Course: Multiply (one-to-one)
Employer: Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust (Treliske)
Job Role: Healthcare Assistant
Vicki, a Healthcare Assistant (HCA) working in the pre-assessment unit at the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust (Treliske), wanted to pursue her ultimate goal of becoming a nurse. To do this Vicki needed to achieve a maths qualification, which was essential for her to enrol in a nursing degree. However, like many people, maths was a subject she had always struggled with and became a significant barrier to progressing her career.
Vicki’s relationship with maths had been far from positive; she openly admitted, “I dreaded it [maths], hated it, but had to have it to progress in my career.”
Her maths anxiety was compounded by the fact that her initial attempts to improve through independent online learning were unsuccessful. While she was committed to passing, she found herself struggling with the self-guided nature of the programme.
Despite her determination, Vicki faced repeated setbacks, having attempted and failed the required maths exam twice. This understandably shook her confidence, making the prospect of further attempts even more daunting.
It was during this challenging time that Vicki learned about the Multiply programme. Following an interview for a nursing course at Truro and Penwith College, she reached out to one of the nursing tutors at the College, explaining her difficulties with the online learning process. The tutor referred her to Multiply and introduced her to Angie, a supportive tutor who would help her along the way.
Multiply provided Vicki with the personalised support she needed through one-to-one sessions with Angie, who helped break down the complexities of maths in a way Vicki could finally understand. Reflecting on her experience, Vicki commented, “Looking back, I learnt loads during the time with Angie, although I doubted myself at the time. Angie’s constant encouragement and belief in my abilities helped me stay motivated.”
This hands-on, tailored approach proved to be the turning point in Vicki’s maths journey. As she worked with Angie, her perception of maths began to shift. Although initially it felt like a necessary evil, Vicki gradually found herself enjoying maths as she started to grasp the concepts. Vicki explained: “It was a means to an end, but I did start to enjoy it as I began to understand it.”
Vicki also credits another tutor, Asun, for teaching her how to effectively use scientific calculators—a skill she felt would be critical during her nursing degree when dealing with drug rounds and administration.
By the end of her Multiply course, Vicki had not only passed her maths qualification but also felt a profound sense of achievement. Vicki shared: “I am a lot more confident with my maths now.
“Without Multiply and Angie, I wouldn’t have been able to progress onto the nursing degree as I needed maths, and it was a barrier to me starting. I had to delay my start by a year because of this.”
Vicki’s success with Multiply has had a lasting impact on both her career and everyday life. With her newfound maths skills and confidence, she is now set to begin her nursing degree—a step she couldn’t have taken without the help of the Multiply team. She now sees maths as a practical and necessary tool that will help her in future tasks, particularly in her nursing studies, where accurate calculations are crucial for patient safety.
Beyond her own experience, Vicki has become an advocate for the Multiply programme. She regularly recommends it to colleagues and friends who face similar challenges with maths. Vicki remarked, “The Multiply programme is such a good idea, especially for mature students and people who want to progress their career but need maths.”
Vicki’s journey from dreading maths to achieving her qualification is a testament to the power of personalised support and encouragement. Thanks to Multiply, and the dedication of tutors like Angie and Asun, Vicki was able to conquer her fears, develop her skills, and move forward in her nursing career.
She concluded, “I genuinely don’t know what I would have done without the support from Angie and Asun, thanks to Multiply. They’re amazing, and they were there to help me when I needed them.”
For the full range of training and support offered through Multiply at Truro and Penwith College and to find out more about the Project, visit www.mobilemultiply.co.uk
