Student nurse, Ana Marquez-Duarte tells of her first 12 months experience working in the busiest Emergency Department in London.

Making the move to London initially from Portugal was probably the most difficult thing for me to do at the time. Leaving friends and family and all that I knew to start work as an Accident & Emergency (A&E) nurse in a strange and foreign city was both frightening and really exciting at the same time.
I always knew that I wanted to be a nurse as I had a real interest in working in a fast paced environment that an Emergency Department offers. So when the opportunity became available to go and work for the largest A&E department in London I jumped at the chance.
Becoming part of the team at (King’s College Hospital) a large teaching hospital at the forefront of academic and nursing excellence which delivers excellent emergency care to over 125,000 patients per year has been an incredible experience. I have learned so much in my time here working with enthusiastic passionate people on my team who deliver high quality care to patients presenting with a broad spectrum of conditions. Some of which I had never seen before but really helped increase my on the job learning.
My hospital is located in South East London which has a diverse inner-city population and the local population is reflected in the staff and the hospital’s recruitment strategy. There is a commitment to developing the staff here at King’s in all areas of their practice.  We have links with King’s College London and South Bank University to assist nurses with their development. There is also the opportunity for qualified staff to access the onsite Practice Development Nurses and Resuscitation Officers who offer ongoing support in terms of professional growth and development.
Living in London has been a dream come true. I was very fortunate that the hospital offered FREE accommodation for my first month in this city. That helped me a lot especially where finances were concerned.  London can be expensive but I’m very lucky that the NHS salary for a Band 5 nurse is quite good.  I can afford to live, eat, shop and enjoy the many wonderful things London has to offer.  I love my job and my life here. I know that I want to stay and progress my career in the Emergency Department. I would highly recommend any one with ED experience to apply for job opportunities in the UK.
If you think you are a flexible, enthusiastic person and passionate about emergency nursing then working in this environment offers the ideal next step for becoming a senior staff nurse in an acute care setting. If you can demonstrate the ability to manage the ED environment as well as acting as a positive role model to junior staff members then you should apply to Kate Cowhig International Healthcare Recruitment. You can register your CV for all nursing opportunities on www.KCRJOBS.com or email your CV to info@kcrjobs.com  today!

About King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
One of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching hospitals with nearly 7,000 staff providing around 1,000,000 patient contacts per year, the Trust provides a full range of hospital services to the London Boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark as well as a range of specialised services to patients from outside of these boroughs.  Recognised internationally for its work in liver disease and transplantation, neurosciences, stroke, cardiac, haemato-oncology and major trauma, the Trust also plays a key role in the training and education of medical, nurses and dental students with its partner in academia – King’s College London. King’s College Hospital is also part of King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC), a pioneering collaboration between King’s College London, Guy’s and St. Thomas’, King’s College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts which brings together a range of clinical and research expertise. For more information on King’s College hospital please visit www.kch.nhs.uk