From paramedics dealing with some of the most serious injuries you could imagine, to nurses caring for patients in our local hospitals and community, Oxford Brookes students and alumni are utilising their practical and holistic skills to provide vital frontline health and social care.
What drives them? The answer is simple: giving something back to our community and helping people at what is often their most vulnerable time.
Please note - this article was published before the current Covid-19 pandemic
A busy mother studying to be a nurse…
Anne-Marie Faulkner is an Adult Nursing student who, thanks to the Tessa-Jane Evans Bursary, is fulfilling her dream of helping others.
Anne-Marie knew she wanted to be a nurse after experiencing first-hand the dedication and compassion shown to her and her disabled son, but with a busy family life and four children it would be challenging to fulfil her ambition. This is where the Tessa-Jane Evans Bursary threw her a lifeline and Anne-Marie has never looked back.
Always think of that person in the bed as your Gran or Granddad and treat them as you’d like them to be treated
She explains; “If I didn’t have the bursary I’d have to work to fund my studies and pay the bills, which would mean I’d have no time with my children so it just wouldn’t have been an option. I still take my son to regular hospital appointments and it’s great to give something back after seeing how well he is cared for. I’ve chosen the community pathway for my final year, as it’s my ambition to be a district nurse. It’s a lovely job supporting people at their most vulnerable time. I really enjoy working with the elderly, listening to their life experiences, many of whom are housebound so it’s a really important role as you’re often the only person they may see.
“The best advice I have received came from a nurse who told me to always think of that person in the bed as your Gran or Granddad and treat them as you’d like them to be treated. It was great advice.”
Words: Becky Mansfield
Photograph: Sirius Gibson
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