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BUILD THE FUTURE – Deborah nurses an ambition to become a registered nurse
07/02/2021
“I did a little dance when I was accepted onto the Nursing Degree Apprenticeship because, finally, I had the chance to live my dream.”
Deborah Baggott, 50 from Gornal in Dudley, has nursed an ambition to become a registered nurse for 30 years and is now living her dream by studying for a Nursing Degree Apprenticeship at the University of Wolverhampton, with her studies funded by Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) through the Apprenticeship Levy.
Deborah is currently on a work placement in the Acute Medical Unit (AMU) at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton and is in her third and final year of the Degree Apprenticeship.
Deborah left school at 16 and started a Youth Training Scheme (YTS) placement at Dudley College for two years until getting married and having a family, giving up work to bring her three children up.
Having always nursed an ambition to be a nurse, when the children were older she began to study for a Healthcare Access course at Stourbridge College whilst working as a Healthcare Assistant in a local nursing home. She passed the course and started to study for an Undergraduate Nursing degree but again found it difficult juggling family life with studies so she had to give it up.
She started working as a Clinical Support Worker on the Respiratory Ward at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley and during the ten years she worked there, she applied for an Assistant Practitioner role which allowed her to study for the Band 4 Practitioner Nursing qualification – taking her one step closer to her dream job of becoming a Registered Nurse.
She said: “At the back of my mind, I knew that I wanted to become a Registered Nurse and when I achieved my Band 4 qualification, I knew I was a step closer. It had never been the right time for me. I had focused on bringing up my family and the financial situation had never been quite right for me to start studying again.
“I saw the Nursing Degree Apprenticeship at New Cross Hospital advertised on NHS Jobs and I thought I would apply to see what happened. To my surprise and delight I was offered the position and I did a little dance. This was finally my chance to live MY dream. It was time for me and now I’m living the dream and having a ball.
“I always wanted to be a nurse, and it’s not plain sailing, I think being that bit older I have to work harder, I have to do a lot more reading and my aim was to just try to pass assignments but I’m finding that I’m doing much better than I could ever have imagined. In my first exam I passed with 83% and I’m so proud of my achievement.
“The Degree Apprenticeship really helps with your nursing practice. I learn things in lessons and put those things into practice, and it gives me a real sense of knowing why I’m doing the things I’m doing. I’ve learned so much. I would definitely recommend this route to anyone – no matter what age you are, I’ve shown that you can succeed.
“I’m very proud of myself and the peer support, as well as staff at the hospital and personal tutors and lecturers at the University, and my family, has been amazing. Not only will I become a Registered Nurse in September, I’ve made friends for life.”
Find out more about how Degree Apprenticeships can benefit you or your business: www.wlv.ac.uk/naw2021
