University of Cumbria Institute of Health staff and students shortlisted for prestigious awards

Adele Taylor and Amy Crowle are shortlisted across three categories of the Student Nursing Times Awards, which brings together the UK’s nursing and midwifery community to shine a light on talent entering the profession.

Meanwhile the Educate North Awards celebrate, recognise and share best practice and excellence in the education sector across the North of England. The pioneering partnership between the University of Cumbria and North West Ambulance Service that is helping to increase the numbers of NHS paramedics was shortlisted in the Innovation category.

Professor Karen Stansfield, Dean, Institute of Health at the university, said: “Being shortlisted in these two sets of awards is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff and students.

“With our long-standing reputation in delivering education to future and current nurses, midwives and allied healthcare professionals, our teams are firmly focused on continuous development to evolve, innovate and support our students to ensure they are equipped with the skills to meet future workforce needs and serve our communities.”

Above: Professor Karen Stansfield, Dean, Institute of Health, University of Cumbria

For the Student Nursing Times Awards, Lancashire-based, final-year BSc (Hons) Nursing students Adele Taylor and Amy Crowle are shortlisted individually, across three categories.

Adele, pictured left, is a finalist in the Most Inspirational Student Nurse of the Year and Student Nurse of the Year: Adult categories, and Amy is shortlisted for the Student Nurse of the Year: Learning Disability award. 

Nominations for Adele state that she ‘embodies the essence of nursing, with her core values reflecting those of integrity and advocacy’, and her achievements throughout her nursing studies have been ‘awe-inspiring’.

They include being an NHS England North West student council member, student representative, co-author of Nursing Times articles, previously serving as a student quality ambassador, first-class honours achieving student and an advocate for public health nursing.

For Amy, pictured right, she has been described by tutors as a student who is ‘able to challenge biases and negative attitudes by encouraging critical thinking, suggesting alternative viewpoints, and highlighting the potential impact of biases on people with a learning disability’.

The Student Nursing Times Awards take place on Friday 26 April 2024 in a ceremony at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London.

Shortlisted as a finalist in the 2024 Educate North Awards, principal lecturers Richard Ward and Antony Freeman delivered an innovative pilot on virtual placements within the university’s paramedic degree apprenticeship at its Lancaster campus.

The pilot demonstrates an unwavering commitment to continued student success, innovation and the meeting of future workforce needs, as the role of a frontline paramedic diversifies.

Paramedic apprentices in Lancaster virtually attended a live clinic taking place in a primary care setting in the south of England, where cameras and microphones had been set up and patients had consented to participating.

Health Education England (now NHSE) funding supported the pilot that has been devised as a response to the new Health and Care Professions Council standards of proficiency which acknowledges that paramedics of the future are likely to consult patients in the digital space. In addition, it offered a more diverse placement experience in line with the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.

Winners of the 10^th Education North Awards were announced at The Hilton Hotel, Deansgate, Manchester on Thursday 18 April 2024.

• University of Cumbria is leading a free four-week Return to Study programme for prospective students seeking careers in occupational therapy, social work and nursing. For details, visit: https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/return-to-study-programme/

ENDS