Chief Nursing Officer Award for amazing Essex student

An inspirational University of Essex nursing student has received a prestigious award from the Chief Nursing Officer for England.

At a surprise awards ceremony, nursing student Sarah Mather was presented with the Chief Nursing Officer Student Excellence Award for the Eastern Region.

The award was presented to Sarah by Regional Director of Nursing for the East of England Frances Bolger and Senior Clinical Manager at NHS England Louisa White.

Friends, NHS colleagues and Essex staff applauded Sarah as she accepted the award and received a personal handwritten note from the Chief Nursing Officer Duncan Burton.

The Chief Nursing Officer Student Excellence award is a national NHS England award that celebrates the exceptional contributions that student nurses, midwives and nursing associates make while still in training.

The big surprise

Sarah, who works at the Puzey Family Practice in Rochford and who is completing a Nurse Degree Apprenticeship at Essex, said: “As a student, I made the absolute most of every placement, planned what I wanted to achieve and knew the competencies and proficiencies that could be signed off. I had the best assessors, worked with the best supervisors including other Health Care Professionals.”

Sarah said she had no idea she was about to be presented with an award after her lecturer Iain Keenan told students to meet in a lecture theatre for a final meeting with Programme Lead Wendy Rajah.

She said: “Wendy congratulated us all for finishing uni and then went on to announce the award. To say I was shocked when she asked me to join them at the front was an understatement. The next half hour was full of celebration, not just for me but also for my whole cohort. It takes a person to be a nurse, but it takes a team to make the nurse you want to be.”

Praise for Sarah

Jane Richards, General Practice Nursing Workforce Manager at NHS Essex, said: “It gave us great pleasure to nominate Sarah for this award. We are very proud to have been part of her journey to become a registered nurse, starting as a receptionist, moving to healthcare assistant, nursing associate and now coming to the end of registered nurse training. Sarah is a prime example of dedication and commitment.”

Frances Bolger said: “It is an honour to celebrate Sarah’s success as part of the Chief Nursing Officer Student Excellence Awards. Her achievement highlights the exceptional calibre of students across our region and the vital role they play in shaping the future of healthcare. Sarah’s passion, professionalism, and commitment to patient-centred care give us great confidence in the future of our nursing workforce.”

Louisa White said: “Sarah is only the third student in our region to receive this prestigious award, which makes this achievement even more special.”

Wendy Rajah, Programme Lead for the Nurse Degree Apprenticeship, said: “Sarah fully deserves this award in recognition of her continued dedication to her patients and her colleagues. She is a true inspiration to both nursing students and qualified staff.”

Thomas Currid, Deputy Subject Lead for Nursing at the Southend Campus, said: “We are delighted that Sarah won this award and it is very well deserved. Sarah shows a depth of compassion, care and courage that is to be admired, applauded and is without doubt inspiring.”

Others attending the awards ceremony included people Sarah has worked with or been part of her training including Matthew Osborne – Lecturer; Jane Richards, Sara Lamb, and Sadie Deprez from the Mid and South Essex Training Hub within the NHS Essex ICB; Erin Burrows - Clinical Practice Manager at The Puzey Family Practice; Dr Preena Beegoo - GP Partner at The Puzey Family Practice; and Charmaine Mutsago - Legacy Nurse at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust.