Online Reporter
PRETTY Manyimo swept the wards at a hospital when she arrived in the United Kingdom and, at the age of 60, she took up swimming.
Never one to let barriers stand in her way, Manyimo is now pursuing a PHD.
She has now been made a Queen’s Nurse, which is reserved for those who reach the highest standards of excellence, and leadership, in community nursing.
“It is a great honour and a source of great pride and professional recognition to be awarded the Queen’s Nurse title.
“I was chuffed I was successful,” she said.
The Zimbabwean qualified as a nurse in 2012.
The following year she started as a community nurse at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.
She went on to specialise in end-of-life care, due to the poor experience her mother had experienced.
She now works in the Integrated Specialist Palliative Care Team, a joint initiative between LPT and the hospice LOROS.
She has also taken on research roles with a view to improving the way end-of-life care is delivered to marginalised groups, including those with disabilities and ethnic minorities.
She has published her findings in international academic journals, and is currently studying towards a PHD.
“The sky is the limit if you follow your dreams. With determination, perseverance and resilience you can achieve anything.”
Pretty, now aged 61, was the oldest in an extended family from Zimbabwe, so grew up caring for others.
She had a stint as a primary school teacher before moving to the UK.
But she started at the bottom of the career ladder when she moved to the UK.
“My first job was a cleaner at Glenfield Hospital. My relationship with colleagues motivated me that I could become a nurse.
“It was me learning from them, how they communicated with patients with empathy and care. I wanted to be like them,” she said.
Last year she applied to become a Queen’s Nurse, a title awarded by the Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing to recognise leaders who have demonstrated a strong commitment to community nursing over several years.
She feels rewarded that she has been able to work in the community instead of hospitals.
“Working in people’s homes you get to know who they really are.”
She intends to use her membership of the institute to network with other senior colleagues, to bring the best ideas back to Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
Outside work Pretty lives in Leicester, is a member of her church, takes part in sponsored walks for medical charities, and took up swimming when she turned 60. — H-Metro Reporter/www.leicpart.nhs.uk/new
