Meet the GPN SNN Ambassadors

The GPN Student Nurse Network has ambassadors from each region in England. Read more about the network and be sure to check out our ambassadors’ blog.

GPN SNN Lead

Sarah O’Donnell

Sarah O’Donnell studied at the university of Bradford, qualifying in 2014 as a registered Adult Nurse. During her time as a student nurse she was also a student representative, school representative and university senator. In her final year she was awarded university representative of the year, Sarah was also a finalist for the Nursing Times Awards.

Whilst studying Sarah also became a Care Maker, under the Chief Nursing Officer’s 6 C’s scheme, promoting the 6 C’s in practice, speaking at events around the UK and direct to student nurses.

In her final year she created and held a conference titled Learning Disability Action Aware (LDAA). The conference taught 400 adult student nurses the skills of how to support LD patients through the healthcare system.

Sarah completed her sign off placement in general practice, the passion for becoming a GPN (general practice nurse) was here developed. Post-qualifying Sarah studied a 6-month intense course in advanced nursing practice. Then went on to employment as a GPN where she has worked since.

Throughout the last 4 ½ years Sarah has championed and mentored people in general practice, and became a Senior Lead GPN within the second year of qualifying.

Currently Sarah works in practice and also leads the GPN Student Nurse Network (GPNSNN) an idea that came through her own experience and through seeing lack of support and encouragement into the GPN career pathway. The GPNSNN was made possible through NHS England backing and links in with the GPN 10 point plan. Follow her on Twitter @sarah_searz

North

Christy Egan

My name is Christy, I am a newly qualified adult nurse graduating from Teesside University. I am now a Career Start Practice Nurse, employed by North Durham CCG. I have a beautiful son who I aspire to work hard for. In just my first year of studying I was nominated as student of the year and was fortunate enough to attend the Shining Stars Awards as a top four nominee. I want to be the people’s voice and a role model to others, like many of my mentors were to me, fulfilling my career goals and ambitions and being the best that I can be. I’d love to make a difference and get involved in the future of the NHS and be able to make more information available to students and universities to recommend primary care as a rewarding career. Why not promote the care I went into nursing to do. I am a friendly, bubbly people person and I would love help others. My weakness is French Bulldogs, I love dogs. Follow me on Twitter @christyegan09

Clare Davies

My name is Clare, a 3rd year adult student nurse at LJMU. I am also a student mentor and an RCN SIO/student ambassador. I came in to nursing a bit later in life, from a previous job in finance but I am so glad that I did! I have truly found my passion in nursing! It is such a privilege to be able to care for patients and to be a part of making a difference to them, even if that it is just a small one. I was a young carer from my parents growing up, I feel this experience enabled me to understand the importance of care and compassion from a very young age.

I have had both GP and primary care placements on my nursing journey, and I have thoroughly enjoyed them all, seeing the variety of conditions and the wonderful relationships you can develop with patients was lovely to be a part of. Primary care is such a different setting to wards in hospitals but one I feel I would love to be more involved in and that all students should experience. I am excited to be part of the GPN SNN in spreading the word about general practice nursing. Fun fact: I am a huge music fan and love a medical drama show. Follow me on Twitter @x_nemo_x

Laura Thompson

Hello, my name is Laura. I’m an Newly Qualified General Practice Nurse. I qualified in September 2020, and started my GPN role straight away in Greater Manchester.

I had various placements during my degree including surgical, medical, intermediate care and community nursing. I was lucky enough to get a GPN placement for my penultimate placement and the experience was amazing from beginning to end.

I became a GPN SNN Ambassador after completing that placement, and I am now finding my feet as an NQN. I am about to start the Foundation in General Practice Nursing Course.

