Careers Champion case study

Katrina Astorga

Deputy Sister, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital

Tell us a bit about your role and how long you’ve worked for the NHS?

I qualified three years ago and I started in Cardiology and I fell in love with acute medicine because it’s very intense. I’m now a deputy sister, started in January, and I educate and support our new qualified staff.

Tell us a bit about the Careers Champions role?
This role is just something I definitely gravitated towards because I am the type of person who loves supporting my colleagues because of how much I’ve been supported.

I thought it was time for me to give back by supporting newly qualified staff to start thinking ahead and prepare for their job role because the NHS is constantly evolving and I think you need to be prepared for changes in job roles. Being able to signpost
people to the correct places and help them develop themselves personally and professionally is really important.

How do you think your experience within the NHS will
help support fellow colleagues?

I hope that I inspire my junior colleagues and members of staff because I’m very young in comparison to my peers. I have only been qualified for three years and am a Deputy Sister already. That shows it’s not about how long you have worked, but about making the most of the opportunities you get. In my case that’s a testament to the ward I work on. I hope to emulate this with my colleagues.

Why do you think now is the time for the Careers Champions campaign?
I think the pandemic definitely made us take stock of what we have learned in our careers, because we were forced to develop ourselves in a very short span of time to meet the needs of patients. I think staff members are hungrier for change and and want to use their skill-set to be able to fulfil the needs of the changing NHS. I think it’s a great way to develop ourselves.