Andrew with wife Teresa and children Mary, Evan and Gordon
I’m from Calgary, Alberta, in Canada and moved to Scotland with my family in July last year.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from the University of Calgary and went back there the following year to complete an accelerated Nursing degree. My career in nursing so far has been a mix of acute care clinical work, some community based work and teaching.
I worked on a cardiac surgery ward looking after post-operative heart surgery patients before moving to the Emergency Department of a high acuity hospital in Calgary, where I worked until late 2015. The year before that, I also started part time work with the University of Calgary as a bridge lecturer.
In 2016, our family moved to Fort McMurray in Alberta, where I took a full time post as an associate lecturer in a nursing school there called Keyano College. During my time at Keyano College I took an interest in simulation learning and mentorship programs for nursing students. While there, I worked on a Masters of Nursing program to earn my Nurse Practitioner designation in Canada. Then my wife was offered a career opportunity in Scotland! When we arrived here I put my Nurse Practitioner studies on hold and completed an MSc in Nursing at the University of Edinburgh in August of this year.
I’d had good feedback from my previous work with students and really enjoyed working in an educational environment. So, when I completed my MSc in Nursing and was looking to continue my career, being an educator was high on my list.
I only started at Edinburgh Napier last week. I’m looking forward to working with students to develop confident team players and the nurse leaders of today and tomorrow – and collaborating with colleagues to create the future of nursing practice in the UK and around the world.
What advice would I give to anyone considering working in nursing? Trust your instincts and have the courage to use your voice when you feel that something is not right.
I relax by getting outdoors as often as I can – bike riding, hiking, climbing, canoeing, sailing, you name it. I once fell into a mountain crevasse when ski mountaineering. My favourite time of the year is winter – as long as there is snow and it is colder than -10C!