Nursing Student Award

Nominations for this award are closed and will reopen in Spring 2025.

Becoming a Registered Nurse/midwife is the culmination of years of study, hard work and dedication as a Student. Students must attain both clinical and academic competence in order to secure their registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council. Nursing Students in Wales are educated at degree level in a chosen field of practice. Nominees for this award will deserve recognition for exceptional achievement during their years of study, for instance, having shown exceptional academic or clinical ability, or have been seen to be particularly compassionate and caring during their clinical placements, signalling a promising career ahead of them.

About the award: This award aims to recognise Nursing/ Midwifery students who have shown exceptional promise during their professional education and / or practice placements.    

Who can be nominated?

The nominee must be a student nurse or student midwife studying in Wales at the time of nomination.    

Criteria

• Must be a student nurse or student midwife who has made a significant difference to the patient care of a client group within their chosen field during the course of their studies
• Deserve recognition for exceptional achievement during their years of study (for instance, they may have shown exceptional academic or clinical ability, or have been seen to be particularly compassionate and caring during their clinical placements) 
• Demonstrate use of a credible evidence-base and / or developing an evidence base to under pin their work for the project for which they are being nominated
• Able to demonstrate that their work is commensurate with national policy and strategy within health and social care
• Show commitment to and passion for the nursing or midwifery profession, going the “extra mile” demonstrating a “can do” positive attitude

What makes a winning entry? - top tips to make you nomination stand out from the crowd!

Please read the nomination guidance note before beginning your submission. We have created some examples of excellent nominations to give you an understanding of the detail needed to make your nomination shine. You can also watch our guidance video 'Writing the perfect nomination for RCN Wales Nurse of the Year' for some top tips for making sure your nomination wows the judging panel.

Please remember to follow these key points:

• Tell us why you are nominating this person. A minimum of 300 words will be requested to explain your nomination, up to a 500-word limit for your submission. The more detailed you are the better so make full use of the word count given to you!
• Start with their success: What’s the headline? What are you proud of? Start with the attention-grabbing success to hook the judges immediately 
• When writing your 500 words, please refer to the award criteria for the category you are nominating for and hit each point mentioned by providing solid evidence. that way, you’ll increase your chances of your nomination being shortlisted!
• Please tell us specifically how your nominee has gone over and above the requirements of their role, and/or how they have made significant contributions to their field of work.
• Lastly but not least, check your spelling and grammar! Professionalism and care are equally as important in your nominations! Spell out any acronyms to be as clear to the judges as possible, don’t make any assumptions that they know what you’re talking about!

We also encourage patient nominations; we want to hear about how your experience of excellent nursing care has touched your lives. This could be yourself, a family member or someone who is making a difference in your local community!  Contact RCN Wales if you would like help in choosing a category to nominate. NurseoftheYearAwards@rcn.org.uk

Diversity in nominees is encouraged to reflect the workforce in Wales across all areas of nursing; Independent Health and Social Care Sector, Third Sector, NHS, or Local Authority.