About

: the blog

Welcome to my blog where I’ll share my thoughts, memories, experiences and lessons from my adventures as a student nurse facing the big wide world.

The name ‘Vaegin, Trust and a peerie skaar o’ Wanderlust‘ is a Shetland take on the Peter Pan phrase ‘faith, trust and a little bit of pixie dust’ as a fun way for me to pay homage to my home and our dialect.

vaegin = voyaging or journeying or travelling
peerie = little or small
skaar = a small amount

: the author

Hiyi!

My name is Sonja. I’m 25 years old and I was born and raised in the Shetland Islands.

I’m currently studying BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing at Bournemouth University.

I grew up in a cottage on the wild Shetland Islands with my parents. We dotted about, moving houses and schools, from country to town and back. I worked part time jobs from the day I turned fourteen, and I left school at seventeen without the grades I’d dreamed of and my hopes of going to university ever so slightly dashed. Long story short – I was anxious, desperately shy and feeling a bit lost, longing for greater adventures but too scared to step out of the door.

Anything outside of my (admittedly very small) comfort-zone was to be avoided like the plague.

And so I stayed at home, wondering if I would ever see more, do more, be more.

: what led me to nursing

Fast forward a fair few years of floating between retail or hospitality jobs and college when I eventually got a job as an admin assistant in my local hospital.
This job saw me as a file clerk for the medical records department, working with patient’s paper records (as Shetland hadn’t gone fully digital yet) and filing for outpatient clinics. This is where I gained my first insights into the inner workings of a hospital.

My next job was in the Patient Focused Booking team, where I worked 9-5 behind a desk processing referrals, managing waitlists, coordinating outpatient clinics and always working on the phone with patients to arrange their appointments. My knowledge of the NHS and patient flow took off, and I got comfortable with talking to service users all day every day.

Over the three years I worked in that team, I always maintained that my favourite part of the job was talking to patients and their families on the phone. Sometimes it would be a breeze to phone through a list of patients and fill up clinics with appointments that suited them. Other days I would happily sit on the phone for ten or fifteen minutes just listening while the other chatted away, delighted to hear another voice on the end of the phone and someone to talk to for a little while. Those cozy little chats or times I could offer my help and my ear for someone on the end of the phone were the moments that ignited my desire to do more.

One day, when I was covering for a colleague on outpatients’ reception, I was chatting with one of the nurses who told me she used to work in admin as well.
This is when the cogs started really turning…

She told me the best thing she’d ever done was change from a non-clinical role to nursing.
She told me I could do it too.

Okay. Now I’ve found my motivation and I want to make a change. But how? I didn’t think I had the grades for university? Maybe an apprenticeship? But I didn’t want to stay at home… maybe Aberdeen? No.
Ach, I’ll figure it out.

My (well-travelled) big sister picked me up from Southampton airport for my annual holiday to visit her in Dorset, where I said, “I already don’t want to go home.”
To which she responsibly replied, “Then don’t.”

Can I do this? What about my job? My house? My mortgage? My family? My friends? My cat?

Deep breath… one thing at a time.

We got home, my sister made me a cup of coffee and we bundled up on the couch, laptops at the ready to make this happen.

: Bournemouth University

I knew Bournemouth University was close to me, so it was the first university I searched up while we brainstormed what I was doing with my life.
Looking at the 2022 prospectus, I found that there was availability on their undergraduate nursing courses through clearing. I looked at BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing and loved the look of the course description and the fact it would be a three year degree, rather than the Scottish standard four years.

I read the websites information back to front and watched and re-watched the tour videos of the campus and the new health and social sciences faculty building. The open spaces, airy library and facilities convinced me pretty quickly to write up my application.

Knowing it was September and term would be starting soon, I worked my way through the application and getting together all of my paperwork with my sister’s help. I then busied myself for a few days, checking my emails feverishly until I received my interview phonecall.

A ten minute chat later I hear the words, “Welcome to Bournemouth University.“

Terrified doesn’t quite describe it, and the words overjoyed and relieved feel entirely inadequate for the rush of emotions and anxieties now flooding my brain.

Now I’ve been at Bournemouth University for two years and I’ve completely settled in. I’m enjoying my studies and the mix of practical placements and theory feel really nicely balanced. I’ve made friends for life and the support I’ve found at university has always been fantastic.

Saying yes to every opportunity that comes my way is how I’m making the most of my time at Bournemouth University and my summer Nepal placement was one such experience which ended up being the best six weeks of my life (so far)!

: my wanderlust

Growing up in Shetland and being limited in where I could go and what I could do, I always had a degree of wonder about else what was out there.

I was lucky enough to go on a few family summer holidays with my parents to some holiday destinations in Europe which was always wonderful. We would enjoy the sunshine and the different cultures, recharging our batteries before returning home for school and work.

My sister is very well-travelled and I always loved hearing stories about where she’d explored and the types of fun she’d been having seeing the world.

Since taking the step and moving to Dorset, the world has opened up completely. When I was presented with the opportunity to go to Istanbul for a long weekend on a whim, I jumped at the chance and had a ball. When I saw that international placements were an option for the end of year 2 at university, I knew instantly that I had to do it.

Reading the information and watching the pre-recorded lectures about student travel, I was getting more and more excited by the day that I could have my own big adventure.

Thinking about what direction I wanted to take my career once I graduate, I considered the military but quickly realised I wouldn’t be considered (due to Reynaud’s Phenomenon and my mental health history) so I was then thinking about other avenues to satisfy my need to travel and see the world, be a nurse and feel like I would be making a difference. I’ve looked at organisations such as Medecins Sans Frontieres and the Red Cross at international or overseas humanitarian roles, though these are very competetive but they are something for me to aim for.

Doing an overseas placement while still at university and getting that experience under my belt felt like the natural first step in building up my international portfolio and moving myself in the right direction to achieve my dreams.

Thank you for reading about me and my little blog!
Please do check out my Nepal page and the posts there about my nursing experience and adventures!