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Lauren Willson, ODP and Neurodiversity Champion at Practice Plus Group Hospitals, Emersons Green, reflects on her career, lived experience of dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia, and her work supporting careers education.
For the International Day of People with Disabilities, we are shining a light on Lauren Willson, an Operating Department Practitioner and Neurodiversity Champion at Practice Plus Group Hospital, Emersons Green.
Lauren shares:
“School was hard due to my learning difficulties and I didn’t leave school with the best GCSE results. I also had no idea what career options were open to me because there was so little advice available at the time.
Now, with a successful career as an operating department practitioner, I volunteer with a charity that helps educate children on their career options.
My mum knew from early on that I had some learning difficulties. Later, I was diagnosed with dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia. For me, that means struggling with working memory, sequencing, and anything to do with numbers. Reading came much slower, but with the support of a wonderful tutor I found a love for it.
School was hard. Support would be given and then taken away once I hit milestones, so it always felt like I was taking one step forward and then one step back. University was much better: I found the environment more understanding, more structured, and I was given more help.
At the time, I wasn’t sure what to do. I tried outdoor education and even tried to join the Royal Navy… but at 4’11”, they told me I wasn’t tall enough to shut the watertight doors!
It was my mum, who was a nurse for 38 years, who found a course in the operating theatres at Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital. I applied, got in, and that’s how I started my operating theatre career. I spent around eight years at Bournemouth, completed my ODP training, and then moved to Bristol Children’s Hospital. I loved my time there, especially working in neurosurgery and trauma. After nearly a decade, I felt ready for a new pace, and that’s how I found Practice Plus Group.
Being neurodivergent has absolutely shaped me. I have always leaned towards hands-on work and people-focused roles. Oddly, for someone who struggled in school, I now love teaching.
Although dyslexia brings challenges, it has also given me strengths. I’m a good problem-solver, quick to notice things, and I think differently, which can be an asset in theatres.
When I joined the theatre team at Emersons Green and expressed that I wanted to move into anaesthetics, my manager was incredibly supportive. My manager encouraged me to pursue further study and focus on what I enjoyed. I have just finished my Post Graduate Certificate in Health Sciences Education, and I now mentor staff, support students and run simulation training.
I rely on a notepad and a diary to help with my working memory, but overall, the transition into anaesthetics was smooth because my working environment was understanding and flexible.
I am also part of our Neurodiverse Champions group at Emersons Green. We meet regularly to discuss how to improve patient and colleagues’ experiences, from creating visual stories to exploring more sensory-friendly resources. It’s empowering to work somewhere that values different thinking styles and actively wants to make things better.
Alongside my clinical role, I volunteer with a charity, Inspiring the Future, that supports careers education. I have already completed my first session, speaking to nearly 150 pupils across six classes, and I have four more visits booked across primary and secondary schools.
I always tell young children that not knowing what I wanted to do, and being neurodivergent, didn’t stop me finding a career I love or going on to do postgraduate study.
I’m really looking forward to delivering sessions where children can follow Edward A. Bear on his theatre journey as he undergoes a hip replacement and meets different members of our team. It’s fun, memorable, and shows young people that healthcare is so much more than the jobs they see on TV.
I’m passionate about this because, when I was young, no one explained the career options available to me, especially in operating theatres. Students deserve better knowledge and better guidance. My long-term hope is to offer small group visits to our hospital, giving young people a real feel for the world behind the theatre doors.
When I speak to students, they’re always surprised or rather relieved to hear that dyslexia didn’t hold me back. I tell them there are many routes into healthcare, including apprenticeships, and that neurodiversity doesn’t close doors. Sometimes it even gives you a different way of looking at the world, which can be a real advantage.
Dyslexia and my neurodiversity have been both challenging and a source of strengths. They have pushed me to be resilient and to find joy in helping others discover their own path.
Your neurodiversity can open doors you never expected. You just need the confidence to step through them.”
