Samuel Blaylock

I graduated from the University of Leeds in 2017 with a degree in Mental Health Nursing. I now work as a Charge Nurse in Psychiatric Intensive Care for the NHS Leeds and York Partnership Foundation Trust.

A degree at Leeds has helped me progress more quickly in my career as although the degree is mandatory, I do feel it has helped me developed the analytics skills required to progress in my career.

Studying at Leeds has been seen as an advantage by current and potential employers as Leeds University has a really good reputation. Research and evidence based practice is at the core of nursing so the University of Leeds reputation for investing in and undertaking research is a big draw.

To succeed in the course you had to be committed and work hard which are good values to continue into your career. I was taught to analyse and question everything in order to constantly improve clinical practice. In order to do this, you need to understand and apply the latest research which I learned to do at University.

The academics, researchers, and practitioners at Leeds shaped my professional life as they emphasised the importance of working in practice using the latest evidence. I was shown how to access the latest research and be able to recognise which studies had value and how they might relate to my clinical work.

Overall, a Leeds degree has contributed to my career as it cemented the basic knowledge and mechanism needed in a nursing career to develop. Nursing is a constantly changing field and nurses are expected to evolve with it. The research and clinical skills I learned enable me to continually improve and ensure I am working with the latest evidence base to help my patients.