International Nurse's Day

"You get to support people who are often misunderstood”

NHS Grampian is celebrating International Nurse’s Day by encouraging more people to consider a career in mental health nursing.

Megan Ord (23), from Aberdeen, is a newly qualified mental health nurse. She followed a funded degree link route through college with NESCol and then studied the second and third year of her degree at Robert Gordon University (RGU).

“No two days are the same. You get to meet interesting people from all walks of life and make a real difference in their lives. I chose mental health because you get to support people who are often misunderstood and show them that people do care,” she says.

Megan worked as a health care support worker for a year before beginning her studies and has enjoyed continuing in this role part-time as well as taking part in a variety of student placements.

She explains: “It’s a very diverse field of nursing and there's lots of dynamics. Being adaptable to every individual’s needs means thinking about how you communicate and being creative coming up with unique treatment plans. It involves a lot of problem solving and working with families and carers – there is so much more to mental health nursing than what you see on the surface.

“We have an opportunity to develop strong therapeutic relationships, as we spend days, weeks and sometimes months with patients. Seeing the difference from admission to discharge, seeing improvements in people and being able to support patients rehabilitate into the community makes it all worthwhile.”

Asked what advice she’d give to others considering a career in mental health nursing, Megan says you have to be prepared to be patient, empathetic, understanding and non-judgemental.

“Try to gain experience in areas you think you may be interested in and speak to others who work in areas you are interested in,” she adds. Megan joins lots of colleagues who have decided to pursue a career in nursing after gaining work experience in another healthcare role.

In terms of her future career path, Megan isn’t sure how she’d like to progress yet but is reassured there are plenty of opportunities to be promoted. She explains: “There are lots of options I have looked into and I am definitely keen to progress in my career. The most important thing is I'd like to help reduce the stigma around mental health and help those who are often overlooked by society. I have always been passionate about caring for others and making a difference in people’s lives.”

To find out more about opportunities to work with NHS Grampian, visit: Apply (nhsgrampian.org) More about RGU’s mental health nursing course: Nursing – Mental Health Course with BSc Degree | RGU University – Aberdeen, Scotland, UK | RGU Details of routes into nursing through NESCol: Healthcare Practice - North East Scotland College (nescol.ac.uk) You can also learn more about volunteering with NHS Grampian: Volunteering (nhsgrampian.org)

International Nurse’s Day (May 12)

This is celebrated around the world every May 12, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth. The theme for the 2023 resource is Our Nurses. Our Future. It’s a global campaign which sets out what we want for nursing in the future in order to address the global health challenges and improve global health for all. We need to learn from the lessons of the pandemic and translate these into actions of the future.