From the Archive

Born in East London to parents from India and Pakistan, Zenab Ali started work in McDonald’s and Morrisons, but a chance meeting changed all that…

Every evening at the bus stop I met a lady and we started chatting. I found out that she worked at the hospice which sounded like an amazing place. She  got me an application form and I applied. 

In 1998 I got the job as a domestic assistant. I had lived in Hackney for 18 years but had never heard of the word hospice, what it offered,  what sort of organisation it was and that it was so close to home. 

Two years later I became a healthcare assistant as I loved the environment. In 2005 I applied to city university and went off to do my nurse training. 

My first child was 18 months old, my husband and parents convinced me that they would support me which gave me the boost I needed. I qualified as a registered nurse in April 2008. 

Throughout my training I continued working as a bank health care assistant at the hospice and got the opportunity to do my work placement as a student nurse on one of the wards which made me even more determined to work for the hospice once I qualified. 

As a newly qualified nurse I went back to work on the ward that I worked as a domestic assistant and then a health care assistant. I worked as a staff nurse on the ward for a few years and then moved up a band into a triage nurse post.  

I worked in that role for under a year, had another child and returned to the job after my maternity leave. I then applied for a palliative community nurse role, visiting patients in Newham for symptom management and end of life care. 

I did this for two years and then moved to a part time position as palliative care nurse in the day hospice in 2013. I have been in the day hospice as a staff nurse to a charge nurse and now I am the interim manager. I have applied for the day hospice manager position and have been shortlisted for an interview. 


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