A STUDENT nurse has been nominated for a national award for creating a scheme to help her colleagues on placement at Southend Hospital.

Georgina O’Reilly Foley, a student at Anglia Ruskin University, has been nominated for the Andrew Parker Student Nurse Award, for creating a set of information cards for students on their first work placements at the hospital.

The cards aim to boost students’ confidence, reduce their anxiety and improve care.

Georgina, 24, from Southend, said: “I was terrified and overwhelmed on my first placement at the hospital. No time in the classroom can prepare you for that first placement – the buzz of the ward.

“There was so much to do and remember – care rounds, observations, fluid and stool charts, skin checks, door codes.

“And I didn’t understand all the abbreviations. I worried constantly about forgetting something and making a mistake and questioned whether I could do it.

“I wished there was something that could have made me better prepared.”

Her lightbulb moment came when she went to theatre with a patient. The theatre assistance showed her where to place the ECG cables.

She said: “I pulled out my notepad and started drawing. The anaesthetist said he had never seen a student do that before. I explained that I amavisual learner and my notes helped me retain the information and refer to it next time without having to keep asking.”

Georgina later went through her pad and realised the information could be useful to others. She turned it into 14 flashcards, laminated so they can be wiped and suitable to fit on to a belt buckle.

She said: “I hope they will reduce the anxiety of nursing students on their first placement because they act as a constant refresher.

“They have also sparked conversation with patients, who see them and are interested.

“In the long run, I hope the cards will help maintain standards because good habits are taught from the beginning of nurse training.”

The flash cards are now being rolled out across the hospital as a learning tool for nursing students.

Cheryl Schwarz, the hospital’s acting chief nurse, said: “The development of the flash cards will help others with their learning and skills development.

“We are very proud of the commitment and courage Georgina has shown, from the development of an idea to presenting it to the chief nurse and chief executive and being part of taking it forward.”

Georgina will find out if she has won the prestigious award, in association with the Royal College of Nursing Fellows, at a glittering ceremony at London’s Savoy Hotel next month.