#ThisIsMe - Betty-Ann Russell
Hello. My name is Betty-Ann Russell, and I’m currently the Lead Nurse for Ward Accreditation. I have been a member of our North Mid Family for 20 years. Here at North Mid, I believe we celebrate our differences regardless of religion, ethnicity and gender. We also understand that everyone is unique.
I am always eager to learn new things and to share my transferable skills with my colleagues, particularly student nurses in practice. When faced with challenges, I still maintain my sense of humour. Building relationships is one of my strengths as it also helped to build my career over the years.
"All I knew was I wanted to become a nurse"
Reflecting on my journey, migrating from Jamaica to the United Kingdom, all I knew was I wanted to become a nurse. One day I saw an advert for the role of physician assistant and so I contacted HR’s Gerry Lamb (head of recruitment) who kindly offered me an appointment. Unfortunately, I had missed the deadline and the job was closed.
A few weeks later, I received a call from Gerry informing me of a new vacancy to be a trainee healthcare support which would provide learning whilst on the job. I applied and began a level 2 NVQ qualification - and that was how my journey at North Mid began. I was introduced to Sampson Kofi Duah- who back then was one the facilitators.
Starting out
The very first department I worked in was the Dorothy Dixon Ward, a care of the elderly ward. My course was set to last for a year, but I successful completed it in just six month. One day the ward’s matron called me and another colleague (who is still working in the Trust) into her office to ask us about our future career goals…
For context, prior to joining the North Mid Family, I had applied to various universities through UCAS prior to December 2001 – at which time the immigration laws around bursaries had changed. Because of this, sadly all of my applications came back to me stating that I had been ‘unsuccessful’.
Feeling supported
The matron, after hearing my story, immediately contacted Middlesex University. I remember her saying to the person at the end of the phone: “I’ve got two young ladies in my office who I believe will become excellent nurses if given the opportunity.” All I had to do was to prove I had applied before the rules were changed. Thankfully, my application was successful.
I went through a preliminary interview in the Trust and was then offered a secondment lasting three years, in order to complete my nurse training. North Mid assigned me an internal mentor who supported me over those three years.
Over the years, I’ve transitioned from one role to another, all whilst upholding our Trust values. We live in a diverse society and for me, in order for an organisation to be effective, it needs to be diverse.
My journey and progress at North Mid is far from over: I am currently undertaking the Professional Nurse Advocate training course, with the aim to support our nursing workforce. Through leading and delivering quality improvement initiatives and providing restorative supervision, I hope to help our Trust’s response to service demand and changing patient requirements.