Joy on graduation day for a new generation of North Devon nurses

North Devon’s latest newly minted nurses and nursing associates proudly made their way through Barnstaple on Friday (October 17) on their way to their degree graduation ceremonies.

It marked the culmination or two or three years of hard work and study for the ladies who had been able to complete their degrees right here in North Devon.

They were the latest cohorts to study at the University of Greater Manchester Satellite Centre for Nursing based at Petroc College in Barnstaple and it was the third graduation ceremony to date, with the first in 2023.

Above: The nursing degree graduates with the university faculty pose for a picture in Barnstaple Square. Credit: Viral PR

The centre was set up in 2019 and is a partnership between UGM, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and Petroc College, meaning local people can train to become nurses without having to move out of the area.

It also provides a huge boost for local health services as all those who gain their degrees will be working for the NHS or in local health care settings.

As well as encouraging local young people to stay, study and train in their home area, it also provides an opportunity for older adults to change careers or gain a nursing qualification.

On Friday at Barnstaple Guildhall there were two graduation ceremonies, beginning in the morning with the 12 newly qualified nursing associates who had studied for two years to gain a Foundation Science (FdSc) degree.

Above: Five of the nursing associate foundation degree graduates on graduation day at the Park Hotel before the ceremony. Credit: Viral PR

Nursing associates are healthcare professionals who work alongside nurses in hospitals, health centres and care homes to provide direct patient care and routine clinical care. It can often be a stepping stone to a full nursing degree.

Both courses combine classroom learning with practical experience at NHS work placements across North Devon.

Above: Briony Flello on graduation day – Briony is a nursing associate working with Barnstaple community nurses. Credit: Viral PR

The afternoon graduation ceremony saw 24 brand new registered nurses receive their Batchelor of Science (BSc) nursing degrees.

Both groups and the UGM-Petroc faculty made a procession from the Park Hotel to the Guildhall in their full gowns and mortar boards, with cheering family and friends waiting to greet them and to watch their ceremonies with pride as they went from graduates to ‘graduands’.

Above: The new nurses make their way past clapping family and friends outside Barnstaple Guildhall on their way to their graduation. Credit: Viral PR

Below: A crowd of proud family and friends look on at the nursing graduation ceremony at Barnstaple Guildhall. Credit: Viral PR

Shaun Kershaw, senior lecturer and lead for Level 6/7 Advanced Diploma (CPD) adult social care nursing, said it had been a ‘day of great joy and celebration’.

He went on: “Not only was it a day to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our nursing and nursing associates, but it was also a day to celebrate the very important impact such an event has on the North Devon community and its economy.

“Our local health economy is underpinned by a sustainable nursing workforce and the Satellite Centre for Nursing was set up in 2019 to provide local people, who wanted to pursue a career in nursing, a chance to study locally without the added expense of having to either move away from the area or travel nearly four hours to get a similar opportunity in South Devon.

“So, our graduation event not only celebrates our student's success, but also celebrates our accessible North Devon nurse education provision which sustains our local nursing workforce, empowers local people to pursue a career in nursing locally and provides a much-needed boost to our health economy.”

Above: Gillian Turner, nurse associate. Credit: Viral PR

Gillian Turner is now a nurse associate and works at interventional radiology in North Devon District Hospital. She said she had been unable to graduate last year so had waited a whole year for her graduation day.

She added: “I didn't actually know I wanted to do this until maybe about four years ago - I was working in a nursing home and just wanted to progress a little bit further.

“So the next step was the hospital and they offered the nurse associate as an apprenticeship, so you do it as a trainee nurse associate for two years and it's a full-time course but because it's an apprenticeship you're paid, so I was paid to train.”

Francesca Randall is from Barnstaple and has just graduated as a registered nurse, working with the urgent care team that covers the whole of North Devon after hours and tries to help patients at home rather than having to go to A&E.

She said: “As a mum of three, I think having the opportunity to do a course so close to home just makes it that much more viable, because as you can imagine it is long 12 hour days and so just to not have that extra travel on top makes all the difference.

"I think as well, having it local means your peer group is also local and that becomes really important as you navigate through the three years of university, having that peer support means a lot.”

Above: Francesca Randall. Credit: Viral PR

Below: Nursing degree graduands Lucy Woollacott and Mia Wray. Credit: Viral PR

Lucy Woollacott from Torrington works with the Bideford community nursing team. She said: “I absolutely love it, it’s the best job in the world.

“I wanted to be a nurse for many, many years, but then had my family and did various other things and having the satellite centre made it an obtainable thing for me to come back and do with children and family.

“It's been hard three years, juggling life and a full-time degree, but it was an amazing group of people that we've studied with, the lecturers have been so supportive and fantastic and it was just a joy to do.

“It's actually my second degree, but very different to my 18-year-old degree! But it was amazing and everything that I could have wanted out of it I've got and it is literally my dream career.”

If you have always wanted to become a nurse but didn’t want to move away from North Devon, please call the satellite centre on 01271 852533 or email s.kershaw@greatermanchester.ac.uk     

**** See many more pictures from the event in our gallery above ****