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.

Aberdeenshire nursing graduate’s compassion wins university award

Siobhan Bridges. Image by Edinburgh Napier University.
Siobhan Bridges. Image by Edinburgh Napier University.

An Aberdeenshire nursing graduate has been recognised with a university award for her compassion for patients.

Siobhan Bridges from Portlethen, was awarded the 2022 Simon Pullin Award in recognition of her ability to show empathy in pressured clinical situations.

The Simon Pullin Award is dedicated to the memory of Simon Pullin, who was a senior nurse on the university’s leadership in compassionate care programme from its beginning in December 2007 until his death from cancer in July 2011.

The 21-year-old Edinburgh Napier University student graduated with a Bachelor of Nursing with Distinction in Adult Nursing at Usher Hall in Edinburgh today.

Hard work pays for Aberdeenshire graduate

Miss Bridges said completing her degree has been no easy feat.

She said: “This is such a great honour and privilege. I got the news on my lunch break at work and I was delighted to find out.

“I had a look at Simon Pullin’s work when I applied, and I was inspired by what he did. He’s a great role model to anyone thinking of applying on the university’s nursing programme in the way he worked with empathy and respect.

“It’s been very challenging to complete a nursing degree through a pandemic, but I am proud of what I have achieved.”

Siobhan Bridges, who is from Portlethen in Aberdeenshire, was praised by the award’s panel for her ability to show empathy in pressured clinical situations. Image by Peter Byrne/PA Wire.

The proud Aberdeenshire graduate drew praise from the award’s review panel for her experience of working with a non-English speaking patient with severe autism and complex learning difficulties.

She used interactive posters on an iPad, allowing him to communicate. He has since been funded by his care and housing services to use this method going forward.

She also lived up to its spirit of recognising the human side to nursing by calming a patient due to undergo a coronary procedure by telling him about her experience of being diagnosed with a heart murmur as a teenager.

Nursing student exudes professionalism and compassion

Jacqueline Johnston, Miss Bridges personal development tutor at Edinburgh Napier University, said the young graduate exudes the passion, professionalism and compassion for her chosen career.

“Siobhan is one of the most professional students I have ever come across both in clinical and university settings,” she said.

“She is kind, caring, open, honest and puts her patients at the heart of everything she does.

“I am confident Siobhan will continue to demonstrate compassionate and caring behaviours in her future career.”

Dr Stephen Smith, from the university’s school of health and social care, led the awarding panel.

He added: “Siobhan’s entry demonstrated her ability to provide compassionate care and work to a highly professional standard, regardless of the clinical situation and workload pressures.

“Her examples of learning from practice were powerful and touching to read. They showed a beautiful sensitivity and commitment to compassionate care.”

Conversation