Watch the video to find out who has won this prestigious nursing award. Good luck to all the finalists!
The finalists for the Nursing Student Award
Temitope Babajide
Anglia Ruskin University
Temitope Babajide decided to undertake her elective in a regional hospital in Ghana, fundraising to ship medical equipment and supplies donated by her placement trust. Once there, as part of a service improvement project she gave a presentation on using gloves to nurses, colleagues and the wider multidisciplinary team, adapting resources from a gloves awareness conference she had attended at home. She helped run a sport event at a local orphanage and organised a widows’ event, which included a health check, empowerment session and free lunch. Through that screening, some patients received diagnosis of underlying conditions and are now receiving appropriate treatment.
Ricky Baker
University of Worcester
This third-year children’s nursing student created a national peer support network based on child health on Twitter. The Children and Young People Student Nurse Network – @CYPStNN – has more than 1,000 followers and acts as an information hub where students can access support and advice from around the country and share information through regular Twitter chats. Mr Baker researches and creates content that students need, as well as advising a team of volunteers tweeting on the account. He spreads the word by speaking at universities and conferences and hosting stalls at events in his spare time.
Fiona Fitch
University of Suffolk
Adult nursing student Fiona Fitch has extensively researched how students can contribute to improving care of deteriorating patients. She registered to speak at a Health Education England (HEE) learner engagement event to provide feedback from her student perspective on recognising and prioritising deteriorating patients, and the effectiveness of NICE pathways and sepsis decision support tools. The second-year student’s presentation was such a success that she is now delivering it to adult nursing students at her university and has been invited to talk to HEE again about her experience of learning to help other adult nursing students. In practice, her research gave her the confidence to challenge the opinion of senior colleagues.
Nathan Harrison
University of Salford
Second-year student Nathan Harrison created the Parent and Carer Support Network at his university in response to nursing students with caring responsibilities expressing their frustration at the demands of the course and being unable to discuss their concerns. He set up a Facebook page to facilitate discussions with other students facing these challenges. He has used feedback to ensure content remains relevant and has completed training on safeguarding and signposting to university support systems. Feedback shows the page has improved morale and he is working with other universities interested in developing similar projects.
Rebecca Lennox and Robyn Mills
Liverpool John Moores University
Believing there is a huge gap in care and treatment of people from the Deaf community, first-year adult nursing students Rebecca Lennox and Robyn Mills introduced two days of British Sign Language classes for university staff and students, enlisting the help of charity Deaf Active. Participants report more confidence in approaching and communicating with people from the Deaf community, enhancing their care, and in some cases have been able to ask patients about pain or if they needed a drink. Demand for places has been so high that the students are pushing for them to be on the curriculum for all healthcare students and they plan to deliver the classes every semester.
Lynsey McLaughlin
Queen’s University Belfast
As a mother, a full-time student and a part-time healthcare assistant working with patients with complex needs, Lynsey McLaughlin recognised that nursing students needed more support. Having undertaken the nursing school student representative role, she met many students facing distressing situations, challenging academic obligations, pressures in practice and financial struggles. After numerous meetings, engaging students and stakeholders, she was given a space and funding to create a safe and supportive place for her peers to meet and eat a healthy, affordable meal they prepared at home.
Sean Prendergast and Laura McAdam
University of Abertay and University of Stirling
Sean Prendergast and Laura McAdam led a diverse committee, across four universities, to deliver the first Scottish Future of Mental Health Nursing conference, which featured speakers, workshops and more than 25 recruitment stalls and charities. Ms McAdam’s clear communication was crucial in ensuring a seamless flow of information through online and face-to-face meetings, a packed programme and a workable venue layout. Mr Prendergast secured the £40K needed to finance the event through selling stalls to health boards and trusts UK-wide. They secured a fantastic turn out of 500 students and 100 healthcare professionals through universities paying a nominal fee and agreeing to support their students to attend.
Student Empowerment Group
University of Chester
This group attends programme planning meetings to give a student voice to the developing and current curriculum to maximise the opportunities for student empowerment. It gives feedback while modules are being developed to ensure the student perspective is considered. As its workload increased, the group, supported by lecturer Peg Murphy, successfully developed a business plan to see the students paid as empowerment consultants. It continues to co-produce the new curriculum and has developed guidance for students going on placement. It is also developing a collection of reflections on placement experiences to help new students feel more comfortable about the challenges they face.
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