Roehampton nursing students join national Covid-19 vaccination effort

• Tuesday, May 18, 2021

This year, many of our nursing students had the opportunity to complete their placements at mass vaccination centres. We spoke to first year Adult Nursing student Nancy Mary Alawa about her experiences at the Covid-19 vaccination centre in Battersea Arts Centre.

Placements are a key part of the nursing curriculum, allowing students to put into practice what they’ve learned in the classroom. For our first-year nursing student, Nancy Mary Alawa, her most recent placement was at the mass vaccination centre in Battersea Arts Centre, where she was responsible for administering the AstraZeneca vaccine.  

When she found out where her placement would be, Nancy said she was “really looking forward to it, and very proud to be part of the vaccination programme”. She was given both specific training on how to administer the vaccine, and first aid training. As well as administering the vaccine, part of her role also included reassuring people and answering their questions, explaining what they can expect to feel after the jab and what steps to take should they feel unwell. For Nancy, this was a hugely exciting professional opportunity, getting to meet large numbers of people in the local community and work within the hugely impactful vaccine roll out.  

While on placement, Nancy also found herself appearing in the latest NHS video encouraging under the 50s to get vaccinated, which you can view here.  

Jane Hopping, Senior Lecturer in Nursing Education and Practice Lead at the University of Roehampton, is responsible for practice learning within our nursing programmes. This includes developing and maintaining working relationships with practice partners, ensuring our students gain the experience they need. While some placements were more limited due to Covid-19 impacting healthcare across the country, almost 20 of our nursing students completed their placements at mass vaccination centres. Jane added, “we are very proud of our students, and it has been wonderful to see them developing their knowledge and skills in this unique placement area, whilst also being part of the incredible effort to get people vaccinated.” 

At the University of Roehampton, we offer three outstanding nursing programmes – our MSci Adult and Mental Health Nursing, BSc (Hons) Mental Health Nursing and BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing, which we deliver on our main campus and, from September 2021, from Croydon University Centre.