The second cohort of Trainee Nurse Associates to have graduated from Teesside University have started their new roles with Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust earlier this month.
The two-year Nursing Associate Foundation Degree which began in 2017, has now seen two cohorts of graduates go into Nursing Associate roles with various Trusts throughout the North East.
Nursing associates work with people of all ages and in a variety of settings in health and social care. .The role has been designed to help bridge the gap between health and care assistants and registered nurses. It leads to professional registration as a Nursing Associate which can also provide a progression route into graduate level nursing.
Among the students to graduate from the programme was Karl Jordinson who started his role qualified role at Newcastle Hospitals last month. He said “The course is a great stepping stone and a door opener into the NHS and its many departments and specialities.
“The class work and placements gave me a really good insight into the community and social care needs of patients, the skills I learnt really prepared me for working during this challenging time.
“The first few weeks of the role were not what anyone expected due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but everyone worked together to support each other, and being newly qualified I had a lot of help and support from my colleagues on the ward.”
Sarah Craik, another student to graduate from the cohort said: “I really enjoyed the university lectures as well as going on all my different placements and seeing different aspects of nursing, it allowed me to develop my knowledge and skills in different areas, which also enhanced my practice back at my base ward.”
Ian Joy; Associate Director of Nursing at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are so pleased to welcome the second cohort of Nurse Associates from Teesside University into their qualified Nursing Associate roles in the Trust. All of our qualified and trainee Nursing Associates are existing employees in the Trust and were supported as part of our focus on growing our own workforce.
“They have qualified at a particularly challenging time but they will continue to be supported by our front line clinical teams to ensure a smooth transition into their registered roles”
Dr Susy Cook, Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching), in Teesside University’s School of Health & Life Sciences, said: ‘We are incredibly proud of our student nurses and I am in no doubt they will be an amazing asset to the NHS.
“We continue to face extremely challenging times and the contribution they are making under such difficult circumstances is fantastic.”
