In this middle eight of Hayley’s interview, she touches on what love means to her, the importance of teamwork in her job and how seeing her grandfather ill inspired her to look after more people.
Hayley’s pronouns are “she/her”.
What does a regular day in Hayley’s mind look like?
It depends what mood I’m in. I guess I’m positive and my mind feels… colourful? Is that the right word to use? I’m a people pleaser really.
What part do relationships and love play in your daily life?
Well there’s Tom, of course. 5 and a half years we’ve been together. We all know what I was like when I was younger! With previous boyfriends, I always said I was in love but I wasn’t committed and I don’t think it was love. They say when you find the “one” you just know and this is it. I’ve never met anyone like him. I think he is a very genuine, caring person and always puts people first. He’s very thoughtful and sometimes I look at him and think “I want to be more like you”. I know I’m a bit of a selfish person, I know I am, but he isn’t and I want to be a bit more like that.
What aspect of friendship do you value most?
It’s all about banter, isn’t it? If you can have a joke with people and know they won’t take it offensively, that’s great. And I love it when you don’t see someone for months but you pick back up where you left off like nothing is different.
What do you do to make a positive impact on those/the world around you?
Again, I go back to being selfish. I don’t think I do anything. Oh no! Does that make me a bad person? I give money to charity but who doesn’t do that? When my friends ask for sponsorship, I always give my money to that.
What do you do to stay motivated?
Oh my goodness me! I am probably the worst person for this. People are going to read about me like “who the fuck is this?!”. At work, I just get on with it. I feel like if I don’t do something, nobody will do it. I don’t want it to get to the evening and someone asks about the end of day jobs and they are unfinished. I want to be there to help with them. It’s teamwork. We should all help out.
What was the deciding factor to pursue nursing?
Having my granddad live at home with us. He wasn’t that ill but it was that caring side that I had towards him. Saying that, he looked after me! But he had his problems. He was in and out of hospital. It’s strange how you pick a career and go for it.
How does your profession link to your personal life? How do you think it affects your sense of accomplishment day to day?
For me, working where I am now in children’s day surgery, I come home and don’t dwell on it because it’s not stressful. When I worked in A&E or the adolescent unit, I would bring a lot of that home because it was busy and challenging. I would have to wind down after it all. Now I come home, already calm, and have a nice evening. It’s nice when you get thank yous from parents and children when they’ve really appreciated your help. I am a caring person, I always put people first.
What is your “end goal” in terms of a professional target/life?
I always think I like to treat people how you would want to be treated. I want them to go away thinking I was nice to them today. There’s nothing worse than having bad comments about you. I want to go to work, do what I do and come home. I like what I’m doing in my role. I like my job! I’ve got to the point where I’ve left it too late in life to progress or push forward and do something else. I have become settled. I don’t want to step up and do the next thing. Why do I have to?
Hayley’s final 8 questions will feature on Saturday.
You can see more of what Hayley has been up to on her Instagram.
HOW TO BE; 