On Our Mind

Posted on 1 Nov 2024

As part of Learning Disability Nurses’ Day (1 November), we are sharing Adam’s story about why he became a learning disability nurse and what he enjoys about his role. 

Adam is a Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Intensive Community Assessment & Treatment Teams (ICATTs).

Why did you became a learning disability nurse?

“I used to volunteer in the school holidays supporting children with disabilities, and thought it would make a good career choice. I wasn’t very academic at school (quite the opposite!), and nursing was one of the few registered professions at the time that did not require applicants to have amazing grades. The first I heard of learning disability nursing was when I started the application process and saw the branches on offer, and knew immediately it was for me. I then came to Nottingham in the mid 90s to start my training, where the vocational and academic aspects of the course lit even more of a spark in me to pursue a professional career with people with learning disabilities.”

What do you enjoy most about your role?

“Having initially worked in inpatient settings, and then later in the community, I found my calling in the mental health and behavioural support of adults with learning disabilities. I became interested in how to understand and connect with service users who were often very distressed, and/or were behaving in ways that were difficult to understand. Most of my learning came from spending time with service users themselves, but also watching colleagues often do a much better job than me and studying their qualities. From there I began to slowly develop my therapeutic interests into a clinical specialism by undertaking further postgraduate training specific to my career goals, and trying to incorporate my learning into mine and others’ practice. I am also enjoying becoming more research active, in trying to make a small difference at a wider policy and population level.”

Why is it so important that we support Learning Disability Nurses' Day?

“Learning disability nursing may be the smallest and least known of all the nursing branches, but it has been at the forefront of change in the health and social care of people with learning disabilities for some decades. It has also shown itself to be highly adaptable, with learning disability nurses working in a broad range of settings that include community teams, mental health and forensic hospitals, acute hospitals, primary care, police custody suites, prisons, specialist residential services and schools– essentially all the places that people with learning disabilities might find themselves in need of specialist support.”

Do you have any advice for those wishing to start their learning disability nursing career journey.

“My advice would be to start from a strong value base that centres the rights and experiences of service users. The specialist knowledge and skills we develop along the way will count for very little if it does not align with what our service users are wanting and needing from their specialist health workforce. Also to think about staff and carers as a client group in their own right, as we cannot hope to deliver safe and effective outcomes for service users unless we are considering their physical and emotional wellbeing too.”