One suggestion I would advise is do it for yourself. Have a passion to care because that is the most valuable thing. Don’t do it for the money, do it because you want to do it and you will be rewarded tenfold.
Published 30 November 2022
London
MSc Public Health
Angela Patricia Layne became interested in the fields of social care and public health after her mother had a stroke. She retrained as a phlebotomist and discovered a passion for helping and caring for people
One suggestion I would advise is do it for yourself. Have a passion to care because that is the most valuable thing. Don’t do it for the money, do it because you want to do it and you will be rewarded tenfold.
Published 30 November 2022
"My parents are from Barbados, they came here in the late 1950s. I went to school in London, I grew up in Lambeth and in 2014 I moved to Croydon where I currently live with my mum.
Before I started the master’s, I completed a Health and Social Care degree at the University of Sunderland [in London]. Before that, I worked delivering English and maths to adults.
My mum had a stroke in 2013 and I retrained as a phlebotomist. The reason why I became interested in social care is from my mother being ill and I wanted to give her the best care, to understand the policies, the rules, the dos, the don'ts. So, when people came in to care for her, I could monitor it.
When you hear about public health, it’s just one thing. But public health has everything to do with us as humans. It’s interested in our health – even sitting: is that chair right for you? Is that environment right for you? What you’re eating, what that can cause. What is the cause of something? What’s the rate people are going to be infected? It has all of that. It has something for everybody if you’re interested in it.
I wasn’t 100% sure what I wanted to do at the age that I am. I knew I wanted to help, I wanted to offer a service and what I was offering had to be the best. Again, I looked back at my mum and her needs and then I started looking at people in the community. Not only people that needed support from social care, but also individuals and what they can give.
One suggestion I would advise is do it for yourself. Have a passion to care because that is the most valuable thing. Don’t do it for the money, do it because you want to do it and you will be rewarded tenfold.
The university is a brilliant place, they’ll give you all the support. The tutors, the lecturers, it’s a community as well which is very good. Young or old can come here and study and achieve."
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