Published: 15 November 2021

Coastal living and a dream job – how Christina found her perfect balance, by the sea.

Christina McLaughlin had always dreamed of a life by the sea, so when she saw Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust was recruiting district nurses in the coastal town of Whitstable, she jumped at the chance.

“I have always loved this part of the world and I would often visit Whitstable for day trips or weekend breaks when I was living in west London. I love everything about it, the beach, the quirky shops and the old harbour.”

Christina felt the time was right so she packed her bags and together with her son Max, 10, made the move to Faversham, just along the north Kent coast from her Whitstable work base.

“It’s a whole new way of life for both of us, we’re not sitting in traffic jams every day breathing in fumes and it’s lovely being so close to the sea. Faversham is more inland than Whitstable but it’s easy to get to London from there, if we need to get back to visit family and it has a lovely village feel to it, even though it’s quite a busy town.

“I love the market and everyone is so friendly and welcoming. Max goes to primary school in Whitstable, which is really convenient for me as I can drop him off and collect him every day on my way to and from work.

“Sometimes after he’s finished school and I’m finished work, we head straight to the beach – it really is idyllic. Max has made lots of new friends too.”

Life hasn’t always been plain sailing for Christina. “I wanted to be a nurse from an early age mainly because I was always very poorly as a child and at 14 I was diagnosed with kidney disease. I was used to being around nurses and hospitals and it made me want to repay their kindness and care towards me.”

Christina started nurse training but in 2016 her studies at Buckinghamshire New University were interrupted by end-stage kidney disease. She was preparing for the worst when she found out her brother, Andrew, was the perfect match to become a live kidney donor.

“I had to take a year out from the course but luckily the operation was a success and I graduated in 2018,” said Christina, who spent three years with Mount Vernon Hospital in west London before joining the Kent team.

Christina is now part of the community nursing team based at the Whitstable and Tankerton hospital, just a stone’s throw from the gorgeous north Kent coast and its sweeping shingle beaches.

“I always wanted to work in community nursing,” she said. “When you’re in the community you’re using your clinical skills every single minute of the day. Some days are really busy but that’s part and parcel of being a nurse. My shifts fit in well with school hours so Max and I can have a better work/life balance. It’s been a great move all round.”