College Praise for Students Preparing for Work on the Frontline

Thousands of students progress from SERC in any given year and many of our students keep in touch with the College both to let us know how they are getting on and to inspire the next cohort by coming back to give talks to students on similar courses. Recently though, many students have been in contact to share their experiences during the Coronavirus outbreak.

Rosemary Peters is a Lecturer in Health and Care at SERC who also works part time in Greenvale House Nursing Home in Castlewellan and through a nursing agency at the Belfast City Hospital. This means she is able to keep up her Nursing Registration and share her work experience with the students whom she is lecturing She said, “Over the past few weeks the lecturing team at SERC have been hearing from many students who are working on or preparing to work on the front line as well as apprentices whose work in trades has become part of the vital effort to fight Coronavirus. 

She added, “As you can imagine, hundreds of students progress through the College each year, and we are always delighted to hear what they are doing and how they are getting on. I have been in touch with many of my students who have come through the College on the BTEC National Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care (Health Studies). Katie Lowry and Shannon Valentine are both second year nursing students at UU Magee, Katie is working at the Covid19 testing  centre in Ards Hospital and  Shannon is getting ready for placement on the wards; Megan Farrell is a first year student nurse, again getting ready for placement;   Joshua Russell is a  Band 3 Senior Health Care Assistant working in the Downe Hospital; Colm Davey is a final year Paramedic working for Northern Ireland Ambulance Service in the Newcastle/Castlewellan area; Jack and Sam Strain, twin brothers in their final year of nursing at Queen’s University Belfast, Jack is going to work in the stroke unit and Sam is off to the endocrine unit ; Matthew Carlin is a final year Nursing student with Open University who is doing is management placement at the Covid 19 ward at Ulster Hospital, it’s likely he will be fast tracked through his placement so he is ready for work.

Rosemary continued, “The students are all filled with a degree of anxiety and excitement about their roles. They recognise they are all on a huge learning curve that will give them unprecedent experience of working on the front line during a pandemic. They all tell me they are getting fantastic support from everyone working in the NHS and they all are working with excellent teams.

“The students do call to get support, both emotional and professional.   I suppose it is easier sometimes to talk to someone who knows  and understands the implications of what is happening and how things can change in a moment , they all have families and some of them have children, so yes, they are concerned, just like you and I.  

“Registered general nurses, including those preparing to commence their first posts, are having to accelerate their learning, on the job under what must be very challenging conditions to deal with patients requiring intensive levels of care that they may have to look after. The mentoring they would expect to receive at this early stage of their careers will be somewhat different from their predecessors.

She concluded, “My message to all our SERC students is the same: Remember all your training.  Each day in the coming days, weeks and months will be a challenge but you know what you are doing is providing the ultimate duty of care.”

Steven Donnelly, Lecturer in Electrical Installation at the College has been singing the praises of the many students involved in trades, doing vital work  to support the NHS and the care sector. “We have one young apprentice, Stanley Chapman, from Holywood, who is a Level 3 Electrical Apprentice, who has been working with his employer, Omagh based MSL, at the Ulster Hospital for the duration of his apprentice over the last 3 years.  Stanley is dedicated to working as part of a team and will be delivering on12-hour shifts.  He is involved in the installation of the lighting system in the new part of the hospital as they work round the clock to get it ready for wards that will be required in the coming weeks.   The work of this young man, and the many others like him, are making a real contribution to the fight against Coronavirus through their skills and expertise.”

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