I feel honoured to be part of the GPN SNN ambassador team and I am excited to advocate for the role of GPN and share my passion for GPN as a career path. Follow me on twitter @LA10_07

Megan Riccio

Hello, My name is Megan. I graduated from Liverpool John Moores’ University just under a year ago. I completed my sign off placement whilst at a GP practice in the city centre of Liverpool. Since qualifying I have started working within the same GP practice and I absolutely love it. I get to see my own patients and I am doing things that I never imagined I would be doing within a year of being qualified! I never thought being a practice nurse was the path I wanted to take until I had the opportunity to do a placement in primary care. This is one of the many reasons why I believe student nurses should have the same opportunity as I did. I am very passionate about student nurses and primary care nursing. Having the opportunity to work within primary care setting such as a GP practice has changed my whole career plan and I feel that all student nurses need to have a placement in primary care so they can see how amazing it is.

Fun fact – I love watching medical detectives/forensic files. I am very excited about being a GPN ambassador so please follow me on twitter @meganriccio3

Naomi Berry

My name is Naomi, I am currently a student nurse within a general practice and I will be qualifying from the Open University in October 2019 and I am mum to a 10-year-old daughter.

I have worked within general practice as a healthcare assistant for six years and five years prior I was a healthcare within the community setting. Working in general practice has been a rollercoaster ride but with so many opportunities and support along the way. It is an amazing venture to be working towards gaining my qualification but also working alongside the GPN scheme to gain further qualifications. I have also secured a self-employed role with a local training centre that is there to support healthcare assistants, practice nurse, GP’s and ANPs to further their knowledge. This was a role I could not turn down and my practice has supported me through this transition.

To be able to offer the support to other student nurses or newly qualified nurses through the GPN scheme would be a privilege as it helps them to understand our role and how they could work within primary care and create the networks needed to increase the amount of nurses within primary care. Follow me on Twitter @NaomiBe44702921

Jess Lea

Hello, my name is Jess. I’m a 2nd year mature student at Edge Hill University, studying Learning Disability nursing. Throughout my career and especially since studying LD nursing I have seen the inequalities faced by the learning disabled population, and the lack of understanding of the needs of people with learning disabilities. As a GPN SNN ambassador I feel that coming from a learning disability nursing perspective puts me in a good position to encourage other student LD nurses to take an interest in GPN, and to draw attention to the needs of people with LD in a GPN context. At university I am a student cohort rep, as well as a peer mentor and as such, I am passionate about inclusion, ‘nobody left behind’, and making sure everybody’s voice is heard. I love speaking to people and learning about them and firmly believe in nurses/student nurses supporting each other. We all have so much to learn from each other. I also strongly believe that as students we have the power to affect change, we will be the nurses of the future and as such if we feel empowered to act then we should. It is my hope that through being a GPN SNN ambassador I can empower others to feel the same way. Follow me on Twitter @Jess_Lea_LD_StN

John Wells

Hello, my name is John, and I am a first year Adult Nursing student at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). I am a mature student, and finally taking that next step into studying to become a Nurse. I have worked in various healthcare settings prior to this and I have had a passion to work in General Practice for that great feeling of ‘Family’ whilst at work. I want to know everything about my patients and their families so that I can deliver the most holistic care possible for them and to be that friendly face that they can approach at any time.

I have been accessing the sources on this network for a while now and wanted to finally become part of it so that I, myself, could help others interested in this field.
I have learnt many things over the years and my biggest piece of advice would be to have a good home and work life balance. We cannot always just play hard, we must take time to ourselves and our families. In my spare time, I walk with my two dogs and my son, generally in more rural areas and sometimes even the peak district in all weathers.

