career profile

Why did you become a nurse?

I wanted to be a nurse from an early age as I loved bandaging my family, dogs and cats.

How has your career developed since you started nursing?

I completed my nurse training in the Royal Air Force and was then posted to Germany where I met my husband. I lived there for over 25 years. Initially, I nursed in a military hospital but eventually moved into practice nursing. It was during this period that I developed an interest in respiratory nursing. None of the staff there had formal training, so I contacted drug reps in the UK to ask if they would come to Germany to give us asthma training. One company replied. The interest spread to the other medical centers throughout Germany, and many signed up for the the asthma training. I completed the Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease diploma by distance learning from the Respiratory Training Centre in Warwick. We arrived back in the UK in 1996, where I started work on an orthopaedic ward, completing an orthopaedic course-the 998 and City and Guilds 7307 teaching and assessing course. In 2004, I came to Doncaster to become a respiratory nurse specialist. Here I completed the MSc in respiratory nursing and NMP training. Five years later, I became Community Matron and completed the MMed Sci. I wanted to continue to nurse patients but with more autonomy and gaining managerial experience.