After a relatively depressing first day at University, as the scale of the next year really hits home, I’m sat here already onto my second glass of wine!!

To try and gloss over the day, I’ve been catching up with some Youtube favourites.

Not a lot of people will know that an interest of mine is Swimming, diving and gymnastics.
Believe it or not, I used to do gymnastics!! I really enjoyed vaulting.

When it comes to competitions and the Olympics, I have always favoured swimming, diving and gymnastics.
Forget track and field events and winter olympics. As exiting as they are, I just love swimming, diving and gymnastics.

Two of my favourite Vloggers are Tom Daley and Nile Wilson.
Such enthusiastic and incredibly talented young men with a personality that just bubbles over into their Vlogs.

Both had new Vlogs to catch up on today.
Tom has been competing in China. His first official competition of the year and his first Vlog tackled jet lag!!

However, it was a Vlog from Nile Wilson that struck home.

In this Vlog he talks about the importance at looking where you came from and where you are now to truly understand how far you’ve come!!

As I sat here and thought about the last ten years, I have stunned myself into submission.

Ten years ago, after being a stay home mum for over 12 years, I was in the right place at the right time to find a job that I had no idea I would end up loving.
Paediatric Health Care Assistant.
Yes it’s tough and there are days where I wonder what I’m actually achieving, but when all is said and done, I do love my job and the people I work with and I wonder where I would be now If I’d found it 25 years ago!!

When I look at how the job has changed for me personally in the last 10 years, I began to understand exactly how much I’ve learnt.

I got the job with no official qualifications.
My job was very basic.
Help to keep people happy. Clean and make beds. Do basic observations and make sure the stock levels are OK.

In ten years, the amount I’ve learnt is unfathomable.
I can now look after a surgical patient from admission to discharge. The only thing I can’t do, because I’m not ‘qualified’ is pick them up from theatre and give them pain relief.
If anything out of the ordinary is required for ordering, I’m the ‘go to’ person and I know what all the stock is for!
If Doctors need help, I’m the ‘go to’ person If I’m around.
I now officially have a level 3 qualification to back up my on the job learning that I did a couple of years ago and I have been gently pushed by several work collegues to take things a little further, which is how I ended up doing the new ‘Trainee Nursing Associate’ foundation degree.

It’s a two year course which will see me able to do ‘some’ medications and I will have a pin number and be totally accountble for my actions.
A scary prospect, but one I feel ready for.
It will at least mean that I can completely take surgical patients from admission to discharge and be recognised in my pay band for the work I do.

I found the first year at level 4 a real challenge but I managed it. I passed with ‘A’s and ‘B’s and only one ‘C’.
I must admit, I impressed myself.

However…….

Today I started year two. We had a run down of what is expected this year and got our timetable of events that re-iterated the little melt down I had a couple of days ago.

As I drove home, I wondered if it was all worth it and then I watched Nile’s Vlog about looking back and taking stock of what you’ve achieved and I realised just how much I’ve grown personally in my unexpected career and I realised, ‘I CAN DO THIS!!’

It’s going to be an incredibly tough year but at the end of the day….. It’s only a year!!

I may have a few wobbles along the way but I know that I have the support I need from work collegues.
This time next year I will be qualified.
I ‘WILL’ be picking those patients up from theatre.
And I know I’ll be a hell of a lot more relaxed!!!