The Nutritional Supplement

What Course(s) did you graduate from at CNELM and when did you graduate?

I did the BSc Nutrition Science course and graduated in 2011. I didn’t take the NTPD.

What did you do before doing this course?

I got an international baccalaureate instead of A levels and then got signed up on an apprenticeship scheme with ICI, working towards a BSc in chemistry. I started off as a paint chemist with ICI paints. As a paint chemist I mixed and provided paint for car people – I worked for the Nissan team.  We had to match the colour to their samples and then test it, which was really good fun as we had to set fire to paint, throw stones at it etc!.  A paint factory/laboratory was quite a toxic environment and aggravated my asthma to the extent I was not able to continue to work in that environment, so I  fell into doing sales admin for the lab teams. I hated it because I was sitting above the lab where I used to be working, unable to do the job I loved, so I then moved into IT. 

What made you decide to embark on this course of study and what attracted you to the BSc?

When I had kids I was paying someone else to look after them and I didn’t really care about my job. I wanted something science based and through that I found nutrition – I had looked into nutrition when I had kids to try and give them a healthy start. There wasn’t much information given by the health visitors, so I read around and found out for myself, so that helped me decide that’s what I wanted to do.  I wanted a BSc as I hadn’t got it through ICI as I had to stop working for them before I gained it and I was restricted to what I could do as I had to be around for my children; the CNELM location was good and I loved the course content. Also I wasn’t going to be the oldest person there, which I liked!

Did you use your dietary educator’s certificate after the first year of study or undertake any other nutrition work alongside studying at this time?

No I didn’t because I was still working part time, so didn’t have time. I wish I had been able to though.

What work were you doing alongside studying?

I worked part time in IT, which was quite intense as I studied full time. In my final year I gave up work when I did my dissertation for the last 6 months.

What work did you do after graduating?

I was really lucky as I came straight into CNELM; initially into education and clinic assistant, which involved a lot of clinic admin. Then as more suitable roles came up I took on more, so have learnt from the bottom up, which has been really helpful. As part of that I was really keen to develop my expertise in teaching and education, so I also took the PGCHE during my first year at CNELM, which geared me up for the teaching I do there.

I also do some external examining for BCNH and also a bit of extra teaching at MU also.

Is there anything you wish you’d known before finishing your studies that you might have prepared for differently?

I think probably to start to think about what I was going to do afterwards so I could really start to work towards it. I would have like to have used my dietary educator certificate but my finances didn’t really allow me to. I was lucky as I was part of an attendance group which I loved – connecting with other students was great. I learnt that making connections is important and I would encourage people doing distance learning to connect with their fellow students as much as they can.

What or who has most inspired you in your work?

One of my old bosses who I really didn’t like told me you only need to know 5% more than the people you’re teaching. Although I don’t agree with that 100%, that gave me a feeling of being able to take a risk; that you don’t need to know everything to be able to do something. I didn’t get too hung up with not knowing everything during assignments and that helped me cope better and take risks to do things I haven’t done before. It’s important to be creative, especially in nutrition and explore new things which might seem scary.

Do you have any tips, hints, things you’d have done differently...?

I think just being really organised is key. One of the things I would have done is to have been less perfectionist – sometimes it just has to be good enough or you can keep fiddling around forever. At some point you need to know when something is finished and being able to get to this point is important. Lots of our students are very high achievers and you can always do better on everything, but you need to get over that feeling of perfection.

It’s also important to be able to spend time thinking about what you want to do next – when I got ill it was a shock as that was all I ever wanted to do. Making time for thinking about the future and possible career options is crucial. I always have a longer term goal and when I meet it, I set the next one which keeps me going and helps keep developing different aspects of my career, so I don’t feel like I’ve missed an opportunity.

Think what you want, then think how to get that. I’ve always found that really helpful. And it also applies to studies; think what’s missing from your work – ask yourself the question; what do I know now and what do I need to find out next?