Students’ vital role in pandemic battle
Stirling University’s student nurses have made a “major contribution” to the pandemic.
A top nurse at NHS Forth Valley said they had gone “above and beyond” in these challenging times and shown “immense courage, compassion and dedication.”
The Stirling Observer spoke to two Stirling students about what it is like training during these unprecedented times.
Andrew Hilson, 29, is in his third year of his adult nursing course at Stirling University.
While the majority of Stirling’s students are currently studying online, nursing students are still attending classes and placements.
Andrew said the university had taken the necessary precautions to make him feel safe.
He said: “The university has been fantastic. Every room has been sanitised and they know who has been in that room.
“Having done distance learning, it’s not for me. I like to leave the house and get a routine.
“There’s a bit of pride in being a student nurse.” We spoke to Andrew just after he had finished a busy weekend doing 12-hour shifts in Forth Valley Royal Hospital’s theatre department - an altogether different theatre environment for the former actor.
Andrew - who spent five and a half years performing at the Edinburgh Dungeons - said: “We are out in the hospital working and it’s just a normal day. It’s a privilege to be trusted to go out.”
He said the staff at Forth Valley Royal had made him feel “very much part of the team.”
And his acting skills have not gone to waste. Andrew. who is from Falkirk, said: “I put on a cheery, happy, flowery persona and I can make anyone laugh.
“I found that useful on the elderly wards. It’s not all about the illness. It’s about the patients themselves - patient-centred care.”
His classmate Connie Wilson, 22, has been working directly with Covid patients on her latest placement in FVRH’S acute assessment unit.
Connie is grateful to her nursing mentor steering her through her training in these uncertain times.
Students are assigned mentors on their placements to teach and assess them.
She said: “My mentor is so good and she is so supportive.
“They are nervous too about Covid and then they have a student to look after.”
Connie, who is from Ayrshire, said her mentor helped her prepare for dealing with her first Covid patient.
She said: “It’s scary but if you keep your wits about you, you will keep yourself safe.”
Both Connie and Andrew said they were thriving in the fast-paced environments they were currently working in but while they go home exhausted, unwinding can be hard.
Andrew said: “You need to learn to switch off but it’s very hard to switch off just now.”
He added that he tends to spend the first hour ranting to his mum while Connie can offload with her flatmates - fellow student nurses.
Stirling University’s Head of Health Sciences said the university was “incredibly proud” of all its student nurses.
Dr Ashley Shepherd said: “The university is incredibly proud of all of our student nurses who have supported – and are continuing to support – NHS colleagues working on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Over the past 10 months our students have taken on a wide range of roles within the NHS – in hospitals, care homes and in the community – putting their invaluable healthcare skills and training to use at such a critical time.
“Working shoulder to shoulder with their NHS colleagues, our students continue to make a real difference to patients’ lives. I know our entire university community will join me in thanking our students for their phenomenal, selfless response to this unprecedented, challenging situation.”
And the staff at NHS Forth Valley are grateful for the “major contribution” they have made.
NHS Forth Valley’s Deputy Nurse Director Ellen Hudson said: “Student nurses have made a major contribution during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and have gone above and beyond to help support local patients, their families and their clinical colleagues across NHS Forth Valley.
“Throughout the pandemic they have had to adapt to many changes, face many difficult and daunting situations while they continue to learn and gain the valuable skills and experience to become our nurses of the future. Despite these challenges they have shown immense courage, compassion and dedication during their placements and they should be very proud of what they have achieved.”