Social care nurse pursues dream career

When adult nursing graduate, Lisa Wynne, undertook an eight-week work placement at Belong Wigan, she was left inspired by the organisation’s person-centred approach to care, and upon graduating with an Upper Second Class Honours (2:1), was invited back to pursue a full-time role, as a newly-qualified nurse.
Having developed a strong bond with the team at the village, Lisa gained first-hand knowledge of the real work of nurses and a thorough insight into best nursing practice during her placement, which saw her embark on her dream career just two years later.
Originally from Wigan, Lisa, 36, carried out work experience at the care village during the first year of her BSc honours degree at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) in January 2017.
Commenting on her return to Belong Wigan, Lisa said: “I am thrilled to be joining the Belong team. Social care has long been my passion and I can’t think of a better place to live this out than Belong Wigan. Staff are fantastic to work with and the customer is very much at the centre of what the organisation does, which enabled me to truly build relationships. I enjoyed every minute of my placement and it feels so good to be back in such a supportive environment that approaches nursing in such a personalised manner.”
Prior to her undergraduate degree, Lisa achieved her diploma in childcare and education at Wigan and Leigh College and worked in a day nursery for a number of years. She then decided to fulfil her dream of becoming a qualified nurse and, upon completing an access course and re-sitting her maths GCSE, she enrolled at UCLAN in 2016.
Lana Welsh, support manager at Belong Wigan commented on the appointment: “Even as a first year student, Lisa’s care and compassion really shone through. We are delighted to welcome her back to the team as our newly-qualified nurse, joining us straight after graduating. We hope to offer many more work placement opportunities to all student nurses across the community.”
Belong Wigan nursing work placements offer the opportunity to acquire experience on peg feeds and medications as well as assisting the multidisciplinary team (MDT). Students also assist the team on the households, which offer 24-hour support, and experience a customer-focused approach to nursing. In her new role, Lisa provides palliative care as well as a full range of nursing duties.
The care village offers further work experience to students in the areas of social work, speech and language therapy, foundation degrees, employability skills and from local colleges.