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 research nurse providing holistic care…
Emily-Rose Vaughan-Fowler ’13 studied for a Nursing Diploma and is currently working as a Clinical Research Nurse
“The great thing about Brookes is that it made you feel that wherever you go you will learn and that was so very true. During my time at Brookes I also discovered that I was dyslexic, which was largely thanks to a brilliant tutor who went on to give me so much support and the confidence to achieve my goals.
“I feel very fortunate to live and study in Oxford as we’ve such amazing hospitals on our doorstep, it’s easy as a student to take all the facilities for granted. We just don’t realise how significant the John Radcliffe is and it’s great to be a part of it and involved in an amazing clinical research study helping patients who have suffered a stroke or heart attack.”
It’s an honour and a privilege to help make a difference
Emily-Rose, who is currently working on the Oxford Vascular Study, added; “I absolutely love my job, it’s great to work so closely with patients as well as pursuing my career in research. We build strong relationships with the patients, providing the holistic care that was quite rightly drilled into us as at Brookes. You absolutely need to put yourself in their shoes and consider how you would like to be treated.
“Patients are putting their trust in us at what is often a really worrying time in their life. It’s an honour and a privilege to help make a difference by identifying early warning signs and in some cases helping to diagnose other illnesses.”
Words: Becky Mansfield
Photograph: Paul Tait
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