A UNIVERSITY student is nearing a ‘health harmony’, combining her experience with one profession with another.

Celine Hobson-Garcia, who lives in Bordon, has been interested in health for as long as she can remember.

She said: “I grew up in the Caribbean, born in Trinidad, but I lived with my Gran in Grenada for some years and provided some of her care needs.

“She was diabetic and experienced difficulties with her feet which, sadly, is the case for many diabetic people. I determined from a young age to help her in some way.”

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Celine still works part-time as a nurse but has started on the path toward qualifying in podiatry, the original career path she thought of as a child. She has just finished the first year of her degree in Podiatry at University of Northampton (UON).

She said: “There are three nurses in my family, so perhaps it was inevitable I’d get nudged in that direction. I started out in psychiatric (or mental health) and general (adult) nursing and completed many other competencies. It’s been a very satisfying career, but recently I have thought more about podiatry.

“I researched a few podiatry courses and applied through UCAS, and University of Northampton responded almost straight away.

“I visited all the universities as they all had something to offer, but I was super impressed by UON! It was new and the clinic is fabulous, and the course offers things you don’t get at other universities, such as working on cadavers.

“There are some transferrable skills in nursing (for instance, wound dressings), but you really can’t compare the two professions. I feel like I have been and always will be on a continuous learning journey – I like to study!

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“Podiatry is intense but engaging and makes you hungry to know and do more, and to look to the future.”

Celine is committed to providing good podiatric care, something she feels is urgently required: “We need to think about this in terms of the numbers. The UK has a population of around 70 million people, but there are only about 12,000 podiatrists.

“With an increase in potentially life-altering conditions such as diabetic ulcers that can lead to amputations, you don’t need to do complicated maths to understand why podiatrists are so desperately needed.”