn’t really know where to start or understand how an apprenticeship worked, but this has worked for me. It’s not an easy option but I have learnt so much, and my goal is in sight.”
If you would like to talk to us and start your journey, then please email the team