Career Profile: Tanya Strange, Newport

Why did you become a nurse?

I was working as an unregistered ‘Officer in Charge’ of a residential home and over time many older people coming to live in the home had dementia. Our workforce were not skilled to manage this condition and I really wanted to learn more about it and be able to support people with dementia.
I qualified as a psychiatric nurse in 1991.

What did you do on qualifying as a nurse?

On qualifying I was employed on an adult mental health ward. I really missed caring for older people and I soon secured a post on an older adult mental health ward. Within a year of qualifying, I was approached to take up a position of matron in an EMI nursing home. I spent 4 years in this position and really enjoyed it. It was a massive learning curve, and I really grew professionally. I left to re-join the NHS and was then employed in the substance misuse service.