Liz Cracknell

BSc (Hons) Mental Health Nursing

“Why did you chose mental health nursing?
Like many others, I became interested in nursing as a career after being cared for by nurses myself; I suffered from guillain barre syndrome in my teens, and spent many months in hospital. After my recovery, I felt a sense of wanting to give something back, so I researched the options. Mental health nursing stood out as a branch of nursing which would most satisfy my interest in people's thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

What have you enjoyed about the course?
I have found the wide variety of topics covered within the course fascinating, and find myself still hungry to know more as I reach the end of my course. The course is demanding at times, but the support you get from fellow students and lecturers gets you through.

What did you do and enjoy in placements?
My clinical placements have provided me with a tremendous breadth of experience across a wide range of environments (from acute wards to people's homes), and I have had to opportunity to work with clients from all age groups, from 4 to 94. I have enjoyed the variety of work - in mental health nursing, no two days are the same.

What do you plan to do when you finish?
During my training I have become particularly interested in working with the younger client groups, and hope to gain employment either in child and adolescent mental health services, or an early intervention in psychosis team, where I could work intensively with young people in the early stages of psychosis.

Now qualified, I work with a young persons' substance misuse team, combining the skills and knowledge gained in my last two placements in Child and Adolescent Mental Health and an Adult drug service. We provide psychotherapeutic interventions and substitute prescribing to young people who use substances and have mental health problems. It is a privilege to work so intensively with these young people and their families. I love my job! However, my learning is not finished and I am already applying to study further with Anglia Ruskin University to gain additional knowledge and skills to apply in my role.
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