My journey so far as a student Learning Disability (LD) nurse has flown by so fast! It feels like yesterday was my first day and I remember walking into my first lecture not having a clue what to do. It makes me realise how much I have already learnt from my first year and a bit of studies and how many new experiences I have had the opportunity to explore.
People may ask you at different periods in your career or in those icebreaker questions, that everybody dreads, why did you decide to become a learning disabilities nurse? You will find that your answer may change and develop over your years of training. Mine certainly did. When I began my first year as a student nurse, my answer to this question was ‘I used to work with children with Autism and enjoyed it and wanted to care for people, so LD nursing seemed like a good option for me’. After my experiences so far, my answer to the same question has developed into a love for the field and I would say that so far in my LD career I have met some of the most amazing people, worked with the most amazing nurses and learnt so much that I would have never thought possible before I joined the course.
I have also learnt so much about the importance of building therapeutic relationships with the people we support and the effect we can have on someone’s day. I wouldn’t see myself ever doing anything else.
