The big C was, is and always a scary nightmare. The inquisitiveness to know more about it and someone very close to me being a fighter and survivor in same made me make my career decision way back in my 9th grade to pursue a profession as noble as Haemato-Oncology nursing and here I am today being a Bone marrow Transplant Nurse in one of the leading teaching hospitals in the world viz. Imperial College London Healthcare NHS Trust.

Here is a synopsis of the journey for my fellow nightingales and those who wish to pursue a career in the same. Having done my 12th grade and given all the entrance exams which were the benchmark for admissions into colleges during my times, I selected Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre with my CET score among other institutions which I was offered. After four years of rigorous theories, practicals and sleepless nights like any other graduate trainee would undergo, my hard work did pay off.

Getting‌ ‌placed‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌Oncology‌ ‌department‌ ‌as‌ ‌a‌ ‌staff‌ ‌nurse.‌

I was college topper in all the exams conducted at the college level and Maharashtra University of Health Sciences level all the four years back to back. The icing on the cake was my overall Maharashtra state 4th rank in MUHS in my third year scoring 80%. Thanks to my academic credentials, I was selected in Jaslok hospital as a staff nurse. Also, I got the compliments that I had done very well in my four years and that they didn’t want to take an interview, I was proud of myself. Thanks to my luck, I was placed in Oncology settings which was what I wanted.

After a year in Oncology department, my seniors identified me as capable and confident enough to be an independent nurse to take care for high-risk Bone marrow transplant patients and eventually Bone-marrow transplant nurse post was offered to me. After almost a year and a half practising there and becoming one of the senior nurses in the BMT department, made me confident and inspired me to explore a career abroad as Imperial College London was one of my long lost dream places. During this course, I must admit my background research was regarding pursuing a Masters in Canada or should I go for directly a job visa in the UK.

I did settle down for the job visa in the UK after months of research, as I was identified to have the required experience and IELTS credentials. The institutes which guided me in each step were India International Technical Recruiters, Delhi and Professional Connections, Ireland. These institutes do not charge a penny and guide candidates to attain their dreams as they are already paid by the UK trust they are hiring candidates for. In my case, Imperial happened via them. The struggle was not an easy one and is quite difficult to pen down owing to the waiting times during my times to get the registration from Nursing and Midwifery Council, UK.

Becoming‌ ‌a‌ ‌band‌ ‌6‌ ‌charge‌ ‌nurse.

I had a series of three telephonic interview post my CV shortlisting to get to the final rounds of interview with Imperial. On the D day, I had drug calculation tests which were the benchmark if I would proceed for the next round of one on one interview with Imperial representatives from the UK who had flown to conduct the same. Thankfully, I passed drug calculations with more than 90% result and had the one on one interview. Considering my speciality was Haematology, I was asked to wait for a Skype interview with the Lead nurse in here to assess if I was a competent candidate to work as a Haematology Nurse here. Following the various rounds, I was mailed by Profco on 31st March 2014 that I have been selected for Imperial College London Healthcare NHS Trust. The initial part of NMC registration was easy and the second part took me long owing to the references, various document submissions. It took me a whole year wait even though I had a job offer at my end. Thankfully, the processings are less time consuming for the current candidates: thanks to the changed laws.

On Feb 19, 2015, I finally landed in the United Kingdom and the rest is a history of the combination of hard work and luck to progress from a pre-registration nurse to band 5 and now a band 6 Charge Nurse leading a team at one of the renowned Bone marrow centres in London. I encourage all my fellow nurses and all those who are aspiring to become one to kindly trust in yourself first and put in the required hard work, nothing can stop you from reaching the heights you want to attain.

Thank you Nimish for giving me this opportunity to pen down my experience and all the best to all the students who are being guided by him: not because he is my school friend but I can vouch you are being guided by the best.