The first students to study on a
new 18-month full-time work-based nursing degree have graduated, and with
flying colours.
Traditionally a three-year qualification, the 18-month nursing course is
aimed at people with a healthcare background.
The first of its kind in the UK, the programme leads to a BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies/Registered Nurse
(Adult) degree and is a partnership between Northumbria University,
Newcastle, and Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. The course involves
a mix of classroom-based teaching, simulated clinical skills and hands-on
practical experience in hospitals and the community across Northumberland and
North Tyneside and, on completion, the students were guaranteed employment at
Northumbria Healthcare.
The first ten recruits – made up
of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust staff – began the programme in
March 2016. The opportunity, funded by
the trust, was so popular that it received almost six times the number of
applications than there were places for, and a second course, with a further 10
recruits began in March 2017.
Katy Crinson, from Sunderland, is
one of the newly-qualified nurses who took part in the new degree programme. She
is now a staff nurse in the critical care unit at Northumbria Specialist
Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington, where she was originally a nursing
assistant. She said: “I am absolutely delighted to have graduated from what has
been a great course. Whilst it was quite intense, having had healthcare
experience already stood me in good stead and the support I received from the
University and the trust has been second to none.
“I am absolutely delighted to
have fulfilled my ambition and to start my nursing career. It has been such an
honour to have been part of an innovative approach to nurse education and it’s
great to see that the North East are leading the way.”
Daniel Kane, from Newcastle, now
works as a staff nurse on a respiratory medicine ward at North Tyneside
Hospital. He said: “It’s momentous really to have had the opportunity to
do this course. There’s been a lot of support during the degree, both from the
University and the trust. I would definitely advocate this qualification to
others going forward.”
Rachel Heron, from Blyth, is also
a staff nurse on a respiratory medicine ward at Northumbria Specialist Emergency
Hospital. She previously worked in the Northumberland Sexual Health Service. She
said: “We had a lot of support particularly from the clinical educators. The
highlight of the course for me was the placement, where I had excellent support
from my mentors and I am now delighted to be putting my learning into practice.”
Following the success of the 18-month
degree programme, the course is now being replicated in other areas of the
country.
Professor Alison Machin, acting head
of the nursing, midwifery and health department within Northumbria University’s
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, said: “I would like to congratulate all
the student nurses on their graduation and to wish them an exciting and
rewarding career in nursing.
“Northumbria has a long-standing
excellent reputation for delivering high quality innovative nurse education and
training. This programme uses a new approach of workplace-based coaching to
support student nurses’ teaching and learning, keeping quality of patient care
at the forefront.”
“The course with Northumbria Healthcare is a real trail
blazer, with other NHS trusts and higher education institutions now following
in our footsteps. It was specifically designed to help address their
nursing requirements and enables motivated people, with healthcare experience,
already working within the sector, to step up and become fully qualified
nurses.”
Ellie Monkhouse, executive
director of nursing and quality at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust,
said: “Many congratulations to our nurses who have graduated from the first
shortened nursing programme of its kind in the country. We are delighted to
welcome them back to our trust as fully-qualified nurses and they are already
making a positive difference to patient care across Northumberland and North
Tyneside.
“Like every NHS organisation in
the country, we continue to face real recruitment pressures and must
continually look at innovative ways to secure our future nursing workforce and
this is just one way we are being able to do this.
“Working in partnership with
Northumbria University to train our
own nurses has enabled us to not only grow our own workforce and create
opportunities for our own staff, however, have nurses who share our values and
put patients at the heart of everything they do.
“We wish these nurses every
success in their roles and look forward to developing their careers with
Northumbria while continuing to support the next cohort of nurses to join them
as fully-qualified members of our nursing team.”
The course has also been viewed
positively by the Nursing and Midwifery Council following a monitoring visit
where it was highly commended in the verbal feedback.
At the end of the course, the students are qualified to work in
hospitals or in the community – a key part of work led by Northumbria
Healthcare to develop new models of care in Northumberland as a national
vanguard site as chosen by NHS England.
For more information about a career in nursing visit www.northumbria.ac.uk.
For more information about Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust,
visit www.northumbria.nhs.uk
