First students graduate from Nottingham Trent University Health and Allied Professions Centre.

The first cohort of Nursing Associate students to study at Nottingham Trent University’s Institute of Health and Allied Professions have completed their course after working on the frontline in health and social care settings throughout the pandemic.

The role of Nursing Associate was introduced in England in 2017 to bridge the gap between healthcare support workers and registered nurses.

The students began training in January 2020. They have since undertaken placements in adult, child, mental health and learning disability areas in a variety of settings including nursing homes, GP surgeries and hospital wards, including Covid wards.

Kathryn Shilling, senior lecturer in Nursing and Health Care and Nursing Associate Programme course leader at NTU’s School of Social Sciences, said:

“This inspirational group has worked full-time while having to adapt to a huge amount of challenges and continue to provide care to people in difficult circumstances.

“Some of them have also faced personal challenges and many were having to study at the same time as homeschooling their children.”

Jackie Brocklehurst, regional deputy head of Nursing and Midwifery at Health Education England, said:

“I would like to formally congratulate these students, whose resilience has been second to none. They haven’t experienced a practice setting without Covid. The role of Nursing Associate is relatively new to the nursing family, and we have barely scratched the surface of what it can achieve.”

Their course completion comes as work completes on a new facility which will see healthcare students develop their skills in state-of-the-art surroundings.

The new Health and Allied Professions Centre at NTU’s Clifton Campus features simulated healthcare environments including hospital wards, consultation rooms and counselling rooms.

The settings will also include patient manikins to give students the experience of working with men, women and children with a variety of injuries.

Two additional floors provide office and flexible teaching spaces, including removable seating in large classrooms to allow for creative learning approaches such as role play.

The Centre serves as a new base for the Institute of Health and Allied Professions, which offers a range of specialist courses such as Adult, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Nursing, Paramedic Science and Public Health.

Dr Anne Felton, head of the Institute of Health and Allied Professions, said:

“Contemporary registered healthcare professionals are required to be dynamic and flexible. As well as providing compassionate care, they need to be able to think critically, make complex decisions and lead.

“This new facility offers state of the art clinical skills facilities which represent hospital and community healthcare settings.

“The Centre provides excellent study, social and classroom spaces that enable lecturers to engage students in a range of teaching approaches to help them develop the knowledge and skills for their profession.”

The scheme was led by NTU’s Capital Development Team within the Estates Department, who worked with an external team of consultants and Henry Brothers as the main contractor.

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