Sara Dennis is joining the Teenage Cancer Trust ward at Addenbrooke's as a newly trained nurse, after many years working in hospital management.
I always wanted to be a nurse and never thought I was bright enough - so my husband applied for me as he knew I could do it."
Sara Dennis
49-year-old Sara has just completed her nurse training at Anglia Ruskin University. She says:
"My career before nurse training was working as a ward clerk at Addenbrooke's and before that working for the Emergency Bed Service for the Acute Neonatal Transport Service (now PANDA).
"Nurse training is a 3-year degree course and you are trained at various ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ sites both hospital and community to gain practical hands-on nursing experience alongside academic work at university.
"Applying for a job at CUH was really easy and straightforward and being given a job was amazing as it's been a long 3 years getting here.
"I think the main challenge will be the large change in going from student status to fully qualified registered nurse and learning the role I have been accepted for.Â
"CUH has been my home hospital for 9 years and it will be a real privilege to finally say I am a registered nurse working at CUH and working on the Teenage Cancer Trust ward."
It's absolutely amazing, it's been everything and more. I feel it's a real privilege to be allowed into people's lives when they're scared or poorly or vulnerable.
Sara Dennis
Newly qualified nurses like Sara are vital for this Trust and the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ and it's really important that we continue to support them and help to build their careers.
Lorraine Szeremeta, chief nurse CUH
Lorraine Szeremeta is chief nurse at ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Foundation Trust (CUH).
With more wards and orthopaedic theatres opening soon, she says there is a particular need at CUH for more nursing staff. She says:
"We are a Trust that's growing. We recently recruited our 12,000th employee and soon we'll have 120 new nursing and healthcare support workers staffing our 3 new orthopaedic theatres due to open later this year."
"Recruiting and retaining nursing staff is a challenge, and as with many other ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ hospitals we've had to widen our international nurse recruitment to help meet this, and bring down our vacancy rates but we also have a strong pipeline of newly qualified nurses like Sarah joining us too and hundreds more from our apprenticeship schemes."
For anyone considering a career in nursing I say go for it, it's never too late.
Sara Dennis