On 28th September, 31 Castle Terrace was open to the public for the first time, as part of Doors Open Day. Fiona Fitheridge, Welfare and History manager with QNIS, was organiser in chief, and has written a three part blog about the experience. Part 1 is below: 2019 marks 130 years of QNIS. Back in 2018,…
Care Homes as Learning Environments for Student Nurses
Dr Jane Douglas is currently on the QNIS Queen’s Nurse Programme. Jane is the Executive Care Director at Queen’s House, Kelso, and has written us a blog on why care homes can be excellent placements for student placements. When I was asked to write this blog about care homes as a learning environment, I thought…
Prizewinner motivated by QNIS academic award
I was surprised and delighted when I was notified I had won the QNIS academic award. I did not expect that the study I conducted in Indonesia would win this honour. Indonesia is facing a double burden because we are struggling not only to eradicate communicable diseases but also non-communicable diseases resulting from the increase…
Becoming a Queen’s Nurse – Lyndsey’s story
Lyndsey Forsyth is an ADHD Nurse Specialist in Fife. She worked on a children’s ward for five years before taking up her current role in 2005 before the service moved to the community in 2011. Here, Lyndsey talks about what it is like to become a Queen’s Nurse after completing the development programme in 2018.…
Earning my wings on psychological trauma
Jennie Young’s work life is divided between being a Principal Educator (Trauma) at NHS Education for Scotland and Nurse Psychotherapist, Trauma Clinic, NHS Forth Valley. Jennie was also seconded to the Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport at Stirling University between 2013 – 2018, where she was part of a team who created an award-winning…
Being a Catalyst for Change
Elizabeth Smith is Breastfeeding Advocacy Lead for Scotland within the Scottish Government, she is also a Queen’s Nurse. In 2017 she was Community Infant Feeding Nurse at NHS Ayrshire and Arran and received QNIS funding through Catalysts for Change. Here, she tells us about her journey through Catalysts. Read more about her project, here. My role covered…
The hidden excellence of care home nursing
Pauline McIntyre is Deputy Director of Care at Erskine Home in Bishopton. She is one of 20 community nurses undertaking the Queen’s Nurse Development Programme during 2019 – the third year the programme has been running. She was also recently awarded the RCN Award of Merit. Here, Pauline shares her experience of working as a…
Book Review – The Social Leadership Handbook by Julian Stodd
Ian Hall is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner in the Orkney Islands, and a Queen’s Nurse. He has provided a review of the book which was the basis of Susie Boyle’s presentation at our Conference in April 2019. This is the introductory book that was offered by Susie Boyle during her talk at the Murrayfield conference…
Queen’s Nurses build connections through an appreciation of the outdoors
Queen’s Nurses Lorraine Haining and Kelvin Frew recently visited a garden opening under Scotland’s Garden Scheme. Here, Lorraine reflects on their day… Balker Farmhouse is on the Stair Estate near Stranraer in South West Scotland. The garden was originally a ploughed field which was restored in 2002 and the garden started in 2003-4 by Davina,…
I always knew I would be a nurse when I grew up
Lorna Bell won the QNIS Postgraduate Prize for QMU, and here she tells us her story. Excited! That is how I felt when I received the news that I had a place to train as a Specialist Practitioner District Nurse. Where I have lacked in academic confidence all of my life, I have made up for…
