As a self-professed “people person”, Stefan Franks feels at home pursuing a career in adult nursing.
Stefan Franks
Having left school with GCSEs and BTECs in travel, Stefan began his career in the travel industry taking off for a five-year career with a major airline.
Now he is working as a healthcare assistant at a surgery in south-east England, in his final year of the OU’s BSc (Hons) degree in adult nursing.
He says:
“The five years I spent with the airline gave me the opportunity to travel and to interact with people from a wide range of backgrounds. I love working with people and this, coupled with my interest in human biology, led me to decide on a career in the healthcare profession.”
Stefan says he opted for the OU for a number of reasons, particularly the flexibility. “I can study at times and in places to fit in with my work, family and other commitments.”
He feels nursing suits him and it’s a profession he clearly loves:
Nursing as a profession is mainly based around looking after people during very difficult times of their lives and I think you could apply that to a community setting or a hospital setting and you feel privileged that people are sharing such personal experiences with you and you’re able to guide them through those difficult times.
Especially through the student experience with The Open University and the way that the programme works, it does expose you to many different experiences across different healthcare settings. You develop more compassion and empathy for people, but you also learn a lot about yourself as well as a person.
Whilst appreciating that the modules can be tough, while working simultaneously, Stefan is a fan of the OU way of learning and recommends self-discipline and good organisation.
As for nursing, he says: “When you hear that nursing is a vocation, it really is a vocation, because there are times where you are looking after people and it can be not very glamorous and it’s not a glamorous profession. It is an exceptionally rewarding profession and you feel proud to represent a profession that is there for people during really difficult times of their lives.”
Coming from my previous job, which was about going on holiday and having a good time, you move into a profession which can be sad at times and traumatic and you feel that you really are at the heart of human nature.
“In the NHS, they’re undergoing lots of changes and lots of pressure, but as a team you come together to make sure you deliver the best experience for the service user. I recall on a couple of occasions, where I’ve had marriage proposals from lovely older ladies, who I’ve cared for and that always used to make me laugh, where we used to break into song at the end of a shift.
He says those choosing a career in nursing should “be prepared to enter a profession that isn’t glamorous, but is exceptionally rewarding and challenging.”
Passionate about primary care, his aim after graduation is to build his nursing career and advance in the profession. He is also considering the possibility of becoming a lecturer at some point and training future generations of nurses.
“If you think that you don’t have the academic experience or the skill set to enter nursing, you’d be wrong and you should consider a career in nursing with The Open University.”
