MY staff stories
Latest stories from colleagues across the Trust.
Proving it's never too late to learn
Debi is an Assistant Practitioner in the Interventional Radiology Department. She works as part of the nursing team and has come a long way since joining the Trust. She’s committed to fulfilling her dream of becoming a nurse.
She joined in 2002 as a domestic at Dewsbury, gaining her first insight into health and care. She soon moved into a care role as an auxiliary nurse, spending two years in outpatients before transferring to the high dependency unit, where she worked for 12 years.
During this time, life brought many challenges: juggling a full time job, caring for her grandad, and grieving the loss of her mum. Still, she pushed forward, completing her Level 3 in Health and Care and progressing to a band 3 role.
Having left school without qualifications after becoming pregnant young, she knew she needed to gain her English and maths to take the next step. Despite lacking confidence, she passed both, English quickly with maths taking a little longer.
Her determination paid off when she secured a role in radiology as an assistant practitioner in 2016. Her caring nature shone through, and she was offered the position on the condition she completed a foundation degree, bringing her closer to her goal of becoming a nurse.
Then the pandemic hit, and her career aspirations had to be put on hold while she cared for others. Despite this, she never lost sight of her goal. She chose to self fund her degree, delivered through blended learning, allowing her to continue working part time, something she couldn’t have done without the support of her management team, especially Emily.
Being an adult learner can be daunting, but Debi is flying through her course, receiving lovely feedback from her peers and tutors, bringing valuable life experience to her learning, and she’s already become the group’s unofficial mum.
Debi’s dedication to learning and growing hasn’t gone unnoticed. The University of Huddersfield recently nominated her for the Learning for Employability Award at the Kirklees Adult Learners’ Awards – and she went on to win it. Her tutors describe her as ‘a pleasure to teach’ and praise the way she inspires her peers, shares her experiences, and leads by example.
She’s approaching 10 years in the Radiology Team, and she’s known for helping to mentor those who are just starting their journey. She has also championed patient experience and created an inspirational piece of wall art, proudly displayed in gate 17.
Alongside this she raised £5,000 to support the installation of Visualites, calming ceiling lights featuring clouds and trees, which help patients with additional support needs to relax.
In 2027, she will not only complete her nursing degree but also reach 25 years with us.