Blog

In conversation with Claire Greenall, paediatric dietitian

Can you give us an overview of your career up until you started your apprenticeship?

I joined the trust as a nutrition assistant back in 2015 before joining the dietetic team in 2016, since then I have worked across the wards and community supporting patients with feeding tubes and nutrition support; providing training for patients and care providers as well troubleshooting issues with feeding tubes and nutritional care plans to keep patients in their homes and avoid unnecessary admissions to hospital. When one of our nutrition nurses reduced her hours I had the opportunity to develop my nursing skills and widen my scope of practice and then in 2023 I secured the opportunity to complete the dietetic apprenticeship at Teesside University which I finished earlier this year graduating as a qualified Dietitian. I have recently started in my role as a paediatric dietitian within the trust which has been so exciting and provided so many opportunities to continue to learn and develop further!

Why did you decide to complete an apprenticeship? Were you considering any other options?

Having a mortgage and bills to pay meant the traditional university route to becoming a qualified dietitian wasn’t an option. The apprenticeship allowed me to study and progress whilst earning my usual wage. I also knew I wanted to work at the trust after qualifying so the opportunity to stay within the department whilst studying appealed. 

Are there any stand out moments or achievements from throughout your apprenticeship?

Stand out moments would probably include presenting one of my student projects on mouthcare for nil by mouth patients at the regional northern nutrition network with the support of our amazing nutrition nurse lead Madeleine as well as having the opportunity to gain experience of all the amazing dietetic specialties we have at Northumbria on placement including paediatrics, diabetes, acute, weight management, bariatrics, oncology, gastro and nutrition support. A placement visiting a neighbouring mental health trust to gain experience of secure inpatients was also another highlight. 

Would you recommend the apprenticeship route to others?

I would definitely recommend the apprenticeship to others after giving consideration to the amount of time, hard work and dedication needed to complete it. Having worked as a dietetic support worker for years I was confident that dietetics was the right career path for me and I already had a lot of experience and knowledge that I could utilise as part of the apprenticeship which was a huge advantage.

How did you manage the balance of work-based learning and maintaining your well-being?

My manager and the team I worked in were extremely supportive in ensuring I had additional time to work on assignments when deadlines were due, the team covered countless clinics and training sessions without complaint to help me through. Despite this, annual leave had to be carefully considered as there weren’t many breaks in the course and some evening and weekend work on assignments and study was required. There was also good support from the other students on my course and we regularly met for socials and debriefed during stressful periods.