Roehampton nursing student accepted onto UNISON leadership programme for healthcare students
- Thursday, March 24, 2022
Second year BSc Adult Nursing student Hayley McCarthy has been offered a place on the UNISON Future Health Leaders programme, which aims to give students the skills and connections to work with UNISON to lead real change in healthcare.
Throughout the programme students meet inspiring healthcare leaders, undertake local campaigning activities, improve their activist and advocacy skills, learn about healthcare policy and how to influence it, and develop their understanding of key equality issues.
Hayley applied to learn about UNISON and how unions work more widely, to become more involved in campaigning, to be challenged, and to develop new skills. The programme is an excellent opportunity to gain a better understanding of healthcare policy and how this is influenced via campaigning, as well as learn from the experiences of other healthcare students and leaders around the country.
Hayley joined our BSc Adult Nursing in 2020, motivated by the Covid-19 pandemic. She said “I have previous informal and formal healthcare experience and had always planned to return to education in this area. The coronavirus pandemic is what finally pushed me to do it. I felt I had skills and experience that I could put to use in supporting the nursing workforce whilst developing myself throughout the pandemic. It was my way of contributing.
“I’ve loved my time at Roehampton so far. Having lectures with mixed field nursing students has been a great way of getting to know others in nursing. We also have the most fantastic inspiring lecturers, and all the staff are all really supportive. Throughout the pandemic, this support has been invaluable. I have also enjoyed seeing nursing at Roehampton grow with new courses at Croydon University Centre.”
Catherine Jones, Senior Lecturer in Nurse Education, said “This is a brilliant achievement. We are very proud of Hayley's success in gaining a place on this highly competitive programme. We look forward to hearing all about her experiences and accomplishments influencing healthcare policy. We hope that other students will also be inspired by Hayley to take up leadership positions.”
The University of Roehampton offers an MSci in Adult and Mental Health Nursing and a BSc (Hons) in Mental Health Nursing taught at our main campus, a BSc (Hons) in Adult Nursing which we deliver at our main campus and at Croydon University Centre, and a BSC (Hons) in Children’s Nursing* delivered at Croydon University Centre. We have also launched a Nursing Associate Apprenticeship*.
*Subject to validation