ARU student nurses receive national recognition
Tonicha Patterson and Oreoluwa Akinwunmi win Student Nursing Times Awards
Oreoluwa Akinwunmi and Tonicha Patterson receiving their Student Nursing Times Awards
ARU Nursing students Tonicha Patterson and Oreoluwa Akinwunmi are celebrating after receiving national recognition at the Student Nursing Times Awards.
Tonicha, 28, who studies at ARU Peterborough, received the Student Nurse of the Year: Children award during a glittering ceremony at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
The third-year BSc (Hons) Nursing (Children) student at ARU Peterborough, said: “It was a bit of a shock to win the award and very overwhelming. There’s a lot of hard work that goes into the course, regardless of where you are at this point, with assignments and placements. It feels as though that hard work has paid off.”
Tonicha, who lives in Spalding, was praised by judges for her passion for children’s nursing and family-centred care. The judges also referenced an incident during her first year when Tonicha witnessed nursing colleagues on placement providing resuscitation to a very young child who had suffered a respiratory cardiac arrest.
While feeling overwhelmed observing the situation at the time, Tonicha used the experience to learn everything she could, and ended up in a similar situation in her third year. On this occasion, the learning and development she had undergone during the Nursing course meant she could assist, with supervision and support from colleagues, with the resuscitation of an adult patient in A&E who ended up recovering.
“I was completely overwhelmed by how much the nurses were involved in the resuscitation of the child, I had thought it would be led by clinicians. At the time, I didn’t feel it was something I would be able to do, so every day I tried to learn more about it. It was about developing my confidence so that I was able to be involved in that second situation two years later.”
ARU Peterborough student Tonicha PattersonOreoluwa, who lives in Rainham, received the Student Nurse or Midwife of the Year: Clinical Research award. Oreoluwa, 20, is in her third year studying the BSc (Hons) Nursing (Children) degree at ARU’s Chelmsford campus, and researched the experiences of the pregnant partners of serving military personnel.
In the past she has successfully applied for research internships and experiences with the NIHR and University of Cambridge, and revealed her success in winning these positions encouraged her to nominate herself for the awards.
“My philosophy is ‘why not try’. It was the same with applying for the internships and our tutors have spoken to us about not being afraid to push ourselves forward for recognition.
“I was in a state of disbelief when I won. I had been looking through the list of finalists and thinking that there were some very smart people in there! But winning gives me confidence in myself that I am capable of achieving things.”
ARU student Oreoluwa AkinwunmiA judges’ statement said: “Oreoluwa is passionate about research and shows great understanding of research processes and patient-centred inquiry.
“She identified the challenges faced by healthcare professionals caring for the pregnant partners and the babies of serving military personnel and has made recommendations to address this disparity and improve experience and maternity outcomes.”
“Huge congratulations to Tonicha and Oreoluwa for their success, and also to those who received nominations. To be shortlisted for 10 awards is a testament to the hard work of our wonderful students and staff, and the impact they are making in our profession.”
Laura Adley, Head of the School of Nursing at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)