Image: 2018 nursing students at the University of Surrey
We are willing to provide financial assistance by way of a scholarship to support students living in the Guildford and surrounding areas who want to study Adult, Mental Health or Children's Nursing or Midwifery at the University of Surrey. The Scholarship is worth £4,000 each year of study up to a total of £12,000. All applicants must meet the following criteria:
Applications are invited for September each year
We sincerely appreciate your ongoing support and generosity. Through your contributions, students at the University of Surrey have greater opportunities for academic and professional success. Enclosed, please find reports from your new and existing recipients of the Ted Adams Trust Nursing Scholarship, detailing their experience at Surrey and the impact of receiving the scholarship.
I wanted to express my heartfelt thanks for your generous scholarship donation. Your support has not only enabled me to pursue my education but has also had a significant impact on my personal life. As a mature student, your assistance has allowed me to cover the costs of transport to my clinical placement, additional childcare, purchase a laptop, but most importantly dedicate time to my studies. This support has not only eased my financial burden but has also given me the peace of mind to focus on my academic journey. As a mature student your assistance has allowed me to cover the costs of transport to my clinical placement, additional childcare, purchase a laptop, but most importantly dedicate time to my studies. I am delighted to report that I have passed all my modules and completed my first clinical placement at East Surrey Hospital in the Ophthalmology surgical ward. I have been offered a bank position in the ward once my placement is completed. I discovered a passion for surgery during this placement and added this to my shortlist for my specialism. I also experienced my first medical emergency call to the resus team when one of our patients deteriorated during eye surgery. This was quite an intimidating experience, however, it has reinforced the seriousness of my chosen profession and made me more determined to work harder in my studies. I spend time with my two daughters in our little garden when I'm not at my clinical placement. We've started planting various vegetables from kitchen scraps in pots, and we're hoping for a good crop of potatoes, bell peppers, and tomatoes this year. I am starting my subsequent eight-week clinical placement at Crawley Hospital in the rehabilitation ward in June. I plan to expand my clinical skills further here. I also have my OSCE and VIVA exams coming up. Once completed, my first year as an adult student nurse will come to an end. This year has flown by so fast, the excitement and trepidation of embarking on a long-held dream. I have learnt so much this year and am looking forward to what I will learn next year. I have seen the challenges and successes while working with the experienced ward staff and it is so rewarding to be able to make a slight difference when supporting the patients I encounter. Thank you once again for your kindness and belief in my potential.
I am writing to give you an update on the past 9 months since I started at the University of Surrey. Firstly, I would like to say a massive thank you for my scholarship donation which I have received this year. Being a student is tough when it comes to finances, and the scholarship you provide is a massive weight off my shoulders. I couldn’t be more grateful for this.
My midwifery training which started in September 2023 has been amazing and I have enjoyed every second of it, I finally got the opportunity to be on the path to fulfil my dream career. I have learned so much so far and continue to each day as I now step foot into clinical practice. My greatest achievement this year has been that I have delivered three babies and I cannot put into words how amazing this was. I passed my first written essay which was great news and have recently submitted our second and third essays not long ago. So, fingers crossed this will be good news too. My greatest achievement this year has been that I have been able to deliver three babies and I cannot put into words how amazing this was.
Being fortunate enough to be able to have this scholarship gives me peace of mind day to day and I have been able to put this towards things such as a new pair of shoes for clinical practice and new midwifery textbooks.
In addition to my academic learning, extracurricular activities I enjoy doing include swimming, and going to the gym. I enjoy keeping busy and staying active. The scholarship has enabled me to join the local gym, Surrey Sports Park, where I can do both and unwind for a few hours each week, which I really enjoy.
For the next academic year, ultimately my goal is to continue learning as much as possible in order to be fully prepared for whatever comes my way! I would love to consider doing placement in a country such a Ghana, Philippines or Kenya to further develop my training and learning in the summer of 2025, as this is always something which has been of interest to me, and I believe would be really eye opening and such a rewarding experience. So, fingers crossed this can be achieved!
