January 2025
What is your current role?
Hi! My name is Vicky, I’m 24 and a paediatric diabetes family support worker. I work in a team of nurses, consultants, dietitians and psychologists to support young people who have been diagnosed with various forms of diabetes and their families.
I love my role because of the relationships I create with families supported by the Evelina London diabetes team. We put patients at the heart of our care and I love seeing the positive impact this has on how they’re able to manage their diabetes. The support I can offer families can take many forms. I can help them access appropriate services, develop educational resources, provide support around diabetes technology and help them apply for financial support.
I also organise fun days out for our families so they’re able to meet other people who can understand what they’re going through and support one another.
How long have you worked for Evelina London?
I’m relatively new to Evelina London, having worked with the diabetes team for four months. However I feel that I have settled in very quickly.
Could you describe your career journey?
When I started university, I still had no idea what career I wanted to pursue. However, in my second year of university I began volunteering as a supportive listener for Nottinghamshire Mind and found such a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction in helping other people. After finishing my degree, I decided to move to Edinburgh and complete a psychology conversion masters that specialised in mental health. I loved learning about different psychological theories and how the mind works. During this year, I worked as a support worker/healthcare assistant for a healthcare agency. I worked in many different environments, from care homes for the elderly, to residential homes for adults with developmental disabilities.
During my dissertation period, I began working as a nursery support assistant, with 2 and 3-year-old children. I loved this job because I was able to create such positive relationships with the children in my room and their families, and I was able to bring my positive and high-energy personality to work every day! After finishing my degree, I moved back home to London where I started working as a pastoral support officer in a comprehensive secondary schooland provided emotional and behavioural support to students aged 11-16. Despite loving this role, I decided to go travelling for 7 months and travelled round South East Asia and Australia. Once I returned from travelling and began applying for jobs, I knew that I wanted to remain in a caring role that supported children and young people and that I wanted to be able to apply my psychological knowledge.
What made you interested in working with children and young people who have diabetes?
I’ve always been interested in the relationship between physical and mental health, and diabetes is a perfect example. The complex nature of the condition and its management, means diabetes can create a lot of stress and emotion for the children and young people experiencing it and their families. I love working to improve our families' experiences with diabetes and making sure they feel supported.
How do you relax?
I love spending time with family and friends, keeping active and being at home with my dogs.
Do you have any advice for young people considering a career similar to your own?
My biggest advice is to try out different roles as early as you can. This is the only way to assess which environment you will work best in. I really enjoyed working with adults, but it wasn’t until I worked in a nursery that I discovered how much I love working with children and young people.
Thank you to the children and young people who have so brilliantly illustrated our blog pages.