WHY I LOVE BEING A NURSE

To celebrate Nurses’ Day, Deb Panes, 42, explains how she found her calling

- FRANCESCA WOODSTOCK

Holding a stethoscope to a tiny baby’s chest, I listened in complete awe to the gentle thudding of the heart. ‘That’s amazing,’ I grinned, looking up in wonder at the midwife.

Aged 14, I was on a work experience placement with a friend’s mum in the Midwifery Unit at our local hospital in Bristol. It was a great opportunity and I felt privileged to get real-life experience of what it was like to work on a Maternity ward.

I’d never considered what I wanted to do for a living, but after a week of hands-on jobs, like changing nappies and listening to newborn babies’ heartbeats, I felt inspired to go into healthcare.

KEEPING A CLEAR HEAD

I chose A-Levels that enabled me to go into nursing and, after four years of studying at the University of West England, I qualified as a nurse.