{"id":26868,"date":"2026-04-13T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alliance-scotland.org.uk\/humansofscotland\/?p=26868"},"modified":"2026-04-08T12:06:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T11:06:47","slug":"jacquelines-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alliance-scotland.org.uk\/humansofscotland\/jacquelines-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacqueline’s story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I am a lecturer in Learning Disability Nursing, at Edinburgh Napier University and currently the Programme Leader for the Bachelor of Nursing (Learning Disabilities) programme. My role involves collaborating with university colleagues and students, ensuring the smooth day to day delivery of learning and teaching, and the continuous review of all that we do. From supporting student with personal and\/or academic development, to liaising with nurses and colleagues from Practice – no two days are the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was 11 years old, I volunteered with a local \u2018Enable\u2019 group that provided social activities and holidays for both children and adults with learning disabilities. I started this volunteering for a Girl Guiding badge but instantly loved the connection with people and kept going until I left home at 18. On leaving school, I worked as a nursing assistant in a local hospital for people with learning disabilities. The care of people with learning disabilities in the late 1980\u2019s was different to our community based services today. Although the hospital environment was not homely or person centred, the experience inspired me to become a Registered Learning Disability Nurse, and to make a difference for people with learning disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s hard to think of one proud moment, but the overwhelming sense of pride always comes when someone says \u2018Thank you for listening\u2019. This could be from someone with a learning disability themselves, from a family member or carer – or more recently from a student nurse. We should never underestimate the power of giving someone space to talk and tell their story. It is a real privilege to be able to listen, and make someone feel significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People with learning disabilities all have a voice and it is our role to listen, and give agency to that person, to make a difference and to improve their health and wellbeing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a learning disability nurse, I realised that small interventions could make a huge difference for people, and I would say that is still the same today. Belonging to a team that values each other and recognises the importance of \u2018small things\u2019 makes for a good day. The field of learning disability nursing is full of positive, supportive people, who all have the same ambition: to improve the health and wellbeing of people with learning disabilities. Coming together to do what we do makes me happy, and I can\u2019t imagine any other job that would make me feel like this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every day I am motivated by the student nurses who come to study learning disability nursing with us. It\u2019s a full time programme, with both theory and practice learning placements, and it can be challenging. But, hearing their stories of why they have come into the profession and hearing about the differences they make along the way is inspiring. My advice to anyone considering Learning Disability Nursing is to do it! I encourage them to find out more and come join us. I have been a learning disability nurse for over 35 years now, working in a variety of settings, in both children and adult services, and I am proud of my career. People with learning disabilities experience some of the highest health inequalities within our population, and learning disability nurses really can make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Read all Humans of Scotland stories here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

In connection with Humans of Scotland, the ALLIANCE Person Centred Voices team launched a short film. In it, we hear from some of the incredible nurses and midwives we\u2019ve had the honour of meeting over the years. This film is a celebration of person centred care, professional pride, and the human connections that sit at the heart of nursing and midwifery. You can watch the film here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am a lecturer in Learning Disability Nursing, at Edinburgh Napier University and currently the Programme Leader for the Bachelor of Nursing (Learning Disabilities) programme. My role involves collaborating with university colleagues and students, ensuring the smooth day to day delivery of learning and teaching, and the continuous review of all that we do. From … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":26869,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"hos-category":[741],"humans_tags":[871,828],"area_of_work":[776,774],"strategic_priority":[],"class_list":["post-26868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","hos-category-services-and-support","humans_tags-nursing-and-midwifery","humans_tags-services-and-support","area_of_work-humans-of-scotland","area_of_work-person-centred-voices"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJacqueline's story - Humans of Scotland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.alliance-scotland.org.uk\/humansofscotland\/jacquelines-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jacqueline's story - Humans of Scotland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I am a lecturer in Learning Disability Nursing, at Edinburgh Napier University and currently the Programme Leader for the Bachelor of Nursing (Learning Disabilities) programme. 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