Meet our nurses

Joyette Wencesaio, who works in the endoscopy day treatment centre, was our first international nurse to transition to a Band 5, thanks to the help, education and support she received from the CapitalNurse North Central London (NCL) International Nurses Bureau and Whittington Health.

The Bureau worked with NCL Trusts to identify HCAs and Assistant Practitioners who needed just a little extra help to get through the demanding English language tests and the OSCE in order to register as UK nurses.

 

When did you join the NHS? I completed my nursing degree in the Philippines in 2008 and qualified as a registered nurse there in 2009. I decided to move to the UK in 2010 to study Leadership and Management in Health and Social Care, but once here I began to think about nursing again and I joined Whittington Health in 2016.

 

How has CapitalNurse and Whittington Health encouraged you? I was blessed to become part of Whittington Health, as senior colleagues and mentors have always been really supportive of my ambition to progress from Assistant Practitioner to a Band 5 nurse. It has been a very hard journey, though. The main challenge was the IELTS English test, for which I did months of self-study. I found writing the hardest element. I took the test 10 times on my own. Failing it was so frustrating, to the point that I questioned whether nursing really was for me. However, I didn’t lose hope and never gave up.
 
My breakthrough came when a colleague told me about the CapitalNurse scheme, which offered a programme of English tuition to international nurses. The Trust put me forward for the scheme and provided the bridge between where I was and where I wanted to be.
 
The English programme began at the end of 2019. What I liked about it was that David, our tutor, gave us good and honest feedback and always explained his markings. During our class we would discuss our assignments and ways of getting higher marks, especially on writing. We had homework, too, which really helped me to practise not only in writing, but also in reading.

 

What results did you achieve in the IELTS? I got 8.5 in listening, 7 in reading, 6.5 in writing and 7.5 in speaking, with an overall score of 7.5. When I found out the results, I was tearful, elated, and grateful and my shoulders felt a lot lighter! It has been such a long journey, made longer by Covid. Originally, we would have taken the exam in April 2020, but when the pandemic hit it was postponed. I had to be patient and wait for lockdown to be eased. Eventually, I took the exam on 4th June 2020 and received the result 13 days later.
 
After that, I had to pass the OSCE and CapitalNurse programme leaders opened doors to the clinical education department who helped me. I took the practical exam in August after two weeks’ intensive training. A few days later I received an email from the NMC saying that I had passed – it was a pivotal moment. I was over the moon and told myself all the hardship paid off. I am really humble and thankful to everyone who helped me in this journey, which began in 2016. Finally, I had achieved my goal to become a nurse! I received my PIN in August 2020 and applied for Band 5 job in the acute medicine gastro-enterology ward, which I got.

I feel I have a good work-life balance, which enables me to do other things outside of work.

What are your future ambitions?

 

At Whittington Health there are many opportunities to develop my career and, in a few years, I would like to pursue teaching. I’d like to stay on here as the Trust is integrated into the community. I am blessed that I have seniors and mentors who are not only very supportive, but reachable, too. My family back home is very proud and they all know that the Trust and the CapitalNurse scheme enabled me to chase my dream.