Graduate follows in mum's footsteps... and so does dad

IT's almost as if it runs in the family.

Newly graduated nurse Fraser Chalmers is pictured with his father Ross, who is in his 3rd year on the same course, and his mother Sarah who already works as a district nurse. Picture: Greg Macvean

The 25-year-old collected a BN in Nursing from Edinburgh Napier University, watched by his father Ross, 51, who is now in the third year of the course at the same university, after the 2008 financial crisis forced him to quit his job as a mortgage broker.

The father and son duo will join Fraser’s mum Sarah, 50, who works as a district nurse team manager in north west Edinburgh, while his younger sister Kirsty, 22, is a staff nurse in the neonatal unit at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

His twin brother Murray – also an Edinburgh Napier graduate – is a recruitment consultant, who enlists nurses for the Scottish Nursing Guild.

Fraser, who is set to become a community staff nurse at Bruntsfield Health Centre, said: “I’m really proud to follow in my mum’s footsteps and become a member of a district nursing team.

“She has been an inspiration to me and has taught me the keys values of care and compassion that you need to be an excellent nurse.

“I am proud to achieve my goal and I’m also looking forward to seeing my dad collect his degree next year.”

Fraser, whose family is from South Queensferry, studied law for a year before he started working part-time with his dad at a private care agency.

He joined the NHS as a clinical support worker in 2011 but decided to study nursing full time two years later.

His father Ross swapped the fast-paced world of finance for giving something back by working in home care, before becoming a clinical support worker at the Western General Hospital.

He said: “My ambition is to get a post back in ward 57, which is a urology ward. That is where this journey started and I really love working in a surgical setting.

“To be at Fraser’s graduation will be a really proud moment and will give me the drive and determination to be where he is this time next year, receiving my degree 36 years after leaving school.”

His wife Sarah, who went into nursing straight from school in 1985 and has worked as a staff nurse, a midwife and a district nurse, is delighted to see her husband and son embarking on their own nursing careers.

She said: “I am passionate about community nursing, and so proud that Fraser is following in my footsteps.

“I hope he will study further to become a district nurse of the future.

“It’s also great to see Ross pursuing his goals and ambitions and I am sure that they will both find their nursing careers as rewarding as I have.”

Jackie Nicol, a lecturer in Edinburgh Napier’s School of Health and Social Care, has taught both father and son and worked with mum Sarah.

Ms Nicol said: “It has been my pleasure to have been professionally involved with all three family members, and I am sure Fraser and Ross will use the knowledge and experience they have gained at Edinburgh Napier to make their own mark on the nursing profession.

“I wish them all a very happy graduation day and offer my best wishes for the future.”

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