Fatima

Being born with a heart defect meant that, from a young age, I spent quite a lot of time visiting and staying in hospital.  This experience made me want to get into Medicine and so working at St Bartholomew’s Hospital is a dream come true for me.

As part of my role in the Outpatients Department, I have various responsibilities. These include getting the equipment ready for procedures, calling patients and recording their height, weight and blood pressure, using the blood sugar machine and taking cannulas out. I’ve enjoyed being hands-on and have learnt so much, including skills I never thought I would learn. I’ve definitely surprised myself with how much progress I have made and I already feel so much more confident than when I first started.

A big part of what has made my rotation so great is my team. They are so incredibly supportive and I have a great relationship with them. Thanks to their support and encouragement, I feel at ease when dealing with patients and have improved my communication and customer service skills.

Working with patients has been very rewarding. I really enjoy chatting to them, especially if it makes their visit to the hospital less scary. Sometimes patients come in extremely nervous and I do my best to calm them down and reassure them. Often just a friendly face and a chat is all they need and I enjoy being the person who can help make their hospital experience better.

During my Employment Planning Meeting, my managers said that they were so impressed by how I always get stuck in and go the extra mile. They call me ‘busy bee’ because I’m so hard working and proactive. For example, there was one time when a translator for a patient didn’t turn up so I stepped in as I could speak their language and translate for them. It feels amazing to be useful and to make such a valuable contribution.

I didn’t particularly enjoy my time at school but now I am on Project SEARCH carrying out practical tasks, I am thriving.   I am learning something new all the time and I can’t believe how much progress I have made.

Project SEARCH has had such a positive impact on my life and has even meant that I get the bus on my own to the hospital each day. Before Project SEARCH, I never travelled far so the fact that I now have the confidence to travel independently is such a big achievement. I’m so thankful that I have had the opportunity to be a part of the programme and I can’t wait to see where it might take me next.