Award winner profile
Claire Pearson, supported by an RCN Margaret Parkinson Scholarship during her nursing degree programme, shared her aspirations for the future with us, and with the Prime Minister. Please read on:
"I am very grateful to the RCN Margaret Parkinson Scholarship programme for supporting me during my nursing training over the last three years. I am delighted to report that I have successfully completed my BSc in Nursing Studies and am proud to have been awarded first class honours. I have been extremely fortunate to have found employment in a specialty which I enjoy. I have already commenced my first job on a cardiology and cardiothoracic ward at St Thomas' Hospital in Westminster. I look forward to a long, varied and interesting career. I currently anticipate following a path into critical or emergency care before perhaps transferring my skills to a community setting at some stage in the future.
"The past three years have been a challenging, exciting and varied experience. I feel prepared to deliver good quality, holistic care and the feedback I have received so far from my colleagues and patients has been very positive. My academic skills have improved significantly since the commencement of my degree and I am proud of my achievements. I have had the opportunity to carry out research, evaluate current literature and I was also successful in an assignment to review and update a clinical guideline on bladder irrigation, resulting in its adoption by the hospital for which I am working. It has now been rolled out throughout the trust.
"I have also enjoyed participating in opportunities to teach my peers in the clinical setting. This is a skill that I hope to develop as my career advances. I am interested in being a clinical educator and hope to facilitate learning on a more regular basis once I have found my bearings and developed my skills in this specialty. In addition, I have been advised that one of my research assignments is of a suitable quality to be considered for publication, I am therefore liaising with my university advisor and am following a path of potentially publishing my work. I am keen to sustain my academic achievements and therefore hope to pursue avenues of research and publication along this vein. Therefore, although I have only just commenced full time employment, I am looking forward to continuing my education and undertaking relevant courses in order to broaden my skills and flexibility in the work I undertake. One such role I hope to adopt in due course is that of a student mentor. With the difficulties students face still fresh in my mind, I hope I will be a compassionate and supportive teacher.
"I found the Margaret Parkinson scholarship that was awarded to me to be extremely valuable. Surviving as a student, particularly in London, can be a great struggle and requires many students to undertake part time work, which detracts from academic study. I found that with careful financial planning, and the scholarship, I was able to keep this to a minimum. It is worth noting that the differentiation between the funding made available to degree students versus diploma students is significant. Following an opportunity offered to me, and four other students at King's College London, to meet the Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Secretary for Health Alan Johnson, I raised this issue. While I am certain that the voice of a zealous nursing student may not change education funding, I hope that the situation will improve particularly in view of the intention to make nursing a completely graduate profession. I feel that greater support should be offered to those who are able to succeed academically and potentially be the nurse leaders of the future. In the meantime, my wholehearted thanks to the RCN and I hope this scholarship scheme will continue to support nurses-in-waiting."