Lucy’s reflections of time spent at a children’s hospice comes out on top
A child health nursing student who spent five weeks on placement at a children’s hospice has been recognised as the winner of this year’s Edinburgh Napier’s student work experience competition.
Lucy Machen, a second year BN Bachelor of Nursing (Child Health) within Edinburgh Napier’s School of Health and Social Care, beat off competition from more than 50 student submissions to win the top prize.
Judges praised Lucy’s engaging case study which painted a picture of her time on placement.
Her submission looked at her changing perceptions of what a hospice is and the support it provides alongside some touching reflections on supporting children, their families, and carers during such a challenging time.
Launched last year, the 2023 student work experience competition saw more than 50 students submit written case studies of their time on placement to the competition.
Touching on various subjects including their role, skills learnt, challenges overcome and reflections, the standard of writing was incredibly high, with the placement team and judging panel whittling down the shortlist to eight before a winner was chosen.
The standard of entries was so high this year, that two submissions were also chosen as runners-up.
They were –
Olabode Ajose, a MSW Social Work student who undertook a placement at a youth charity in Leith.
Cameron MacInnes, a BSc (Hons) Real Estate Surveying student who undertook a placement with Atlus Group in London.
Deborah Callister, Edinburgh Napier’s Placement Manager within its Student Futures team, said: “We loved reading this year’s entries to the competition and I wanted to thank all our students who took the time to submit case studies on their placement to us. Our judging panel had the difficult task to select our winner and runners-up and I wanted to congratulate Lucy, Cameron and Olabode whose entries captured what they gained from their work placement and how their experience linked with their university course and future career plans. It’s fantastic to hear of the success our students have while undertaking their placement work.”
Carolann Begbie, Edinburgh Napier’s Director of People and Services and who was part of this year’s judging panel, said: “Judging this competition for the second time has reconfirmed the positive impact that placements can have on a student's studies and future career. I would like to express my gratitude to all the students who submitted their case studies for the competition and congratulate the winners on their success. It was an absolute pleasure to be part of this competition and I am looking forward to being a part of it again next year.”