Life in the army gave me a resilience that many people don't have

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.

Samantha Palmer, Admin Team Leader in the Adult Mental Health Services has always been involved in army life. In fact, she actually joined at birth. She tells her story of being raised in such a different lifestyle and why she decided to join the NHS.

Samantha Palmer, Admin Team Leader

Samantha’s story:

“My Dad was a Royal Engineer in the army for 24 years and I was born in a British Military Hospital in Germany, so the army was my entire world for the same 24 years” explains Samantha.

“I’m now an admin team leader but started as a temp and then worked as a medical secretary for 18 years – next year will be my 20th anniversary with the Trust. I wanted to work for an organisation with a purpose and that cared for people – basically like the army but without having to join up and go into combat.

“I may not have “served” in the army, but it was my entire life for over two decades – and now I have done two decades in the NHS. The two lives compare in that you are conscious of change, being able to constantly adapt to new situations and seeing people come in and out of your life all of the time.

"It has taught me to live life to the fullest and appreciate what I have."

“I think my life in the army gave me a resilience that many people don’t have. An ‘army brat’ or any service child experiences more loss and change in their lives than most at a very early age, we learn quickly to let go, protect ourselves and move forward. It has taught us to live life to the fullest and appreciate what you have while it is present. All of these I think are essential and powerful attributes to have and bring into the NHS.”

Samantha as a child growing up in army life

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.