A Co Armagh woman says she would make the same career choice again having spent the last 13 years working in nursing and midwifery at the same Northern Ireland hospital.
Emily Hannity from the Nursing and Midwifery Workforce Team at the South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust was speaking ahead of a Nursing and Midwifery Open Day taking place next weekend.
Emily, 35, who is from Lurgan, is a qualified nurse and midwife, and has worked in the Ulster Hospital since 2010.
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"I first started working for the South Eastern HSC Trust 13 years ago and I've been here ever since," she told Belfast Live.
"I qualified as a nurse in 2009 and worked in that role until I decided to do midwifery in 2013. Two years later I qualified and worked in maternity for seven years until an opportunity came up to join the workforce team.
"My role now is as a retention and recruitment nurse."
For Emily, the journey towards a career in nursing started near the end of her school days.
She recalled: "I didn't really know what I wanted to do at that stage and toyed with a few career ideas. In my A-level year, an opportunity came up to shadow the nurses at Craigavon Area Hospital.
"My sister was doing nursing at the time while I had a few aunts who were also working in that area so I decided to give it a go.
"I was there for a week and absolutely loved it so I came away thinking that's the job for me. I applied for nursing at Queen's University and got in for my training.
"A few months after qualifying I got a job in the Ulster Hospital. Around ten years ago, the Trust was looking for midwives, which really interested me, so I went back to Queen's to study midwifery for 18 months.
"Within nursing and midwifery, there's so much progression and many opportunities to work in different areas. I love that variety and the people you meet are coming from all different angles of nursing and midwifery.
"It's obviously a very person-centred career, focused on doing the best you can for whoever is in your care. That's amazing to me and you get to meet so many different people from all walks of life.
"At this point in my career, I honestly couldn't see myself doing anything else."
If, like Emily, you're interested in a rewarding career that offers endless opportunities for growth and to improve patients’ health and wellbeing, the Trust is holding a Nursing and Midwifery Open Day on Saturday 3 June from 10am – 2pm in Trust Headquarters at the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald.
The event is open to those interested in a career in nursing or midwifery or those who are a registered nurse/midwife or student nurse/midwife.
You can come along and grab a coffee and a chat with senior nurses about what clinical area might suit you best and see for yourself how the South Eastern HSC Trust can help your career to flourish.
On the day you will have a chance to hear from staff in operational areas right across the organisation and learn about how you can be supported in your nursing and midwifery career within the Trust.
Staff from Paediatrics, Midwifery, Mental Health, Learning Disability and Adult nursing will be on hand to answer any questions you may have.
There will also be the opportunity to see what support is offered as a newly qualified nurse and the opportunities for career development.
Assistant Director of Nursing and Midwifery, Roisin Devlin said: “Within the South Eastern HSC Trust, we offer a huge range of opportunities and benefits in a genuinely supportive and innovative working environment.
“We have recently opened a brand new Acute Services Block and a new Macmillan Cancer Unit which offer a state of the art environment for both patients and staff.
“This really is a fantastic opportunity to work in a bright modern setting. The South Eastern Trust is big enough to develop your career, yet small enough to feel like a family.
“We are looking forward to welcoming both existing nurses/midwives and student nurses/midwives to our open day.”
Further information on the open day can be obtained by emailing Nurse.Recruitment@setrust.hscni.net.
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