Paul Gardner-Smith has just completed his Open University Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship as part of a drastic career change from secondary school teacher to nurse.
He’s now living his dream career as a Registered Nurse and has already created an inspired ‘buddy’ system to support the next generation of nursing apprentices.
As part of Paul’s mentoring system, the next wave of apprentices at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will be ‘buddied up’ with a student part-way through their course. Not only will new apprentices get extra support, the buddies will gain extra skills as they progress, as Paul explained:
“Having not long experienced life as a new apprentice myself, I know this will be a helpful system for the Trust, the new starters and the buddies. New starters will have access to a more experienced mentor-type figure who has recently been through the apprenticeship course. This mid-course apprentice will be known as a buddy. Buddies will be able to tick off the proficiencies that they’re expected to demonstrate in their role by taking part in the programme.”
A new nursing career
Paul always wanted to be a nurse but fell into teaching straight after school.
He said: “Before I left school, I wanted to go into nursing, but I ended up supporting people with learning difficulties and got a degree from the University of Leicester. When I met my now wife, I was moving to Oxford and decided it would be a good time to make the change.
“Before I moved, I got a job at the hospital in Leicester working as a Nursing Assistant, then I was fortunate enough to find a similar role in Oxford at the Emergency Assessment Unit. It was there that I saw an opportunity on the Trust’s intranet to do an OU apprenticeship nursing degree. I wanted to be a nurse, I wanted to progress my career.”
Paul spoke to his manager and the rest is history. The opportunity meant he could study on the job, complete external placements around the Trust and be afforded study time each week. His placements included working in a bone infection unit, a neuroscience ward and a community health visiting team.
Student Leadership Programme success
Paul came up with the idea for the buddy system when he was accepted onto the Council of Deans Student Leadership Programme, which his Open University tutor suggested he apply for.
The annual Programme recruits first and second-year pre-registration students who it believes could be future leaders and these students become affectionately known as #150leaders. It aims to promote and develop leadership skills among future nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals.
Paul said: “My tutor, Kim Liggins, encouraged me to apply for the Programme because she felt I would be a good candidate. It was a written application and I was one of just two apprentices to be accepted onto the Programme.
“As part of the Programme, you have to undertake a mini leadership project to aid and support other new students, so I thought ‘What would be beneficial from both a Trust and a student point of view?’. That was when I came up with the buddy programme idea.”
Buddy system in action
So far, Paul has recruited six buddies and has 12 new starters allocated to them. As part of the project, he’s also created an induction process using materials from the OU and the clinical education team within his Trust.
In recognition of his work, he has been invited to the Florence Nightingale Service 2022 at Westminster Abbey in May.
Forever championing students
This isn’t the first time Paul has championed fellow students. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he set up student peer support groups for students whose courses had been affected. This was despite facing his own personal challenges during his degree – including having his first child.
He said: “Having my little girl was challenging and meant it was a juggle in my second year, but she was what kept me going. I did it all for her, I wanted to set an example and show her that it doesn’t matter if you don’t get it right first time. Your first career doesn’t have to be your final career.”
“I’ve got my nursing position!”
Paul says his apprenticeship degree was a great way to learn, and has already helped him to progress to bigger things.
“Learning on the job meant I could put my learning into practice immediately. That enhances your work,” he said.
“I’m feeling very fortunate that I’ve now got my nursing position. I’ll be working in the Emergency Assessment Unit – so I’m going back to where I started which is nice as they supported me to do my degree initially.
“To anyone thinking of doing an OU degree apprenticeship I’d say take a chance and do it. You won’t regret it!
“Thanks to my OU study I’m definitely more open to new ideas and different ways of studying.”
