Posted on: 7 August 2023
"My Name is Abdulkadir Mohamed. I arrived in the UK on December 1998 as a refugee from Somalia. I was faced with a lot of challenges however, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) supported me to get a job as a Health Care Assistant. I was offered the opportunity to work in a variety of mental health settings.
My Learning Journey:
My learning journey started with mandatory trainings at CNWL. I was later supported by CNWL to do my foundation degree at London South Bank University (LSBU) between 2012 to 2014. During my studies I found things very challenging. I was assessed by an Educational Psychologist at LSBU in 2012, who found that I had Dyslexia.
Learning that I had dyslexia put added pressure on me. It was difficult as, I had to put in twice as much time compared to my “normal peers”. At the same time, I had to maintain a student, work and personal life balance.
2018 to 2023
With the support from CNWL I was sponsored to do my Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship (RNDA) training at Buckinghamshire University. There were times when I thought that this was not going to be possible.
On 9 April 2020 after returning home from work I fell ill and collapsed at home. The GP thought I had Covid-19. Thankfully Claire Symons, a Deputy Borough Director and Vivienne Cohen, Community Team Manager, came to my rescue and sent a nurse to my home address to test if I had Covid-19. The test came back negative. I was rushed to hospital with the advice of Dr Tamara Joffe (GP) and had to do open heart surgery. Although, I was off sick for some time and losing my father in same year, this did not stop me from pursing my goal of becoming a mental health nurse.
I am the first to achieve a University Degree in my family due to the civil war in Somalia and I am now inspiring my children and the rest of my family.
Achieving my Nursing degree made me to be a better practitioner and to develop both personally and professionally. I am now able to support my clients and help in their recovery journey, by using up to date knowledge and skills to delivery evidenced based care.
I was very fortunate to have support and encouragement from the CNWL educational team, Wood field Trauma Services, Grenfell team, South Westminster Home Treatment Teams, and South Westminster PCN hub.
I am currently working in the South Westminster hub where I am able to contribute in the Multi-disciplinary team meetings and bring my knowledge, skills and experience.
I have also started supporting nursing students to pass on my knowledge and skills in line with NMC, (2018) standards.
The Prophet Mohammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever does not thank people has not thanked Allah.” Source: Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4811
With gratitude, I must say a big thank you to all the lecturers who supported me at BNU and my sponsored Trust, CNWL, for not only giving me the opportunity to do my mental health nurse training but also for the immense support that was offered.
Lastly, I am very grateful to all my colleagues who had tirelessly supported me and saw my potential before I believed myself. I believe we should all be supportive and kind to each other as this helps builds on the quality of care we provide the community we serve."