Again, thank you so much. I really do appreciate the support and look forward to writing to you again in the near future.
To start my update, I would firstly like to thank you, my donors for placing your faith in me to become the best midwife I can be and awarding me this scholarship. Without you, I wouldn’t be embarking on my exciting summer adventure (more about that in a minute).
Second year, well that has flown by in the blink of an eye. I am still getting my head around not being a first-year anymore and here I am, nearly going into year three, crazy! It has been a funny year. In the beginning there was still a bit of imposter syndrome as I still couldn’t believe I was a student midwife, let alone a third of the way through the course already! However, placement is going great; I love being out in practice. It just feels like it’s exactly where I am meant to be. Placement is going great; I love being out in practice. It just feels like it’s exactly where I am meant to be.
Labour ward and birth centre have my heart, I think. The labour care has a special place in my heart. I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s just that incredibly special and intimate human connection. And of late, building that connection with those families who don’t speak much English language has been a real passion of mine. I’m really enjoying learning various words in different languages.
I love continuity too. As part of our course, over the three years, we are meant to case load 3 families, so far, I have case loaded 9 families. They have all been great experiences. I’ve case loaded a single mum’s IVF journey with twin boys, a lady with PET from very early on, a Ukrainian Lady with very little English, a lady with severe anxiety and a gay couple, plus a few other ‘textbook’ ladies. It’s been interesting seeing how different demographics navigate the maternity system.
Academically I’m doing well, which I’m pleased about. These next few weeks are a bit of a challenge as we have maths exams, OSCEs, VIVAs, an assignment and a NIPE workbook all due in the same week, so feeling the pressure now, that’s for sure! We finish placement in two weeks and have a block in university until the end of year two. I will do a few extra shifts though, as it’s a long time until we are back out in practice again (October), so I’d like to keep my skills fresh. It will be nice to be back at university again. There’s a bit more stability with only doing the same two set days each week. It’s nice to be able to be more involved with my children’s school and going to see their sports matches and events. And of course, it’s nice to see my friends again as we are all at different trusts.
I’m working on a clinical account assignment now. It’s about a time when I’ve supported a woman to breastfeed who was struggling. I’m really enjoying it as breastfeeding is another passion of mine, so I certainly wasn’t short of women to base my assignment on!
During the summer I have signed up to go to Tanzania for three weeks. A very scary and brave adventure... I’m pretty sure, at 42 years of age, this is what could be classed as a midlife crisis, o r should that be midwife crisis?! I’m actually really looking forward to going and experiencing a different side of healthcare to what we know here. I have also been learning Swahili for 103 days now and can say things like, ‘may I come in mama’ ‘how was your evening’ ‘how are you’ ‘do you need help’ ‘my name is Lianne’ ‘Congratulations’ ‘thank you’ ‘push’ ‘I like your baby’. I’m volunteering in a maternity hospital when I can and visiting the local orphanage on my evenings off. I have booked an extra suitcase so I can take clothes/toys/bubbles with me when I go and am currently fundraising to be able to buy medical supplies whilst I’m there. So far, I have raised £425. Very pleased but would like to make it to £1000 if I can. Lots of bake sales between now and then I think! I’m being having conversations with a midwife that has recently been out there, and she said they are desperate for probe thermometers as everybody that’s booked has the exact same temperature! So, I would like to take one with me when I go. When I get back, I will be doing a presentation, so I look forward it that. It’s an amazing opportunity, a real once in a lifetime experience and it’s because of my scholarship that I am able to embark on this incredible adventure, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
May I take this opportunity to thank you personally for the financial support I have received from yourself. I am near completion of my second year Nursing Studies (Registered Nurse Mental Health Nursing) BSc (Hons), although I have much to achieve in the interim to the end of the academic year as of 29th July.
