Hudds student nurse named top child nurse in national awards
Huddersfield student nurse Emma Hogan
Fri, 16 May 2014 12:15:00 BST
Emma wins Nursing Times Student Awards child nurse award
NURSING student Emma Hogan (pictured right receiving her award) has crowned her studies at the University of Huddersfield with award from one of the country’s most respected journals. At a ceremony in London she was named winner of the child nursing category in the 2014 Nursing Times Student Awards.
She praises her tuition at the University, plus its facilities. But her family background has also played its part in Emma’s success. She comes from a long line of nurses and has also had three younger sisters to help care for.
Emma, aged 21, will qualify in September after completing a three-year degree course that included a work placement at North Manchester Hospital, where her performance earned praise from parents of child patients.
She has also impressed her University of Huddersfield lecturers. She was nominated for her NT award by Senior Lecturer Fiona Wondergem, who commented that Emma had shown consistent development and professionalism. She was also adept at using new technology and displayed a great deal of initiative, which is vital in child nursing, said Fiona.
After being shortlisted for the award, Emma travelled to London for an interview with the panel of judges. She impressed them enough to win the trophy.
Emma is from Manchester and her aunt and mother are both specialist nurses. A grandmother too has been a children’s nurse and health visitor. Also, she has three younger sisters and helping to look after them helped to settle the direction she would take.
“I always wanted to work with children, but I didn’t realise you could study it as a specialism until I did some research and realised you could just go down the child nursing route,” said Emma.
She was delighted to discover the University of Huddersfield and its BSc in Child Nursing. It has state-of-the-art teaching facilities, such as a simulated ward and high-tech manikins that act as “virtual patients”.
Moving on to real hospital settings was a challenge, said Emma, but she had all the back up that she needed and her performance was so good that a letter of praise was sent to Manchester’s Medical Officer.
What is the special challenge of child nursing? “You are not just looking after the children. You are caring for their families as well,” said Emma.
