My name is Michael Georgiou and I have worked in St Ann’s hospital for over three years now. I work within an acute patient setting on a female recovery ward which can be very busy, which I enjoy as I find it hard to sit still for too long! I really enjoy working with patients and being able to support them whilst they are on the ward, as well as being involved in their recovery supporting them towards a safe discharge.
My experience prior to working for Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust was working within a general hospital setting within stroke and elderly care, which I did for several years. I worked within two different roles doing this, firstly as a health care assistant and secondly as a therapy assistant. Working within these roles gave me a good grounding working in busy acute wards and also a good basic medical knowledge. Prior to these roles I spent many years working as a youth worker, working in both supported housing and the voluntary sector.
Mental health was always something that had interested me which I wanted to learn more about. My Mother has a mental health condition so I have a good understanding of how this can affect an individual and their families, which is my main motivator for wanting to come into mental health services, as well as wanting a change and a new challenge. Having these personal experiences also prompted me to initially work with young people and help them through more demanding times in their lives.
Since becoming employed with Dorset Healthcare I have had the opportunity to develop further skills and work on my continuous professional development. I wanted to keep building and continue to learn and develop and was initially put on a level 3 mental health certificate course which I thoroughly enjoyed. Following this I wanted to keep the ball rolling and continue to learn and actively sought further opportunities within the Trust. I began an Access course in September which I completed and made applications for university following this. It was then that the Trust brought out the “Nurse Degree apprenticeship” which I was prompted by my wife to apply for, and which I was successful in gaining a place in and began in September 2018. This is something I feel very fortunate about, and am happy that the Trust is supporting me to learn and develop further.
So far everything is going well with the course, initially getting to grips with the content, such as the modules and how the learning process works was a bit daunting, but I now feel more confident that I have got to grips with things. I began in September 2018 and am now in my second placement which has given me the opportunity to see how care is delivered in different settings and how different teams work.
Knowing that I am working towards becoming a mental health nurse is something I am very excited about, and I am enjoying the learning process along the way and gaining more confidence to support me with the care that I provide to my service users.
Again, this is an opportunity I am extremely thankful for and am looking forward to becoming a qualified nurse within the trust providing first class care to our service users. I would also like to encourage those who may have an inkling to want to go on and train further, please speak with your managers and the learning and development team if you are interested. Also speak to colleagues that have started an apprenticeship, or email myself if you wish to know what the course entails and how it is delivered. It is very flexible for those with families and can work around you, so please enquire and best wishes regarding your continuous professional development.