Academically, I am continuing my infinite journey of researching and analysing literature of the aetiology of mental health conditions, and other physical health comorbidities. I am learning pharmacology and alternative treatments for evidence-based interventions for the improvement of the vulnerable population I support and care for. During this academic year, I have had the privilege to work on an older person’s in-patient acute functional psychiatric ward, and I worked in the community on two different placements, supporting persons during an acute or emergency mental health crisis with the home treatment team, and older people with functional disorder and/or organic dementia with the community mental health team for older people. I have supported complex patients from referral to assessment to in-patient psychiatric hospital admissions, diagnoses, transfer of care to other services, discharge and attended a clinic for the intra-muscular administration of anti-psychotic treatment for patients with long term mental health conditions. I am learning and observing working with multidisciplinary professionals including consultant psychiatrists, a consultant geriatrician, occupational therapists, dementia practitioners, general practitioner’s, hospital and training doctors, advanced nurse practitioners, service mangers and both registered mental health and registered adult health nurses of their specialised clinical knowledge and wealth of experience, whilst they provide holistic evidence- based practice for the care and safety of their patients to improve their quality of lives.
The health sciences academic staff are outstanding. I am continuing to improve my academic skills and development, particularly learning to synthesise academic literature to support my independent research for my assignments. I am learning to apply my knowledge of policies, legislation, the nursing and midwifery council (NMC) code, the code of conduct, the Caldicott Principles and information governance into my daily professional practice, to enable me to assess, plan and support my decisions from an evidence base whilst supporting patients and the health care professionals I work with. I am currently studying for my clinical written account on trauma for reflective practice, the long-term conditions of both mental and physical health, the upcoming 2 observed structural clinical exams (OSCE), 2 viva voce (VIVA) oral exams, and a medication exam for safe medication practice.
The first year of receiving my scholarship supported me with the purchasing of equipment to support my studies and living necessities.
The first year of receiving my scholarship supported me with the purchasing of equipment to support my studies and living necessities. This academic year, the financial support has been used significantly differently. My eldest daughter was unexpectedly acutely unwell June last year, whilst she was on holiday in Spain having completed senior school. I had to fly out as an emergency to return my daughter safely to the UK. I had no idea I would be sitting on the opposite side of the fence, as a mum to my daughter who was now the patient. She is in recovery and is planning to start university in September. The scholarship has enabled my daughter and I to spend some much-needed time together and join the local gym. Investing the scholarships funds into our physical health and mental health well-being has been such a huge benefit and has had a significant impact on the dynamics within our household.
Late August, my daughters and I are planning a week’s holiday to Europe with friends. We can’t wait. I am also in the process of securing a 2-week elective placement with the Liaison and Diversion team, starting 2 weeks before my final year. I am eager to observe and learn of the interventions the team provide to vulnerable persons with adverse mental health entering the judiciary system, from the age of 10 years of age to working age adults. I am particularly interested in working with children and adolescents in mental health, and I shall be enquiring of a placement within these services with the clinical services team and my personal tutor for my final year.
As I have observed and participated with the decision making of evidence-based treatment interventions for my daughter, it is my privilege to be part of the NHS, to receive stellar care for my daughter and for my role as an advocate for my daughter, and for me to deliver care to patients as a student. It has given me remarkable insight of the multi-faceted mental health services and multi-disciplined professionals I am learning from, working with and to become a health care professional on completion of my Nursing Studies (Registered Nurse Mental Health Nursing) BSc (Hons) programme. It has been a truly reflective year, both personally and academically.
I thank you, personally, for your support.
Report from Bryony Pearce, Final-year Nursing Studies (Registered Nurse Adult Nursing) BSc
Please complete the attached application form, which will be considered along with the standard University application form. All applications will be reviewed by the relevant academic staff with involvement from Ted Adams Trust before a decision is made on who to award the scholarship(s) to.
Successful applicants will be notified by the end of the year they are applying for, with the first scholarship payment being received in their first semester (October) subject to them being accepted onto the course, registering and starting the course.
Feedback from the applicant on the outcomes and benefits of the scholarship is appreciated.
The completed application should be e-mailed to bursariesandscholarships@surrey.ac.uk by the 30th September each year.
Send completed form to bursariesandscholarships@surrey.ac.uk