Nursing students at City University have voted the Trust an outstanding place to learn and develop. Three teams came in for special recognition and Conolly Ward staff nurse, Kofi Opon, (first left) was voted Mentor of the Year.The awards were presented to the team by Dr Julia McLaren, (centre) Senior Lecturer Education Development, City University.
The students undertake placements in a range of NHS organisations in London so are in a good position to observe their placement environments.
Chief Nurse, Jonathan Warren, congratulated all the teams and Kofi, saying: “I love these awards above all others. Students are stern critics of the care we give and, rightly so. They have high expectations of our staff as role models and mentors. If they think we are doing OK, that means alot.To be part of developing the future workforce and doing it well makes me proud of our staff. Well done to everyone and all staff across the Trust who share their knowledge and skills with the next generation of nurses.”
Every year, the School of Sciences at the University ask their nursing students to vote for the placement where they learnt the most, felt they observed role models to aspire to and had greatest support in their learning. ELFT won the following awards:
Outstanding Placement of the Year
Roman Ward, Tower Hamlets Centre for Mental Health
Commended Placement of the Year – two ELFT winners
Newham Early Intervention Service, Appleby Centre, Canning Town
and
Conolly Ward, City and Hackney Centre for Mental Health
Mentor of the Year, Kofi Uppon, was utterly surprised when he heard he was nominated. He said, “I found it very humbling. I do what I do for our patients so it is nice to know that you are helping others to learn too, simply by sharing your approach and explaining your rationale and actions. I was teased by my colleagues quite a bit when they found out! so I won’t get too big headed!”