Keele University’s registered nurse apprenticeship – and a “rising star” who took the course – are being featured in a high profile podcast.
Graduate Karen Estcourt, who is now working as an A&E staff nurse, and Marie Doherty, Director of Apprenticeships in the University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery, appear in the latest Parent Perspective Podcast hosted by Radio 5Live’s Rachel Burden.
They answer a series of questions on the podcast which aims to show parents and carers that apprenticeships are a positive option for those wishing to switch careers.
Produced by Amazing Apprenticeships and Not Going to Uni, the Parent Perspective Podcast is in its third series, aimed at parents and carers, helping them to support their children with careers advice and guidance.
Previous guests have included Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education Robert Halfon, MasterChef finalist Louisa Ellis, and Grace Bernard-Broadreck, Outreach Team Lead at the Metropolitan Police.
Karen Estcourt (formerly Cotici), changed direction from finance and business to become a healthcare worker and then an Adult Nurse Apprentice at Keele at the age of 40.
During her three-year period of studies she was published twice by the Queen’s Nursing Institute and was shortlisted for the NHS Rising Star Award in the NHS Parliamentary Awards, as reported by Daily Focus.
For her business development and innovation in the workplace module she developed a bed management solution at Leighton Hospital (Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) which is now up and running and is being adopted as a digital clinical system.
On the podcast Karen talks about the “amazing” support she received from her tutors and fellow students and the “best decision she ever made” to take her first step to career change by joining the health sector.
She told Daily Focus: “Doing the podcast was very important for me and I hope it inspires many others who think they are too old to retrain and change careers.”
The podcast aims to highlight apprenticeships as an option for retraining for anyone including parents and carers.
Marie tells listeners there are now more career pathways and routes into nursing because of apprenticeships, and advises people seeking to take the “leap of faith” into a new career to scope out the resources and facilities that are available.
The podcast can be accessed through the Amazing Apprenticeships website here.
