A childhood dream written down in a notebook more than 20 years ago has become reality for a new children’s nurse.
Anna Beaumont from Dunfermline was just six when, while receiving hospital treatment herself, she wrote with her play specialist that one day she wanted to become a nurse.
Now 28 and a mum of three, Anna has fulfilled that ambition by joining the team at the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Royal Hospital for Children’s Schiehallion unit, caring for children and young people with cancer and blood disorders.
She is one of more than 500 newly registered nurses who have joined NHSGGC this autumn.
“This is the only place I’ve ever wanted to work,” said Anna. “This is literally my life’s ambition getting fulfilled.
“I wrote a wee biography with my play specialist when I was a wee girl and said that I was going to be a nurse. And here we are. I started in Ward 2 in September, and it’s been everything that I hoped it would be.
“The staff are lovely and the kids are great. This is me. I’m set.”
Anna uses personal experience to shape the care she delivers
Each newly registered nurse has their own special story and motivation for joining the profession. Some have been inspired through personal experience – like Anna – while others have seen nursing as a challenging yet rewarding career with constant personal and professional development.
Those who have joined NHSGGC will go on to support teams across all services in hospitals and in the community across all six Health and Social Care Partnerships.
Ward 2A/2B, where Anna is based, cares for children and young people with blood-borne diseases and cancers.
As someone who has experienced intensive healthcare as a child, and a mother of neonatal twins, delivering this specialist level of care has become a deeply personal ambition for Anna.
“I had kidney disease growing up and I knew I could be the nurse that I needed when I was younger, when I was alone in a hospital bed, when I was a teenager and embarrassed but still had to go to school with cannulas in,” she explained.
“However, when I became a mum, I realised that you’d do anything for your children and I want to be the person that goes into that child’s room and changes their day.
“Whether it be giving them some orange juice or just being someone to hug or laugh with. My whole purpose is to come in and be kind and good at my job.
“Oncology is something I’m interested in and I know I can be what the children there need me to be but I can also remember what it was like to be the patient, to be the mum because I am both of them, but I’m also now the nurse.
“The job’s very heavy emotionally but it’s the children who I’m thinking about. I’m making a difference to them and they’re making a huge impact on me. It’s a very valuable job and I’m genuinely buzzing I’m here.”
“The desire to provide the best care for others.”
Professor Angela Wallace, Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery at NHSGGC, said: “Nurses in NHSGGC work in teams across all services in hospitals and in the community across all six Health and Social Care Partnerships.
“They’re present at the most important moments in patient’s lives, from welcoming new babies into the world to providing care at the most sensitive times.
“Stories like Anna’s reflect the passion and motivation throughout our teams – whether that comes through lived experience or an innate desire to simply care for others.
“We’ve welcomed more than 500 new nurses this year and they all have their own stories to tell. It makes me incredibly proud to see the breadth of backgrounds within our teams but the one consistent motivation throughout is the desire to provide the best care they possibly can for others.
“I welcome all our new nurses for this year and wish them the very best in their careers.”
