For the past seventeen years I have been employed as a healthcare assistant (HCA) in the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC). When I first joined the army I had previously considered becoming a nurse and had completed a pre-nursing course, but then one rainy day in Hull I saw the Army careers information office and thought that I would go and have a look. Two weeks later, after I had a medical and sat some tests I ended up in Aldershot having an interview to see if I was suitable to become a HCA (then called ward stewardess). I passed the interview and was accepted for training. For the next 11 years I served in military hospitals in Germany, Woolwich and Catterick, however, since the closure of Military Hospitals most of the HCAs in the QARANC now work in what are known as Ministry of Defence hospital units (MDHUs). These MDHUs have military medical and nursing staff working alongside their civilian counterparts in NHS Trusts located in Birmingham, Portsmouth, Northallerton Frimley Park and Peterborough. However, some HCAs still have the opportunity to work in military establishments in Cyprus and Germany.
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