A trainee medical professional has spoken of how she traded in her past life working with horses to pursue a career in the NHS at Ipswich Hospital. Harriet Aitchison was once an equine groomer and a chef before taking up a place on a training scheme where she is learning to operate scanning machines to take medical images. Harriet Aitchison in uniform (Image: Richard Weller-Poley photography) She has taken her place on the Training Academy at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) aged 35 - and her new ambitions are linked to her family history.
Ms Aitchison said: “My grandmother was a radiographer, and my sister is a Macmillan nurse at Ipswich Hospital but I hadn’t worked in healthcare before.” It was her sister who saw a poster advertising the Training Academy at Ipswich Hospital and suggested Ms Aitchison looked into it. Ms Aitchison added: “I was working as a chef in a pub, as well as an equine groomer, and riding horses for people, but I was taking a break as wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.
I thought why not explore the idea of the NHS.” Harriet Aitchison with chef Maria Elia (Image: Richard Weller-Poley photography) She said what appealed to her about the Training Academy was the opportunity to work across a range of areas before needing to commit to one. “Having done nothing medical before, I wanted to experience and see all the different departments.
If I’d have thought before what area would I want to work in I would’ve said rad.