Meet our nurses

Richie Freeman

Newly Qualified Nurse in the Paediatric Emergency Department

Training and development is taken seriously and I can already see a choice of next steps for development.

Richie Freeman

What was the best thing about working at Whittington Health as a student?

I discovered a support culture that was different here and even as a student I felt I was taken seriously. While I was doing my nursing degree I did placements in many different hospitals. I completed four placements here and always found it really welcoming.

How have you been helped to settle in?

It is nerve wracking making the transition from being a student to gaining your PIN and becoming a Band 5 nurse, but it helped knowing a lot of people here through my training. When I was a student I was co-mentored by Alice Woodward, one of Whittington�s Preceptor nurses, and she�s remained my Preceptor and that gives a good sense of continuity. My line manager is there to help with the transition, too.

Is this a good place for ambitious nurses?

Training and development is taken seriously and although at the moment I am busy settling in as a Newly Qualified Nurse, I can already see a choice of next steps for development. Working in an Integrated Care Organisation means there are hundreds of pathways you can take.

Do you feel you made the right career choice?

My reason for choosing nursing is rooted in my own childhood as I have a long-term condition that means I�ve experienced a lot of hospitals. I worked for a while before doing an access to nursing course, which led to me being accepted by Middlesex University for the Nursing (Child) BSc Honours degree. Children�s nursing was an area I was really interested in and I could see there were lots of ways to progress.