Open University student nurse, Noleen Curran, shortlisted for HSC Student of the Year

Student Nurse and Support Worker in Community Mental Health at the South Eastern Trust, Noleen Curran from Downpatrick was in the running for Student of the Year at the 2022 Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Awards in Belfast. 

Her nomination was driven by her intuition, compassion, and listening skills but also her response to dealing with an on-the-job disclosure case. She managed the situation with a professional and empathetic approach, ensuring she upheld the Nursing and Midwifery Council Code of Professional Conduct.

We caught up with her recently to talk about her experience as a student nurse.

“When I learned of my nomination for the HSC student nurse, my mum and dad were delighted and insisted on buying the tickets for me to attend the awards ceremony.”

Noleen has worked for the South Eastern Trust for 10 years. One day she saw a flyer promoting The Open University’s Future Nurse Programme.

“I always wanted to be a nurse so used this opportunity with the OU.”

“I have a mortgage and could not afford to attend Uni on a full-time basis but this way I could earn a full-time wage and gain a degree at the same time without the financial burden.”

“It was my lifelong dream to become a nurse and hopefully I will complete and pass everything to qualify and get my Pre-registration in Nursing and graduate.”

Placements play an important role for OU nursing students and Noleen had the difficult task of balancing them alongside her home life and her studies. She couldn’t have done it without the support networks put in place by her friends, family and the OU.

“The whole journey so far has been a roller coaster!  Highs and lows all at the same time!”

“My practice tutors and placement mentors have been absolutely brilliant. My family and friends have also been there to keep me going.  All the nursing team in the OU have also been very supportive when I contact them about anything.”

“Every day in placement and every completed TMA are an achievement! I just have to set time aside for academic work.  I make sure all my housework is done so I don’t have any distractions.”

The past two years have been difficult for all but the pandemic has placed a particular burden on those working in healthcare.

“The pandemic has been extremely difficult to work through. For example, additional PPE being used in some services where prior to Covid it wasn’t. Academically our studies haven’t really changed as most of our learning is online. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to meet our practice tutors face-to-face. However, this doesn’t mean we’ve had less support, my practice tutors were so accommodating and always there when I needed them.”

“I had Covid in October 2020 and I was quite sick. I was off work for approximately 4 months, but I did not defer my studies. I am determined to complete them even though the OU had to map an additional placement for me. Placements are sometimes hard to come by due to other universities having students out on placement but again the OU team were so accommodating in facilitating this.”

Despite the challenges she has faced, Noleen is still on track and couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity and support that the OU has provided.

“My confidence has grown, my knowledge developed, and my skills improved.”

“I wish to thank The Open University for this opportunity. It is and will continue to be demanding but worth every step I have taken. I have gained a wealth of knowledge from my many placements and patients that have inspired me. Many of these patients and their families/carers I will never forget. I’m privileged to have worked with these individuals that have confided in me their inner most fears and anxieties, which enabled me to explore further learning. I would not be writing this if I had not met these truly wonderful people.”

To finish off, Noleen has a few words of advice for anyone on the fence about studying with the OU;

“Just do it. Don’t look at it like its almost 4 years of study. I just break it up and tell myself to complete it all in small stages. I complete a placement and only think of that at the time. Once I complete a TMA I tick it off in my mind and that’s another box ticked. I never think of what’s ahead, I just concentrate on the here and now. Otherwise, it can be overwhelming.”

Find out more about our Future Nurse Programme by visitng the website here: https://www.open.ac.uk/northern-ireland/our-work/ou-future-nurse-programmes