PAST CARING
 Past
Caring
Florence Nightingale Museum - Saturday 9th October and Sunday 10th October
Mary Seacole was a nursing pioneer from Jamaica who overcame the prejudices
of her day to play an important role in nursing the wounded during the Crimean
War. Is her example something that can inspire others to follow a career in
the caring professions?
Mary Grant Seacole was born in Jamaica in 1805. When the Crimean War broke out
in the 1850’s, Mary repeatedly offered her services as a skilled nurse,
but was repeatedly rejected by Florence Nightingale. Mary made her own way to
Crimea where her skilled efforts as a nurse eventually earned her a Crimean
medal.
Thankfully, the long overlooked work of this early nursing pioneer is finally
being rediscovered. If you are interested in learning more about this special
woman and her life, why not take a look at some of these sites…
At the
Mary Seacole Centre for Nursing at Thames Valley University
Or this section on the International
Womens Month site
During October, Black History Month, there will also be a special all day event
held at the Florence
Nightingale Museum to celebrate the lif of Mary Seacole. Full details of
the day’s events are located here...
The Problem For Mary
One of the things that we can learn from Mary Seacole’s life is that huge
barriers can be overcome if we really have our ambitions set on a goal or vocation.
Like Mary, there are probably many of us who secretly think about a career or
study in a caring discipline like nursing, but only see the barriers; we think
that we’re too old, we think that we might not fit in with the kinds of
people in those sectors or that there is no point because we lack the right
qualifications. Unlike Mary, many of us allow those barriers to become a reason
to stop trying.
It seems ironic that at a time when there are great shortages of nurses and
skilled staff in London, some of us who think that we would actually be quite
good at these jobs, hold back from getting the skills because we see only the
barriers.
Although finding and getting accepted onto the right course in a caring career
can be very difficult and a big commitment, the barriers may not be as great
as they seem. In west London there are both a number of IAG services that can
advise us on routes into these careers and a number of courses.
Thames Valley University, for example is running a number of courses to provide
access to a qualification in a health discipline such as nursing. If you think
this might be of interest to you, why not take a look at the details for the
course run at the Ealing
campus here or for those relating to the course at the Slough
campus here.
If you would like more general information on careers in the NHS and what you
will need to achieve to work in a profession like nursing, why not check of
the NHS Careers
Website.
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