Northumbria University is a leading Higher and Degree Apprenticeship training provider, designing programmes to support students in acquiring the appropriate knowledge, skills, and behaviours required throughout their careers.
Our Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN) programme, provides the opportunity to build upon existing nursing knowledge advancing evidence-based practice. Health visitor and Northumbria University Degree Apprenticeship student, Caitlin McCord, a member of our past cohort, has recently received a Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) award; recognising her outstanding performance while completing this programme.
The Dora Roylance Memorial Prize is an academic award available at every university in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland where the SCPHN Health Visitor programme is delivered. The universities’ programme leaders can nominate one outstanding student each year to receive the prize, and this year it was awarded to Caitlin and her accomplishments duly recognised by the QNI. Find out more about this award here.
Elaine Robinson, our Assistant Professor for Nursing, Midwifery and Health and Programme Lead for Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN), explains why Caitlin was nominated:
“Caitlin was nominated for this award by all members of the academic team, which was remarkable and a direct reflection of Caitlin’s positive strength and attitude throughout the SCPHN programme. Caitlin was not only able to demonstrate academic excellence with strong and encouraging practice feedback, she also was seen to demonstrate a warm and supportive attitude to all her peers. Caitlin was a delight to have on the programme and a prime example of excellence. She will be a fabulous health visitor. We wish Caitlin all the luck in the world.”
Caitlin always wanted to be a nurse, and after qualifying in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, she embarked on her first role at the Freeman Hospital’s Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit, where she previously had a student placement and loved it.
After about a year, Caitlin began to question if this was the right fit for her and saw an advertisement for health visiting - a completely different role - and decided to explore this option. Caitlin knew straightaway this was where she wanted to be and was determined to follow her instincts, despite knowing she would need to go back to university for further training.
“Even though it was really tough, it was honestly the best 18 months”, says Caitlin “I had so much fantastic support from both my University and practice supervisors that I found the time truly inspirational.”
Our Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN) programme has been created to offer a varied range of assessment strategies to help maximise learning and provide opportunities to develop a wide selection of skills that can be transferred into specialist practice. Apprentices work closely with practice assessors and practice supervisors, who will facilitate learning and provide on-going formative evaluation of progression. Meeting the IFATE Apprenticeship standards, our 18-month programme follows a robust, supportive framework to aid apprentices throughout, and strives to provide the highest quality of learning.
Northumbria University offer a wide range of Higher and Degree Apprenticeships for similar courses, as well as a variety of other sector specific courses to take individuals to the next level in employment and skill level.
To learn more about how Northumbria can help you progress further in your career, and accomplish long-term goals, see our degree apprenticeship portfolio here or explore our Health and Social Care CPD and Higher and Degree Apprenticeship offering here.
Back to top
