“Dear Nurse, True Stories of Strength, kindness and Skill"

A love letter to nurses and midwives everywhere.

Produced by the Royal College of Nursing.

A Kind, Cheery Voice

Victoria White, Clinical Nursing and Quality Manager

I was always lucky to know growing up that I wanted to be a nurse. I remember friends calling me crazy – “How can you deal with blood and sick?!” I always a fallback that if nursing failed me then I would become an air hostess as I could still look after people.

This motivation to become a nurse came form personal experience. As a young child I spent time in hospital and many days in my local doctor’s surgery waiting to sere my doctor or nurse who, by the time I was ten, knew me rather well. I remember sitting there one day hearing the phones ringing and the quiet chatting of patients in the waiting room – but the voice that stood out the loudest was the kind cheery voice of my local practice nurse. I remember saying “I want that to be me one day.”

In 2004, I started university on my chosen adult nursing course and those years gave me the experience and skills to start my nursing career. My career took me to many places, working in hospitals and the community. I was able to meet a lot of interesting people from all walks of life and learn a lot. However, I always knew that nursing in doctor’s surgery was where I wanted to. In 2016 I started my first nursing role in that same surgery I attended as a child. The same doctor who I had seen when I was younger was still there, though a little older and nearing retirement. I was then that nurse who started to see the children of friends I went to school with and the parents of those friends. I started to become the constant and recognisable friendly face, even when not at work.

Practice nursing gives the opportunity and privilege to support everyone when they are well, but also when people are at their sickest and in a moment of need. I have seen children grow and others pass on, but I get to know the families and their needs.

I have now moved on from my local surgery to expand my career in leadership in general practice and support new nurses and healthcare professionals, but the job remains the same – caring for the local population as a practice nurse, which I feel extremely honoured to be.

I am always grateful to those in my childhood who inspired me to become a nurse through kindness and caring ways and I am always hopeful that I too can pass this passion on to the next generation.