A nurse who undertook Plymouth University’s Return to Practice course has praised the programme for helping her go back to her career.
Susann Hayes, a nurse at the Peninsula NHS Treatment Centre in Plymouth, has recently returned to the profession after a career break to raise her family – and it has been such a success for her that she wholeheartedly recommends the course to others in a similar situation.
Susann said:
“When the children became older and more independent I came to realise that I missed nursing and started looking into returning to the profession.”
She took advantage of the opportunities provided by the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s ‘Return to Practice’ initiative, designed to support those who have taken a break from their nursing career to re-enter the health workforce.
Susann said:
“I feel that the Return to Practice courses are an excellent idea for people like me who have taken a break in our careers. The opportunity has enabled me to brush up my skills while working in a hospital placement, and the lectures at Plymouth University have helped me to catch up on all the changes that have happened in nursing since I took my break.”
Susann, 45, from Horrabridge, was born and raised in Germany where she qualified as a nurse in 1990. She came to the UK in 1999 after a variety of ward placements, further training and education and a period living in the USA.
With her husband, she moved to Devon in 2005 and worked as a staff nurse at a residential home.
When she started her family of two children she took a break from nursing to raise them and to work with her husband in their family-owned tea rooms.
And, after careful consideration about how and where she was going to return to her chosen profession, she’s delighted with her experience.
Susann said:
“I have thoroughly enjoyed the course and was well-supported by my colleagues at the Peninsula NHS Treatment Centre during the placement and I am looking forward to continuing to work with them. I would recommend that anyone considering a return to nursing should take a look at the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s Return to Practice website, and also look at studying at Plymouth.”
Professor Bridie Kent, Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Plymouth University, said:
“Plymouth University is working closely with all the NHS Trusts and Health Organisations in the South West to ensure as many people as possible benefit from the Return to Practice course, and have had several cohorts successfully enrol this year. When people have the skills to do a good job in such a demanding profession, we’re delighted to help them update their knowledge, adapt to any new developments and help them re-enter nursing at the highest standard.”
Sue Farrell, Head of Nursing and Clinical Services at the Peninsula NHS Treatment Centre, said:
“We are delighted to have supported Susann with her return to the nursing profession and to have her join as a member of staff. There are thousands of nurses and other health care professionals out there who have taken a break from their careers and who may be thinking about coming back. My advice to them is to take a look at return to practice courses and go for it – their wealth of expertise and knowledge are vitally important to modern health care and the courses will give them all the updates they need to fit back in to the health care workforce.”
For more information about career opportunities at the Peninsula NHS Treatment Centre please visit http://www.careukhealthcare.com/healthcare-jobs.