People's History of the NHS

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Portrait of Kyra Sims

‘I’m now coming to the end of my first year of nursing practice.
I didn’t always want to go into nursing; I only decided recently that I did. I didn’t want an office job. I wanted to be interacting with people a lot and helping children in a very practical way. I felt that nursing was something that matched my personality and aspirations. I could picture myself having a good career in it.

A lot of people in my family are nurses or have nursing backgrounds. My cousins, my aunties and my Nan.
So my Nan came over (to the UK), from Jamaica, as part of the Windrush Generation in her youth. She definitely knew, as a young girl, that she wanted to be a nurse but her family used to tell her she was too marga to be a nurse, haha! After many jobs, she became an auxiliary nurse. However, soon after applying to start her nursing training, she unfortunately fell ill and so was unable to accomplish her dream of becoming a nurse. With or without the recognised training, my Nan was still working hard to help others in need!
She encouraged me to do the same when I applied for my nursing degree and said that it would be difficult but it’s also a good thing to get into. Her support meant and still does mean a lot to me. I wish to have her strong-willed, selfish and hospitable spirit that will take me through my career.

Since being in my first year I’ve realised I like the role of the nurse more and more. I've particularly enjoyed being on ambulatory care where I was delivering care for patients pre and post-surgery. I gained a lot of experience and developed a lot of confidence in my nursing skills and communication.
Working alongside health visitors made me realise that a lot of children need protection and they’re very vulnerable, often through no fault of their own. It’s very sad and I believe it’s something that's been pressed on my heart to address. That experience has made me think that I’d like to go into child protection and child safeguarding a lot more, and potentially work with children with additional social needs.

I have chosen to specialise in pediatric nursing from my second year onwards, so I'll see how that goes.

So yeah, that’s me, basically!

Source:
All photographs copyright of Inès Elsa Dalal © 2019 www.ineselsa.com Commissioned by Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, 2018. No photographs or text may be referenced or published elsewhere, without prior permission.

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