Our volunteers and nurses of tomorrow

Presenting to prospective nursing students

Anyone who has been hospitalised after a spinal injury will understand the special relationship with the nurses who are there throughout the journey to recovery. That's why the Spinal Injuries Scotland volunteers are happy to be involved in application events for new student nurses at Glasgow Caledonian University.

The University uses these events to assess individuals who have applied for a place on its BSc/BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies programme over a half day of presentations and activities. The sessions are designed to identify those who possess the suitable values and attitudes that underpin contemporary nursing practice. The Spinal Injuries Scotland volunteers go along and give a presentation to the applicants, numbering over 1500 this year. We openly discuss the impact, good and bad, of working with nurses since our injuries to highlight the importance of these values and attitudes.

Spinal Life Scotland spoke with William McDonald who is a Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing and Admissions Coordinator of the BSc/BSc (hons) Nursing Studies programme at the University. He explained that nurses of tomorrow hearing about the lived experiences of our volunteers helps to "give them a very real idea of the impact of their actions and approaches in supporting someone through either a high-quality care

experience or an upsetting, negative one". The time spent in hospital after a spinal injury puts us in a unique position to share examples of our own positive and negative experiences with nurses. We hope this helps provide an understanding of how important nursing can be for the potential students to contemplate.

The volunteers also recognise the importance of their involvement and feel privileged to share our stories. Mary is one of our volunteers who regularly speaks at the events. She told Spinal Life Scotland that "it's good to speak to the nurses and convey how much they are appreciated for the work they do, or will be doing in the future, and how important they are to the patients". This view is shared by many of our volunteers who have helped at the University.

Another Spinal Injuries Scotland volunteer, Kevin, who has spoken at the recruitment events told us about a conversation he had with a first-year student. He had heard our volunteers speak the year before and told Kevin "it was the talks from Spinal Injuries Scotland that made him more determined to choose nursing as a career". We are certainly proud to be asked back year after year and knowing that our experiences can influence students like the one Kevin spoke to makes it worthwhile.