In celebration of International Year of the Nurse and The Midwife, Fawn Bess-leith interviewed Modupe Atiba, a nursery nurse in Newham and a student mental health nurse at Middlesex University.

Modupe, by way of introduction, please give a brief introduction of you and your roles?

I currently work as a community nursery nurse (NN) within a health visiting team in Newham. This involves visiting mothers and their infants in their own homes or other premises such as Children’s Centres (CC) across the borough. I assist the health visitors (HV) in meeting the needs of children and their families by undertaking delegated duties that support and enable family centred care i.e. support bonding, attachment, and growth and development.

Additionally, I work as an integral part of the multidisciplinary team ensuring that there is appropriate communication with other professionals involved in the care of the child and mother/family.

I am currently doing my Post Graduate Diploma (PG Dip) in Mental Health Nursing which is due to be completed later this year.

My background in management, early years, public health and health promotion gives me an advantage in these roles.

What led you into a nursing career? Who has been your hero/who has inspired you?

My primary motivation to go into the nursing profession was because of my working experience/relationship with nurses within clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and in community NHS Services.

I have so many heroes. However, permit me to share a private conversation here. There was a day I picked up a call when I was working as a health visiting support worker and the person mentioned her name. I re-echoed the name and introduced myself and she said: “What are you doing there, Modupe, and in what capacity?” I told her I was working as a support worker. She said next time she had contact with me, she wanted to hear that I was a nurse. That day, I had a deep thought, over and over. Thank you for that word of encouragement Rosalina Frazer.

Tell us about your journey, how did you get to where you are?

It has not been an easy journey. There is an adage that says, ‘rough road leads to a beautiful destination’. After a variety of different roles across the NHS in north east London, I moved back to Barking, Havering and Redbridge CCGs as legacy claims administrator. After my foundation degree in early years, I worked as a nursery nurse before I finally moved to Newham Children and Young People Services as a community nursery nurse.

What do you love about nursing?

Nurses are passionate and caring. More often than not, they think about others before themselves which conforms with my philosophy about life. Needless to say, I also want to be involved in taking care of mothers who are experiencing prenatal and postnatal depression.

What’s your greatest achievement?

When I was singled out as a nursery nurse and appreciated alongside three health visitors in North East London NHS Foundation Trust to carry out a research on Healthy Start, initiated by Imperial College/NELFT.

As a student mental health nurse, my placements have been excellent.

What is your biggest hope/wish for Nurses Day?

My hope is for nurses to be paid well to motivate them to do more for an appreciative society. I also wish for nurses to continue with the professional values, and nursing’s six Cs – care, compassion, courage, communication, commitment and competence

What would you say to inspire any student nurse reading your story?

To all my fellow students, you will get there one day. Take one step at a time. When you are out there, do your best. The sky is your limit. I wish you well.

Interested in a career in nursing? Go to https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/nursing/studying-nursing

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.