Independent Nurse: Professional - Workplace - Career profile - Julia Billington, Surbiton, Surrey.(Interview)

Why did you become a nurse?

It's the old cliche: it was what I always wanted to do. I have no regrets.

How has your career developed since you started nursing?

I qualified in 1990, having enjoyed the social life of a student nurse in Brighton in the late 1980s. My wake-up call came when I started my first post as a staff nurse on a medical ward. I realised I had to keep abreast of the evolving knowledge: my learning had only just started.

I quickly moved on to A&E nursing, which I adored, until I started practice nursing in 1995 and this is where the learning curve began.

Community nursing is so different; if you want to do a …