How my army reservist role has gone on to shape my civilian career in the NHS

Nottinghamshire Healthcare has been a long supporter of the Armed Forces Community and recognise the valuable contribution, wealth of experience and skills that Armed Forces personnel and their families bring to the organisation and that this contributes to the delivery of safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led patient care.

In supporting the Armed Forces, the Trust has signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant and NHS Employers Step into Health programme. Armed Forces and their families include service leavers, reservists, veterans, Cadet Forces adult volunteers and spouses, partners and families of those serving.

For Armed Forces Week, we’re sharing stories from our reservists and veterans who, having had a career in the Armed Forces have now chosen to continue their career in the NHS.

Angela Holland started work at the Trust at the beginning of last year as a Research Delivery Assistant (RDA). Angela had not planned on being a reservist. It was only when she went to Australia and New Zealand on a working visa and met someone that was talking about the fitness training they did with the Territorial Army, that planted a seed for what would become an exciting career move.  

Angela Holland

Angela's story:

“I thought nothing more about the Territorial Army (now known as the Army Reserves) following my trip to Australia. However, a seed had been planted,” says Angela.  “I have a weight issue and started to lose weight doing a lot of running and fitness classes after I returned home.  The Army started its ‘Be The Best’ advertising campaign and because I was getting fitter, I wondered if I was fit enough to join.  I was a jewellery repairer and designer at the time, but I love to explore and to learn new things.  Being offered the opportunity to train to become a Combat Medical Technician (CMT) as an army reservist was very exciting.  My CMT role has gone on to shape and direct my civilian career into the NHS.

What made you decide to work for the NHS and what is your role?

“Because of my CMT work, I applied to work for East Midland Ambulance Service.  However, I have always had an interest in finding out more about research and how evidence-based practice informs the way we do things within the NHS.  I would hear about clinical trials and changes that had been made because of those trials and wanted to get more involved.  The ambulance service tends to a lot of patients with mental health issues and I wanted to be part of a team that helped to improve mental health and wellbeing services for patients and staff within the NHS.  I applied for my job as a Research Delivery Assistant (RDA), based at the Institute of Mental Health, last year and started in January 2021.

How does your NHS work compare to your work you undertook in the Armed Forces?

“My civilian role and working environment is very different to my army role, especially if I’m on exercise and living in the field.  Responsibilities for CMTs can include supplying medical support on all kinds of operations and exercises: giving first aid on a battlefield, helping with medical evacuations in hostile conditions, working in primary healthcare or occupational health, providing medical training and health education to the wider army.  You have to be more aware of the natural environment and the weather during army work and training because you are exposed and vulnerable to it, but your training helps you to prepare and adapt to this. 

“I’m currently a member of 212 Field Hospital Army Reserve unit.  Our hospital has a 200 bed capacity and can operate almost anywhere in the world at short notice and is sustained by drivers, chefs, healthcare assistants, specialist nurses, doctors, operating department practitioners, trauma surgeons, antitheists, physiotherapists, pharmacists, radiographers, biomedical technicians, and many more.  When deployed we have similar types of equipment you would find in any NHS hospital but instead of walls, we have green canvased tentage that link together to make our hospital the size we need.  Our hospital is stored in ISO containers and we help build or dismantle our hospital.  Whilst this is happening, we may still have to treat patients.  Sleeping accommodation is in the form of a sleeping bag on camp beds under green tented canvas or on a roll mat under a basher.  If we have the use of a field kitchen, we can get amazing food from the army chefs.  If that is not available, we use 10 person rations or individual 24-hour ration boxes that we warm up ourselves. 

What qualities and skills have been transferable to life working in the NHS?

“Although being a CMT is very different to being a RDA, the training you get in the Armed Forces is varied and very transferable.  In the army, you are taught to be a soldier first, to be self-reliant in looking after yourself, especially living in the field, but to also took out for your team – ‘a buddy-buddy system’.  Army training is structured and reliable, this is really important when your working environment could change at short notice or you find yourself in an unfamiliar situation.  Because of this, you learn to be organised and pro-active.  You are taught the importance of listening and follow orders.  Then as you progress up the army ranks, you learn management skills.  You can command and control any situation by giving out structured orders and delegate tasks to your team.  You learn about the responsibilities that come with your job role and that people rely on you to do your best, to ‘Be The Best’ for your team.  You train and live in extreme situations, learn to adapt quickly, become resilient and all these skills matter when working for the NHS during a global pandemic.

Have you supported the work in the vaccination centres? If so, what was your involvement?

“The Institute of Mental Health is a partnership between Nottinghamshire Healthcare and the University of Nottingham and has a catalogue of their own study trials.  Normally, I would be trained to work on some of those studies but due to the global pandemic, I have been dispatched to help work on Urgent Public Health Covid-19 study trials as they are a priority at the moment.  I am currently supporting work on the ‘Comparing COVID-19 Vaccine Schedule Combinations’ (Com-COV) study trial and will soon be helping with the Medicago vaccine study trial.

In what ways have you been supported by the Trust as a veteran/reservist?

“My manager Julie Mernick, Senior Research Delivery Nurse for the Research Delivery Team at the Institute of Mental Health, has never had a colleague that is a member of the Army Reserves.  Julie is very interested, supportive and has been very accommodating in giving me leave to accommodate my reservist training, despite the fact I only started working with the Trust in January this year. 

“The Trust has several documents and policies that supports colleagues that are members of the Armed Forces and promotes flexibility for any employee that needs to attend annual training.

If you are currently employed in the armed forces and interested in exploring future employment opportunities at the Trust, why not check out of vacancies: recruitment.nottshc.nhs.uk/

For further information about careers in the NHS Working in health | Health Careers 

For further information about the NHS Employers’ Step into Health programme, visit the Transition into an NHS career | Step Into Health (militarystepintohealth.nhs.uk) or email jackie.hogan@nottshc.nhs.uk.