Skydiving nurse hopes to raise awareness of nursing associates
A Bradford nurse is planning to jump out of a plane to raise money for the hospital charity where she works, while at the same time also highlighting the recently introduced role of nursing associates.
Jessica Beattie, a registered nurse working for the education department at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (BTHFT), is doing a 10,000ft tandem free-fall skydive on 3 August.
“The nursing trainee associate apprenticeship is also very close to my heart as this is how I entered healthcare”
Jess Beattie
She is hoping to raise money for Bradford Hospitals Charity (BHC), which works to provide the trust with funding over and above what is routinely provided by the NHS.
For example, it contributed to upgrading medical equipment, supporting patients and their families, creating a comfortable environment, and investing in the development and wellbeing of trust staff.
Ms Beattie, who lives in Idle but is originally from Scarborough, is also hoping to promote the work of nursing associates within the trust’s hospitals.
She used to be one herself as a band 4 and now supports other nursing associates via her education role at BTHFT.
The nursing associate role was created by NHS in England in 2016, with the first cohort qualifying from 2019. It is intended to bridge the gap between healthcare assistants and registered nurses.
In spite of being viewed as controversial by some in the profession, largely due to a risk of substation with registered posts and tasks, there are now more than 10,000 nursing associates in England.
In January this year, the Welsh Government also confirmed its intention to introduce nursing associates to Wales.
Meanwhile, the trust noted that nursing associates worked with patients of all ages in a variety of settings in health and social care, delivering hands-on, person-centred care as part of a wider team.
Ms Beattie said: “I support trainee nursing associates and nursing associates to learn while working and this year the trust will be hosting a recognition event in September to celebrate the importance of their roles at the trust.
“As BHC supports this event every year, I wanted to give something back to them, our patients and my colleagues,” she said.
“The nursing trainee associate apprenticeship is also very close to my heart as this is how I entered healthcare,” she noted.
“It enabled me to go from being a cadet nurse apprenticeship, to educating and helping me gain my nursing degree with the Open University.”
She added: “NHS opportunities like this help so many professionals progress and provides support to help achieve through learning and earning.
“I want people out in Bradford to know that they can ‘jump’ into trainee nursing associate apprenticeship roles available at BTHFT,” she said. “Together we can achieve so much.
Jessica Beattie
