Armed Forces Case Study - Amie Harrison

Celebrating Armed Forces Day with Senior Clinical Nurse Amie Harrison who worked within the Royal Logistics Corps.

Name: Amie Harrison
Job title: Senior Clinical Nurse
Service: National Inpatient Centre for Psychological Medicine

Explain your journey within the Armed Forces Community.

I joined the British Army when I was 17 and worked within the Royal Logistics Corps for several years. During this time, I saw a number of my colleagues and friends struggle with their mental health whilst serving. Being away from home and family made it more difficult for those to receive the support they required, and I wanted to be able to help in some way.

I then decided to transfer to Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps to retrain as a Nurse; however, that did not go as planned due to an injury I had sustained while in training. I was shortly after discharged from the Army on medical grounds. I was still very determined to become a nurse to help those struggling with their mental health, so I trained as a Mental Health Nurse at Leeds Uni.

Why did you consider working for the NHS, and why Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust?

I chose LYPFT because it is Leeds’s leading provider of specialist mental health services. The National Inpatient Centre for Psychological Medicine is a national service within the trust that provides biopsychosocial rehabilitation to patients living with complex comorbid conditions to improve health and quality of life. This service interested me as a student nurse, and I have worked there since graduating.

What has been your proudest achievement in your role to date?

Being successful in getting a band 6 position on my ward made me feel very proud of myself and my achievements. When leaving the Army, I had to start from the beginning and redo my GCSEs. Now, having the opportunity to be a part of the senior team and do a job I love is my biggest accomplishment.

What are the essential transferable skills from people within the armed forces community and working for the NHS/LYPFT?

There are so many transferable skills from being in the Army!

After leaving the Army, I had no qualifications but a great deal of experience. From my time serving, I learnt lots of skills which I could use day to day, and these have helped me in developing my role as a Nurse, some of the key skills being:

  • Communication
  • Resilience
  • Organisation
  • Team working
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity
  • Leadership