I worked on a neurosurgical ward and on an ENT ward, and enjoyed every minute of my time at Frenchay. I later trained as a physiotherapist at Bristol Royal Infirmary and subsequently worked for Bath Corporation and at Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

Amongst other things, my post in Bath involved providing hydrotherapy in one of the ancient hot spring pools. It was a therapeutic experience for me as much as for the patients and wonderful to be working in such historic surroundings.

At Southmead Hospital my post was more conventional, providing physiotherapy for both inpatients and outpatients. One of my most significant memories was of the teamwork apparent amongst the nursing staff in days when members of the other professions played more of a fringe role.

My personal circumstances changed in 1969, and I decided to make a career change so began my nursing training at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in May 1970. Most people thought it quite extraordinary to move from physiotherapy to nursing, but I had no doubts about my decision and looked forward to a different career but in familiar work settings. In those days it could be difficult to get a place in the famous London teaching hospitals, but my physiotherapy training meant that I had evidence of the required academic standard, which was an advantage. I remember coming to Barts one winter evening and walking into the square. It was cold, but very tranquil and I knew then that Barts would be my training school of choice.

We all started at the Preliminary Training School (PTS) in Hertfordshire. Piggott's Manor was an Elizabethan manor house set in leafy grounds and later bought by the Hari Krishna people. We wore our uniform all the time and received our lectures in a series of elegant paneled rooms.

There was even a bandaging room, sporting artificial legs, arms and heads which emerged from the walls at all sorts of angles. We spent one day a week on what would be our first ward placement. The reality of life hit us rather hard when the days at Piggott's Manor were over, and I remember how much my legs ached after the first few days of full-time work on the wards. However, I loved my training. The ward sisters (no male nurses in those days) were all very experienced. Some were rather terrifying, but the best role models were those who managed to combine fairly strong discipline with great compassion, commitment, maturity, intuition and knowledge. Some of those times were character-building stuff.

Student nurses staffed the wards on night duty, supported by peripatetic night sisters and I recall being in charge of Dalziel Ward (male medicine and oncology) when I had been training for 18 months. The other student with me was undertaking her first ever set of, night duty. I'll never know quite how we  and the patients  survived!

Reflecting on my training, I can say that I gained a breadth of experience and knowledge and all activities were highly structured. Everything was task orientated, but the advantages were that all nursing care was carried out, nothing was forgotten and everyone on duty knew everything of importance about every patient.

After qualifying in 1974, I worked as a staff nurse and senior staff nurse (called a pink because we wore pretty pink dresses) on Lawrence Ward at Barts which was part of the Surgical Professorial Unit. On this ward - and its partner ward, Percivall Pott - there was emphasis on caring for patients with peripheral vascular disease.

It was here that I first became acquainted with Alison Knapp, who was later to become a close friend and colleague. Alison was already a theatre sister by then, having started nursing a few years before I did.

In the mid 1970s, I returned to Bristol to study midwifery, but found myself back at Barts as a night sister at the end of 1976. In the ensuing years, I worked as a ward sister and then as a senior nurse in neurosciences. In those days, it wasn't considered mandatory for nurse managers to hold a specialist clinical qualification, but T was fortunate to be seconded to the National Hospital, Queen Square to undertake a course in neuromedical and neurosurgical nursing. For six months, I was a staff nurse again and gained a great deal from that experience.

Rapid changes

Life felt very stable during these years, but things began to change in the late 1980s. The internal market in the National Health Service resulted in many changes and new ways of working. Competition was all important and, whilst this was healthy in some ways, organisations ceased to collaborate, and this wasn't necessarily beneficial for patients. Fortunately, we have now learned the lessons from those years.

During the early 1990s, Barts became linked with Homerton Hospital, Hackney Hospital, St. Leonard's Hospital and the local community health services. Restructuring led me into the field of general medicine, and I took up post as a senior nurse with responsibilities in all these hospitals. One of the positive outcomes was that I did site cover shifts at Homerton Hospital at weekends and knew all the staff very well.

These weren't easy times, as the Tomlinson Report was published in 1992, recommending that Barts should close. This produced uncertainty and outrage and, of course, we were unable to know what the future would hold. Until 1994, I was competing with my colleagues for various posts and each post I held seemed to be more complex and more demanding than ever!

In 1994, The Royal Hospitals NHS Trust was formed and I was delighted to be appointed as the Senior Site Nurse for Barts. The somewhat ugly title was soon changed to Director of Nursing, St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and more logically this year to Deputy Director of Nursing. After all the rapid changes of the late ~980s and early 1990s, I can hardly believe that I held this post for over ten years! Much of this role involved working closely with colleagues at both City University, St. Bartholomew School of Nursing and Midwifery and North Fast London Strategic Health Authority, and this was most rewarding.

Looking back over my career, I have gathered a number of thoughts. I remember the early days with great affection. Barts is a glorious old hospital, steeped in history and academic prowess and remains a very therapeutic environment for patients, staff and visitors. Staff are drawn back to Barts in a unique way, and it is no surprise to me that I returned in 1976 and stayed until my retirement. I enjoyed my formative years as a student and staff nurse, I liked the clinical work and camaraderie of my night sister years. I loved the challenge of the ward sister role (still the most important nursing post of all), and I was rewarded as a senior nurse by the commitment, hard work and enterprise of the teams for whom I was responsible.

Now, more about the recent years. I feel as though doors have always opened for me in an extraordinary way. I had never planned my career, but would have to do so if I were starting out again! The last 10 years have been stimulating, ever changing, busy and hardly ever monotonous. I have worked with inspiring nurse leaders:  Pam Hibbs who is an invincible person and brought nursing in all our hospitals together so effectively in 1994; Jonathan Asbridge who introduced and implemented shared governance; and Katherine Fenton who is passionate about patients' experience and the importance of the sister/charge nurse role.

I have worked with wonderfully supportive colleagues - Alison Knapp, Barbara Thompson, Ann Casey and the Heads of Nursing. My own team of nurses and our secretarial staff have worked with loyalty and talent. Without all these people - and many more - my achievements and happiness at work would have been much reduced.

Barts and The London NHS Trust offers so many opportunities for nurses and I know the organisation will go from strength to strength. We are beginning to see major developments and refurbishments in the Trust - examples are the new Pathology and Pharmacy Building at The Royal London Hospital and the West Wing at Barts. It is so encouraging to see the plans materialising into improved services on such a large scale, and I shall watch progress with interest.

I know, however, that all the Trust staff are the real key to success. They always work with dedication and energy and I am confident that their great spirit will continue as the future unfolds before us.