Accolades for York’s Learning Disability nursing students
Posted on 2 January 2014
The accolades come as the Learning Disability programme in the University’s Department of Health Sciences is ranked as ‘outstanding’ for practice experience in a recent Nursing and Midwifery (NMC) monitoring audit.
Jemma Pogson, a third year learning disability student in the Department of Health Sciences at York, won the Nursing Times Outstanding Contribution to Practice Placement Award at the 2013 Student Nursing Times Awards. She beat nursing students from across the country, and from all fields of practice, to the title.
Jemma was nominated for the award by Lyn Gilbert, Clinical Lead for Learning Disability Pathway at Cheswold Park Hospital in Doncaster. She said “Jemma was allocated a placement during her first year of training to a Learning Disability ward which is placed within a medium secure forensic hospital. The ward is for patients who have a primary diagnosis of a learning disability, but also have mental health issues and can be extremely challenging. This is a complex and demanding placement and Jemma made full use of the learning opportunities available to her at this placement, and elected to remain on the ward for the next two years of her training to aid her professional development.”
Paul Evans, Learning Disability Field Lead in the Department of Health Sciences, said: “Jemma's outstanding contribution to practice demonstrates how she has developed insight, skills and empathy to respond in a way that shows she has the ability to unpick very complex and demanding situations to give the best support for the clients in her care.”
The award follows Matthew Mclean winning the Nursing Times Student Nurse of the Year: Learning Disability Award in 2012. Matthew was nominated for the award by the Craven Learning Disability Team, based in Skipton. He was praised for his commitment, scope of knowledge, drive, interest in the people he works with and future leadership potential.
Learning disability nursing student Michelle Parker built on this success by winning the Fiona Law Practice Innovation Award for her written piece entitled “Improvement, Inclusion, Involvement” which was the story of a day in the life of a person with a learning disability. Her piece reflected on the vital role that learning disability nurses play in the lives of their clients.
Notes to editors:
If you would like to discover more about Learning Disability Nursing at York visit: www.york.ac.uk/healthsciences/nursing/learning-disability/
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