If you want to go into health and social care, your heart really has to be in it. You have to have commitment and really want to pursue it. But if you do you’ll find it’s absolutely worth it.
BSc Health and Social Care (Top-Up)
Carol Lawrence has had a long and varied career in the Health and Social Care sector. But when she wanted to start her own health care business, she applied to the University of Sunderland in London to top-up to a full bachelors.
If you want to go into health and social care, your heart really has to be in it. You have to have commitment and really want to pursue it. But if you do you’ll find it’s absolutely worth it.
"I’ve worked in the Health and Social Care sector for over twenty years now. But I actually started as a housekeeper in a hotel. I took a lot of pride in the work that I did there. I always made sure the rooms were cleaned perfectly and the beds made properly. One day, one of the managers told me that my care and attention to detail would work well in the care sector. That whole area was new to me, I’d really never thought about it before. I had a friend who helped me get an interview. The manager liked me, but they made it very clear how much of a responsibility it is, looking after people. They told me that I needed training to do it properly. That’s how I started in health and social care education.
I worked my way up through the industry, in a nursing home, a residential home and working with people with learning disabilities for ten years. It’s a great job. You get a lot of training. And you get to know the clients in a really interesting way. A lot of them can’t communicate verbally so you have to learn how to read facial expressions. You have to be quite emotionally aware and empathetic. You have to help feed them in some cases. You’re their voice. I now work in domiciliary care, and I love it there. I get to support people in their own homes, in the place that they feel comfortable. I love getting to know the people. They’ve got so much life experience. I’ve worked with doctors, teachers, police, everything.
After doing this job for so many years, my next step is running my own health and social care business working with people with mental health conditions. That’s why I’m at the University of Sunderland in London. I have all this experience, but I needed the qualifications to do it properly. I started with my HND in Health and Social Care, but I wanted to top it up to a full bachelors, which I’m working on now. Having a Bachelor's degree is really valuable because it’s proof that you know what you’re talking about.
Everything I’m learning at the University has been useful for my business. For example, one of our subject areas is around prescription drugs and how we can help people with mental health issues manage taking their prescriptions. I’ve found it really helpful."
If you want to go into health and social care, your heart really has to be in it. You have to have the commitment and really want to pursue it. But if you do you’ll find it’s absolutely worth it.
If you’re interested in topping up your HND, visit our BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care (Top-Up).
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