Teacher gives up maths to give end of life care

A FORMER maths teacher who swapped the classroom for the bedside when she trained to become a nurse has said working with people at the end of their life is a 'privilege.

- By ANNETTE BELCHER

Jade Hunt, from Plymouth, is a newly qualified nurse and part of the Marie Curie team in Devon.

She works with University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust (UHP) at its Derriford and Mount Gould Hospitals. Speaking on International Nurses Day last week, Jade, 36, who left teaching in 2021 to pursue a career in nursing, said: "I think it's really similar qualities between teaching and nursing, in terms of being someone who wants to make an impact on people and trying to get the best for them.

"End of life care has always been something that's a little bit special to me. While I was training, my very first placement was on an elderly ward, and there were many end of life patients there. I really enjoyed how holistic and patient-led it is. The fact that you're just really responding to the patient's needs."

This experience led to Jade joining the UK's leading end of life charity, Marie Curie, as a healthcare assistant working in the community in 2022, before moving to support the charity's work within the emergency department at Derriford. She started working as a Registered Nurse in September 2024.