Three degrees of celebration for nursing staff

Three nurses who work and studied together are now due to graduate at the same time from Teesside University’s School of Health & Social Care.

Jo Kelsey, Diane Wallace and Julie Scott, nursing staff at the Friarage Hospital Children’s Unit in Northallerton, graduate from the BSc (Hons) Practice Innovation after studying part-time over two years. Unit manager Jo, 45, of Norton, said: 'It was hard adjusting to academia after many years away from studying.

'To begin with, I wasn’t sure how it would change me as I’d been working in nursing for over 20 years, but it has and I now think much more about why we do what we do in our profession.'

The mum-of-two added: 'My kids have seen me do this and hopefully it will help to show them the importance of education and how it can help with your career.”

Staff nurse Diane, 51, of Scorton, North Yorkshire, said: 'My husband and one of my sons both have a degree and my other son is completing one, which spurred me on and it was also great to have that support at home. It’s really whetted my appetite for further study.

'It’s great to think that people of our age can return to education and study towards a degree. I’ve been a nurse for over 30 years and after completing an initial module I decided to give it a go.'

Julie, 53, of Northallerton, said: 'For me it was about professional development. I came into nursing late having changed career, so studying was something I’d done more recently and it felt like a natural progression to go on to the degree.

'The thing I found hardest was time management, fitting in study around work shifts and home life. A lot of commitment is needed to study while working in a full-time job, but the end result and feeling of achievement makes it worthwhile.'

Jo added: 'I certainly couldn't have done it without my colleagues and family, who have provided such a great support network.'

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