Nursing student wins national award

Posted on 12 May 2014

Third year Health Sciences undergraduate Amy Eleanor Bascombe has won the 2014 Student Nursing Times Award for Outstanding Contribution to Student Affairs.

Dr Peter Carter (Chief Executive & General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing), Claire Harries (Student Editor: Learning Disabilities, Student Nursing Times), Amy Eleanor Bascombe and Jenni Middleton, Editor, Nursing Times.

The awards are open to all nursing students across the UK and this award is a generic award that spans all fields of practice, across the whole of the UK. This is an outstanding achievement.

Amy Eleanor, who specialises in adult care, instigated a national campaign, with the support of the University of York Students’ Union (YUSU), for the introduction of a fourth student loan payment for student nurses.

The campaign addresses the financial hardship experienced by many students and, if successful, will help about 91,000 nursing students nationally. It is gaining momentum through Amy Eleanor’s efforts, including media coverage on Radio 4 and discussions with MPs.

She campaigns actively to improve students’ experiences and rights. Her achievements as student representative, and later departmental student representative, include promoting the student voice, campaigning for facilities to enhance student life and influencing the curriculum and policies both locally and nationally.

Professor Karen Spilsbury, from the Department of Health Sciences, who nominated Amy Eleanor for the award, said: “Amy Eleanor is an exceptional student who deserves national recognition for going that extra mile when it comes to student affairs. She works incredibly hard at her studies but also shows great commitment, energy and enthusiasm for wider activities to support nursing students at both University and national level. She is a role model and deserves her hard work to be recognised on a national stage. Staff and students are incredibly proud of her. Amy is passionate about nursing and she has an exciting career ahead of her as a future nurse leader.”

Fellow Nursing student, Craig Boyd, said: "Amy is a brilliant woman, mother, student nurse and student representative. All that she has done and continues to do for present and future students is done with no interest in personal gain but because she feels it is important and right. Amy is an inspiration to all of us and we are extremely proud of her."

Amy Eleanor said: "It's such a privilege to be mentored and educated by the inspiring lecturers in the Department and nurses in practice. It's testament to their support and encouragement that I've aspired to do more and go the extra mile. And for me I hope this is just the beginning!"