From NHS Nurse to Ski Instructor

Snowsports school shadowing New Generation I already had the second week of December booked off from work so it seemed sensible to use this week for the 35 hours snowsports school shadowing that I needed for my Alpine Level 1 license. December 8 th  was very early in the ski season to be skiing and most resorts wouldn’t yet be open. To have a realistic chance of finding a ski school able to take me I would need to go somewhere with a glacier. Switzerland with the glacier skiing resorts of Zermatt, Saas Fee and Villars-Sur-Ollon was a likely option. The resort of Villars-Sur-Ollon and the surrounding area is somewhere I know well having spent a lot of time there. I contacted one of the  ski schools in Villars-Sur-Ollon, New Generation. New Generation had no ski classes running, it was too early and the ski area didn’t open until 15 th  December. There was however an in-house ski instructor training program running and the glacier would be open for skiing. I ...

Ski instructor training There are several routes you can take to become a ski instructor. For example, you can qualify through the Irish system, Canadian system, British system, on an internship program or as stand alone elements. There is no right or wrong way, it’s what suits you. I chose the British system with the British Association of Snowsports Instructors (BASI). BASI Unable to do an internship program due to my job as an NHS nurse I opted to complete my BASI training in stand alone elements and enrolled on the starting level course; Alpine Level 1. My time with BASI was to be beset by problems. The stand alone elements needed for a BASI Alpine Level 1 are: Level 1 training Children’s Safeguarding First Aid 35 hours snowsports school shadowing Disclosure and barring clearance Due to my NHS job I already met most of these elements leaving me just needing Alpine Level 1 training and 35 hours snowsports school shadowing. Earlier in the summer I had enrol...

School ski trip – Crans Montana Saint Mary’s Catholic School Saint Mary’s Catholic School in Leyland had done ski trips before; in fact annually. Never before had they been joined by a total stranger for the week. Joining the pupils on the trip were headmaster Philip Mooney and two other staff; Stephen Tattersall and Jade Thornhill. I have to confess having a headmaster with you does put you on your best behaviour ! My role was purely to support Thomas 1:1 whether in the hotel or on the ski slopes but quickly found I was very popular with the kids on the trip. This was for one main reason; I ski wearing a koala bear rucksack ! K oala Bear With the exception of Thomas I'd not met any of the school prior to the trip. When I turned up to meet them at Geneva Airport with a koala bear rucksack they must have thought I was bonkers. In fact my previous boss on the dialysis team (Jessie Rahim) will tell you I am indeed totally bonkers. Koala certainly raised a few eyeb...

For the past 20 years I have worked as a children's nurse at Birmingham Children's Hospital. First on the intensive care unit, followed by the kidney ward and finally as part of the kidney dialysis team. It was a job I loved and one that also gave me opportunities to do things I would otherwise never have done. When London held the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games I was a volunteer performer in a specially choreographed section for NHS staff entitled 'Second to the right and straight on t'il morning'. Being part of not only an Olympic Games but my country's home Olympic Games was a once in a lifetime opportunity. However, I was about to get the opportunity to do something else I never thought likely; a school ski trip. Can anyone ski ? I had been on a school ski trip before when at school but never as an adult, nor did I expect to go ...