From a young age Makala Hulbert, a nursing graduate from Penrith, has always wanted to make people feel better. After studying at the Fusehill campus she applied to be a nurse with the Royal Navy and now is employed by the Ministry of Defense in Plymouth.
Following months of training and assault courses, Makala now works on a hospital ward alongside NHS staff but gets to do extra military work, such as taking part in Europe’s largest naval exercise: Joint Warrior. A UK-led multi-national exercise that involves over 33 warships, 25 different types of aircraft, and Royal Marine Commandos and soldiers with a combined personnel count of nearly 13,000. Makala said it was an exciting exercise to be part of: “Because the ships aren’t actually deployed it’s all just exercises with pretend casualties. I worked on the high dependency ward during Joint Warrior, simulating what you would do if it really happened.”
Originally, Makala had hoped to be sent to Afghanistan: “I wanted to go out there and put my nursing skills to good use. I probably won’t be able to go there but I’m hoping to go somewhere else. If they need me I’ll get a call and go do a few months training, then they’d send me out. It’s quite exciting.”
After three years of study and numerous placements, Makala moved down to Birmingham where she got a job on a ward at City Hospital. From there she moved to Devon to join the Royal Navy. “My job is just like a normal nursing job pretty much, I work in a civilian hospital. There’s a hospital ship that I get to go on and do exercises. We also do leadership courses and other military style things.”
It was tutor Jeanne Landon Campbell that recommended the Navy to Makala, she did some research and later applied within the Carlisle MoD branch during her third year of university. Luckily, her sea legs are quite good: “I like the sea, it doesn’t bother me. You get used to it.”
Despite being on a ship that’s crashing against the waves, she finds it surprisingly similar to working on terra firma. “You’ve got to make sure everything’s strapped down, you never know when the ship’s going to rock and everything’s going to go flying. You have to make sure the beds are secure, the patients are secure and you have to be a little more cautious. Apart from that it is basically the same with the same equipment requirements.”
CAMPUS 