Blog
My journey from combat medic to civilian nurse
Ever since I was a young girl in Ghana, I’ve been fascinated by healthcare. My journey to becoming a Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation (BHF) wasn’t necessarily a conventional one, but it’s certainly been an adventure that I wouldn’t trade for anything.
I grew up in a community where showing everyone respect, particularly your elders, was paramount. This has shaped my approach to life and how I interact with others. No matter what your role, but particularly as a nurse, showing respect translates as showing kindness, which people always respond positively to.
Moving to a new country has definitely been a major learning curve for me. It has been a great experience and I am so glad I have had the exposure to a part of the world which is in many ways different from the one I grew up in, but it hasn’t come without it’s challenges.
It wasn’t too long after I had moved to the UK that I realised that being a person of colour could spark curiosity about my background or ethnicity. At times reactions or comments regarding my race would take me by surprise and make me question why someone would react the way they did towards me.
This used to get me down. I have come to realise that I cannot change a person’s perspective, but I can always choose my response. One way by which I overcome such challenges is to remind myself I am not who people say I am. I see myself as a woman of purpose who has been strategically positioned to pursue the work I was meant to do. I believe each person has great value and something to add to their community whether they believe it or not. This is the reason why when I get knocked down, I don’t stay down but keep knocking on those doors of opportunity.
On the battlefield
After moving to the UK at 19, I joined the British Army as a Combat Medical Technician (CMT). I served for five years, where I provided primary healthcare to military personnel as a lance corporal. This role pushed me in ways I had never imagined, and I learnt things about myself I never knew. Most of all, I realised how I thrive looking after people, how resourceful I can be, and how I can adapt in uncertain and unfamiliar places. 
During this time, I completed a tour of Iraq. One of my main roles at the beginning of the tour was to provide medical support to soldiers on the base. This changed slightly during my second half of the tour when I joined the ambulance crew, which would go out to treat and transfer casualties back to the field hospital. As a CMT with the British Army, I also took part in a six-week exercise in Kenya providing medical care to local communities. During this time, my curiosity and passion for healthcare only grew. That was when I knew I would further my studies in medicine on my return to the UK.
So, in 2008, I accepted a place to enrol in a nursing degree at Southampton University after serving five years in the army, which acted as a steppingstone to my MSC at Imperial College London.
Digging deep
Throughout my journey, one main challenge which posed an obstacle was having to do all my studying in my own time, mostly after work. I realised it could be easy to throw in the towel, particularly when the going got tough. The thoughts of deferring a course to a later date seemed so appealing at the time. But, I stuck with it and the end result has been priceless. I came out with a distinction from Imperial College London.
Now, working at the BHF as a Senior Cardiac Nurse, I’m able to reach out and help people on a much larger scale than I ever thought possible. 
If there’s one thing I could tell my younger self, it would be to give yourself the benefit of the doubt. Don’t be quick to count yourself out of opportunities that come your way. As long as you have the passion for it, keep going. I love people, I love to care for people and perhaps that’s God’s gift to me.
I didn’t really plan for my journey to look like it does now. It’s almost like walking up the stairs. You take one step at a time and, before you’ve even realised it, you’ve reached the next level.
I must confess, I never knew how things would turn out for me. All I knew was to keep pushing on those doors. There will be times where you feel alone on the journey, but that is the time to dig deeper. Even though the journey sometimes felt like an uphill climb, looking back I now realise that nothing is ever wasted. Every experience we encounter along the way serves a purpose, and it’s our job to make the most of it.