Meet Annie, the first nurse to qualify through the Weldmar Scholarship
28th January 2025
< BACK TO NEWSAnnie Hunter is the first nurse to qualify through the Weldmar Scholarship.
In October 2024, Annie Hunter became a Staff Nurse at Weldmar Hospicecare’s Inpatient Unit. Annie is the first person to join us through the Weldmar Scholarship that we’ve introduced with Bournemouth University. Annie says, “End of life care is definitely what I wanted to do. I like that you spend quality time with patients, and being able to keep someone comfortable, and have dignity, is an incredible thing. There’s been really good support from Weldmar, whilst I was studying, and since I started.”
How did you get into nursing?
“I never had a burning ambition to be a nurse. I fell into it, really. When I was doing my training, palliative care was the thing I connected with the most when going out on placements. Then, going into the third year, we had an email asking if anyone wanted to take up a scholarship with Weldmar Hospicecare, and I immediately said yes, and was lucky enough to be accepted.”
What do you value and enjoy about being a hospice nurse at Weldmar?
“It is amazing in terms of how much time you get to spend with patients. There’s nowhere else I’ve been where I’ve been able to know the ins and outs of your patient and their family, to know and understand their wants and their needs, and what they like and don’t like.
“Also, being able to keep someone comfortable, and provide comfort and dignity when they need it the most is just the most amazing thing to be able to give someone, especially at the very end of their life.”
How did Weldmar support you during the scholarship?
“The support was always fantastic, especially when I came here on placement. They helped me with all the proficiencies I needed to complete the course. I felt like I slotted into the team really well and all the staff were so kind. That wasn’t just the nurses and HCAs (Health Care Assistants), it was literally everyone, from the people in the offices to the physios, the Wellbeing team, and everyone else. They were kind and compassionate and I felt like they cared. At other placements I had felt that people didn’t look at me as a student, they would look through me!
It was also nice having someone I could always talk to if I needed it, such as Jess who is the Practice Educator at Weldmar. There are opportunities to learn about different things every week in the Bitesize learning sessions that Weldmar do, and when I was here as a student I took part in a number of the training courses. I was able to learn more about MND (Motor Neurone Disease), I took the course on Loss, Grief and Bereavement, and more – it was amazing.”
How have you found being part of the team since you qualified and became a Staff Nurse?
“I started in October 2024. Although I’d been well supported during my training I did feel a bit nervous, but that support continued. I know I can ask anyone how to do something or where to find something. I’ve been given a confidence in myself that I didn’t have before, and empowered to go and look after patients by myself. I feel really happy to be part of the team.”
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