Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Shetland graduate’s journey from island life to becoming newest nurse at ARI’s cardiology ward

Eilidh Mouat mulled over whether to be a musician or a vet before graduating with first class honours in nursing from RGU.

Eilidh Mouat
Eilidh Mouat graduated with first class honours in nursing from RGU. Image: RGU

A Shetland graduate who mulled over whether to be a musician or a vet has graduated with first class honours in nursing from RGU.

Eilidh Mouat has already secured her first job in the Cardiology Ward at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

The 21-year-old from Sandwick picked up her hard-earned first-class degree at yesterday’s ceremony at P&J Live.

So what took her from Shetland to Aberdeen’s biggest hospital?

RGU graduate wanted to ‘get off the island’

Eilidh wanted to go to university to “get off the island” mid-pandemic after leaving Anderson High School in Lerwick.

“I either wanted to do a science-based subject or music, but at the end of the day I wanted a degree that would guarantee a job at the end,” she said.

“My decision was also strengthened by the pandemic. I was keen to leave Shetland and move onto the next steps of my life, as there are limited training opportunities in Shetland.

“I originally wanted to study veterinary medicine but missed my offer due to being unable to sit exams because of Covid.”

Shetland RGU graduate Eilidh Mouat
Eilidh Mouat has already secured her first job in the Cardiology Ward at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Image: RGU

Having eventually plumped for nursing at RGU, Eilidh says she now can’t imagine herself in any other career.

“I’ve always been interested in anything medical, and the thought of being able to carry out complex clinical procedures was exciting to me.

“I also liked the flexibility of a career in nursing, as if you don’t like an area, you can just switch to another.

“There are so many areas to go into, such as education, research and advanced practice, as well as the opportunities to take your skills all over the world.”

First-ever winner of top prize

There have been many highlights throughout Eilidh’s student days, including winning RGU’s first ever dissertation prize for Nursing, selected by a clinical panel of senior nurses from NHS Grampian. Eilidh’s project explored the healthcare experiences of gender diverse patients.

“I’m very proud as I feel like I put in a lot of hard work, and to have won the first dissertation prize is such a huge privilege.”

Other highlights from Eilidh’s degree include her placements, which brought her back home to Shetland.

“The opportunity to go home for my nursing placement to the A&E in Shetland in third year was definitely one of my main highlights.

“It was during this time that I began to think critically as a nurse, and got involved with interesting cases, particularly later in the cardiac cath labs and theatres at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

“During these operations, I was able to scrub up and be directly involved in surgical procedures.

“It’s an experience that still make me feel so proud, and excited about the variety of opportunities nursing offers.”

Shetland RGU graduate on a purple armchair outside the campus
Eilidh has big plans for the future. Image: RGU

Setting her sights on distant lands

Eilidh’s university experience wasn’t confined to nursing.

She was part of the climbing committee, which took her all over Scotland. And as part of the Medecins sans Frontieres society travelled to London for conferences led by top health professionals, which she called an “eye opener”.

Eilidh is now looking forward to starting working life at ARI, and has big plans for the future.

“I have a job in the Cardiology ward 109 at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, which I’m really excited about as I’ve always been interested in all things cardiac.

“My dissertation supervisors and I have also discussed working towards publishing a form of my dissertation in a scientific journal, which could hopefully spread my topic to a wider audience.

“My overarching plan is to eventually transition into emergency nursing and gain a masters, and hopefully work in some different countries.”

Conversation