Eleanor White is a Trainee Nursing Associate based at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle upon Tyne

“My journey within the trust started in 2018 when I completed a week’s work experience on different children’s wards. I felt so inspired by everyone I met and knew that working within healthcare would be my dream job.

After gaining a place on a children’s nursing course in 2020 and facing some personal challenges that led to me leaving the course, I thought this dream was out of reach.

Then in 2021 I was employed by the trust as a healthcare apprentice – the start of my journey.

I found my time in the Academy really helpful as it is great to visualise and understand how we would apply what we have been learning to working on the wards.

The healthcare apprenticeship programme has enabled me to develop my understanding of care and knowledge that I will be able to continue to build upon. I have been able to learn about all the different job roles and the importance of working within a multidisciplinary team to meet the holistic needs of every individual patient.

I have since been lucky to progress into the role of a trainee nurse associate in March of this year.

My base at the RVI but I have completed placements within elderly care and will soon work within palliative care and paediatric A&E.

Even though it is very challenging it is so much more rewarding and I cannot wait to keep growing my career within the trust.

Carley Kane is a junior sister in the North East

I started my NHS journey as a healthcare assistant, I get so much joy from helping and caring for others, so it was a delight to hear of the nursing associate apprenticeship.

When I was 15 years old, my dad died, and at this time there was a lot of emotional traumas. During that time, I was not fully committed to my school education, and struggled academically. I never would have dreamed I could pursue a career I genuinely adore.

The NHS has enabled me to fulfil my ambition, my manager was wonderfully supportive, and encouraged my development, applying for the nursing associate role was truly life changing.

I enjoyed the whole experience, acquiring practical skills with academic knowledge, and was engaged with every element of the course. Whilst I was a trainee nursing associate, I was the cohort rep for Teesside University, and feature on their website for my positive experiences. It was, and still is my mission to give my all within nursing, I took part in many extra voluntary learning experiences. These included being part of a patient safety group, a change team, and a nursing ambassador where I attended the Transformation Trust rock assembly – an event at Wembley to encourage young people into nursing.

Being a nursing associate felt like an honour, and a real achievement, as I felt part of the nursing family and well nurtured and developed. I enjoyed working within the scope of NA practice, the NA and RN roles are very different, so at this time, it was a gentle introduction in to nursing and it supported my professional and personal growth. This gave me the confidence to apply for the registered nurse degree apprenticeship (a different role), which I completed and continued to flourish throughout the course.

During my time as a registered nurse degree apprentice, I served as a staff governor, was one of the Council of Deans 150 leaders, awarded a safeguarding star by NHSE safeguarding team, won a global nursing excellence fully funded scholarship with sigma, and continued my support as a nursing ambassador. Becoming a registered nurse was a dream come true, I simply love our profession, it is a privilege to serve our communities and work within our dedicated teams.

I am now embarking on a new chapter as a junior sister, and this would not have been possible without such wonderful development within the NHS.

Emily Robinson is a Trainee Nursing Associate based at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle upon Tyne

I have two younger brothers who needed medical support at home so I was often involved with care which inspired me to work in healthcare.

At first I wanted to be a midwife so I went to Newcastle College to do NVQs in Health and Social Care – Levels 2 and 3 – but to take things further I needed a GCSE in Maths.

Through the ‘Bridges to Learning’ programme I was supported to do an online course and successfully gained this qualification.

I was now able to apply for a healthcare support worker role and started working in critical care helping to care for patients with conditions which were mostly neurological.

I decided I wanted to pursue my career further into nursing and successfully applied to be a Trainee Nursing Associate (TNA).

I started in March 2023 and my base is at the RVI – where I spend my time working alongside qualified nursing colleagues.

So far I’ve had placements in Haemophilia and Care of the Elderly at the Freeman Hospital and will spend time in the Diabetes Centre, the Assessment Suite as well as nursing in the community and health visiting.

The TNA programme means I work full time with University assignments when I’m not working.

It’s hard work but I think it’s a great approach – learning whilst you’re working.