Meet the twin sisters with identical nursing careers
Posted 17 February 2020 - 13:42
Siblings Rali and Petya Marinova have qualified in the same speciality and work together on the same ward
Twin nurses working the same shifts on the same hospital team have revealed what it is like to work with an identical sibling.
Petya and Rali Marinova have been employed in the stoma care and internal pouch department of St Mark's Hospital in London since last September, but their career paths have always run together.
‘Working in the same place, we help and support each other’
Stoma care nurse Rali said: 'We are very close and have been pretty much inseparable for most of our lives – going to the same school, universities and jobs.
'I do not think there are any challenges of working in the same place, we always help and support each other.'
The twins have most of their shifts together, which means patients and colleagues sometimes get confused about who is who.
‘It was confusing for colleagues at first’
Pouch care nurse Petya said: 'We often tell them when we first meet them that we are twins and to always check the name badge in case they meet the other one.
Her sister added: 'Sometimes the patients don't believe us and we have to show them a picture as proof.
'I think it was more confusing for our colleagues at first, but now they can tell us apart, most of the time.'
The twins were born in Bulgaria, later moving to Italy where they studied nursing.
Identical career pathways
Following graduation, they moved to Ireland where they worked on separate surgical wards, while flying back and forth to Italy to complete master's degrees in stoma care.
Then in 2018, the pair moved to the Royal Free Hospital in London for nine months, before taking up jobs on the colorectal ward at St Mark's, part of London North West Healthcare NHS Trust, last April.
The pair live together, travel together and enjoy similar hobbies such as baking, caring for animals, and a love of Liverpool FC, and say they cannot imagine a time they would go their separate ways.
'I could not imagine my life any other way,' Petya said.
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