Guest blog by Rebecca Preece, Senior Occupational Health Advisor
I studied to become a Nurse at Portsmouth University. Our cohort was unique as everyone was serving in the armed forces. We split our time between Portsmouth University, where we could wear civilian clothing, and Fort Blockhouse (in Gosport), where we wore military uniform.
I graduated and was posted to the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC), Headley Court. I spent four years caring for wounded, injured and sick service personnel, many of whom sustained horrific injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan. Still in my early 20s, it was often a difficult and emotive place to work. But it was also rewarding to witness and be a part of numerous recovery journeys. I also spent four months working as an Aeromedical Evacuation Liaison Officer in Kuwait, where I ensured the safe and swift passage of wounded, injured and sick service personnel from Op Telic. I have many fond memories of my time at DMRC and encountered some wonderful opportunities, such as escorting a teenage brain-injured soldier to Clarence House, where he was presented his Op Telic campaign medal by the then Prince Charles; I had to explain to HRH that the soldier could only communicate by drawing pictures due to his injury.
In 2009, I was posted to RAF Waddington, and subsequently Gibraltar, RAF High Wycombe, and RAF Halton, before being medically discharged in 2019. In early 2020, whilst working as a civilian practice nurse with the Army, I saw a Band 7 post for a Travel Health and Immunisation Nurse Specialist working at Public Health England within their in-house occupational health team. My dream job! I had experience with travel health and immunisations, as a big part of my role as an RAF practice nurse was ensuring service personnel were fit to travel anywhere in the world, often at short notice. I was successful with my application, and on 1st April 2020, the first day of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, I joined the team.
I work in a diverse occupational health team of clinicians and admin support staff, where there is a wealth of knowledge and experience. We have a mix of remote-based Senior Occupational Health Advisors (SOHA), and site-based clinicians. I work at Porton Down, a big, world-renowned scientific campus. I feel a bit like Penny from the TV show ‘The Big Bang Theory,’ as I work alongside the amazing brain power of talented scientists and researchers.
It was a steep but exciting learning curve as the new role involved much more than travel health and immunisations. I realised that I had many transferable skills from my previous nursing roles. With support and mentorship from my colleagues, I was soon assessing pre-placement health questionnaires, carrying out new starter health assessments, taking occupational health screening bloods, carrying out skin and respiratory health surveillance, alongside my travel health and immunisation tasks.
In 2022, I started doing case management, something that I love. I feel like I am making a difference to the health and wellbeing needs of our employees. I remember a case where an employee was referred with depression and anxiety, which was impacting his work. When I first spoke to him, I could tell that he was in a really dark place from the tone of his voice and what he told me, which ultimately led to a period of sickness absence. Over a period of weeks, and after several appointments, I could hear the difference in his voice and knew that he was getting better and was dealing with his demons, which allowed him to return and remain in work.
Fast forward to 2025, and I am now a SOHA within the team, having successfully passed the Diploma in Occupational Health Practice. The last 18 months have been busy as, alongside studying and working full-time, I have two school-aged daughters, and in February, after 12 months of intensive training, I competed at the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler and won a bronze medal in skiing, and competed in skeleton and indoor rowing!
Moving into occupational health is the best career decision that I have ever made; I work in a fantastic and incredibly supportive team that has encouraged me to pursue my dreams. For anyone considering a career in occupational health who is doubting themselves as they do not think they have the skills, I encourage you to try it!
Rebecca Preece is a Senior Occupational Health Advisor, BSc, Dip HE, RN(Adult), DipOHPrac, working for the UK Health Security Agency Division of Workplace, and Health and Safety People and Workplace Directorate.