Hailing from the small village of Ballykelly in Derry~Londonderry, Brittany discovered her calling as a nurse at a very young age, before going on to gain experience in nursing through volunteering in her local area.
Studying at Ulster University’s Magee Campus, Brittany developed her knowledge and passion for caring and is now enthusiastically looking ahead to commencing a career in the nursing field:
“I have always loved working with people and did a lot of volunteering from a young age. I knew I wanted to make a difference and what better way to do that than becoming a nurse! Not only that, but nursing opens many windows of opportunity and there are various avenues of work to go into including; research, teaching, working in various settings, the possibilities are endless!”.
Although nursing was always at the forefront of her mind, Brittany is a woman of many talents and recently went viral on social media, featuring in daily, regional and online headlines having been captured singing ‘Amazing Grace’ to an ill, yet very grateful patient. Speaking about the shock of her sudden fame, Brittany exclaimed:
“To be honest I still can’t believe it happened. I didn’t know the video was being taken until I was tagged in a social media post that had over 10,000 views. I have never been one for liking the attention, so I still find it strange that my colleagues and people I care for still refer to me as the singing nurse.”
Recognising the incredible deeds that are carried out daily on the wards by amazing nurses, it is evident that the singing sensation is extremely respectful of the work and service provided by her peers, and recognises that it is the smallest things that make a big difference:
“There are hundreds upon hundreds of nurses and nursing assistants who are making a great difference to people’s lives despite regularly finding themselves in difficult and vulnerable positions. That may mean they are singing a song they enjoy, taking the time to listen or making them a cup of tea. I always remember the quote from Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”- this has stuck with me through my nursing journey.”
Brittany’s Ulster University academic and practical experience has provided her with a solid grounding, and helped create notable highlights including taking part in the Community Resilience Day (Disaster Day) in final year. On that experience, Brittany said:
“it tied together all of the skills I had learned during my course and it proved to me that I could be a decent nurse after all.”
With big plans beyond graduating on the 16th December, the newly qualified nurse is excited for the endless opportunities the vocation can provide, and hopes one day to return to Ulster University,
“Currently working within the Western Trust as a nurse, I have big plans to continue my career in nursing and feel it is the perfect place for me to develop as many new skills as I can, and find my feet as a newly qualified nurse. In the future I would be delighted to return to Ulster University and potentially study a specialist practice course.”