Nursing student makes headlines as guest editor for national publication

It’s a case of ‘read all about it’ from one Nursing student who is one of eight to step up and blog about life on the wards.

Each year, the Nursing Times ‘holds the front page’ for a select group of nursing and midwifery students from across the country. Their task is to take their experience of studying to talk about the pressing issues in the professions from their day-to-day experiences.

Among the chosen eight for 2023-2024 is University of Northampton student Chioma Vivian Ezunu. Chioma hails from Nigeria and is in the final year of her degree in Mental Health Nursing.

Chioma talks about what she will do for the Nursing Times over the next year: “I came to university during the pandemic, so I have experienced a lot! During my studies, I noticed a lot of themes affecting students who had also studied through this difficult time. There were lots of discussions, but I saw the Nursing Times role as an opportunity to add my voice to a wider community.”

The guest editor post runs until April 2024. During that time, Chioma and her fellow students will submit one blog post every eight weeks about a subject of their choosing. She continues: “The student editor role means I can speak on matters that affect student nurses, who will eventually become registered nurses. This is the same gratitude I feel as I train to become a mental health nurse.

“For my first blog, I focus on learning from negative feedback. During my degree, I’ve learned about the importance of reflective practice and good reflection includes learning from comments and suggestions when on placement. It’s great to hear positive feedback but dealing with situations where you can improve to better care for your patients is all part of the learning process.

“This has been a turning point for me as I realised ‘negative’ comments aren’t negative if you don’t see them as a personal attack on you or your skills. It’s accepting you can do better, learning from the feedback, and changing your mindset to always strive to be your best.”

Chioma’s next blog will be out in late January and she’s loving the writing experience. She concludes: “I told my Dad before I applied as I wasn’t sure if they’d choose me and how I’d feel if I wasn’t successful. But he said ‘I believe in you, and you should apply’ – I’m so glad I listened to him!

“I feel excited about this as I put myself in this new role to share my thoughts with as many people as possible. I hope to start conversations on mental health resilience for students and everyone. I want to contribute to breaking the stigma around the management of mental health. I hope to inspire readers to continue these conversations with their surroundings.”

Find out more about Nursing at UON.