Midlands & East

Claire Carmichael

Hello, my name is Claire Carmichael and I am the co-vice chair of GPNSNN and a GP Nurse. As a student nurse I had been on various placements out on the hospital wards, but all I really wanted was a general practice placement. General practice was my first choice when the university asked me for my preference list and luckily, I got it! I had always wanted to experience this setting as I had an idea that it would be a fabulous career path. In March 2018 until May 2018 I was based at the most wonderful practice with the most fantastic practice nurse who became such an inspiration and role model to me. She showed me what it was to truly nurse, she had the 6 C’s embedded into her heart each day when caring for the patients. This is when I fell in love with general practice nursing and knew it was the career path for me. I have a passion for student nurses, sexual health and the LGBTQ+ community and making change.
Fun Fact about me: The only instrument I can play is the spoons… Follow me on Twitter @c_carmichael83 

Jennifer Murray

I am Jen, a GPN one year into practice nursing and also one year post graduate. I am just about to finish my fundamentals of practice nurse training at Wolverhampton. I am a very fortunate, mature GPN. I think it is so important to advocate how difficult it was for me to get in practice nursing, this network is an amazing way to do so, to help those who do not know about practice nursing love it as much as I do and hopefully make it easier to enter. GPNSNN (2018) is the future image of change for new practice nurses. This group will offer intrinsic value to the future of GPNs. Follow me on Twitter @GPNJen 

Isabella Aku Arday

I am a third-year student nurse studying Adult nursing I am also due to qualify next year August 2020. My current job is as a Health care assistant which has been an amazing opportunity to gain a variety of experiences and enhance my learning outside of studying. I was fortunate to have my previous placement in a GP, it was amazing, and it showed me a different way of nursing. The ability to have a one to on and have time to really talk to my patients and provide care was something I was not able to achieve completely in a hospital setting. Since starting my degree, I became an academic mentor for first year students for the Nursing practice and anatomy and physiology exams. I was also part of the group of mentors which went on become finalists at the Student Nursing Times Awards 2019 for Teaching innovation of the year. Ever since I had my placement in a GP I have been promoting becoming a GPN to others because I think it’s a rewarding career and my main aim as a GPN SNN is to break the sigma about GPN’s and share my passion of becoming a GPN. Follow me on Twitter @isabella8195

Shaun Williams

Hello, my name is Shaun and I am a mature student at Keele University, currently in my second year of nursing studies. My story is slightly unconventional as I never set out to be a nurse. I initially left school with no qualifications and after a number of years stumbled into working in the social care sector. The desire to support people in a humane and person-centred way gave me the motivation to address my education. In 2017 I applied on the off-chance to study adult nursing; I was then unorthodox as I actually settled on learning disability nursing as I feel strongly about the management of everyday healthcare needs in a highly personalised manner; especially for those within society who experience the greatest amount of inequality. I have such a passion for general practice nursing as it is foremost and centre in creating equitable healthcare for all. The changing landscape of service provision also means that learning disability nursing practice is ideal to provide solutions needed to meet the health needs of the general population [especially the creative management of long-term conditions in community settings]. I am one of the 2019 Council of Deans #150 Leaders [healthcare students]. Also, I am not entirely unique as I have an identical twin.

Skylar Crutchlow

My story began virtually by accident. One minute I was providing child labour next minute I had moved on from licking envelopes to taking people’s blood! Then I was an HCA, studying to be an AP, but really was going to jump into the Adult Nursing degree. Just when I thought that was it, my graduation became an induction for the Master degree in Advanced Clinical Practice and I had committed myself to another 3 years! I am fortunate to be part of a great NHS that values nursing in the 21st century that embraces the diversity of this changing landscape.  My motivation is a deep and genuine interest in this caring profession that offers exciting opportunities to increase and develop new areas of knowledge and understanding. I see this as essential to both my academic and career development which is now particularly important as I mentor both student nurses and TNAs. Being part of the GPN Student Nurse Network as an ambassador is a true privilege! I am extremely passionate about nursing in General Practice and am keen to promote this as a career choice for all newly qualified nurses. Also I would love to give the ‘right person’ that same ‘chance’ that I was given! Follow me on Twitter @Skylar_xox

Beth Howard

My name is Beth. I am a practice nurse in Birmingham. I qualified in 2018 and have since worked on surgical wards and in the emergency department. I decided to make the move to general practice in November 2020 as I wanted to find a nursing role in which I could focus on one patient at a time, have more regular hours, and which did not involve me to commit to one speciality. I love the variety of work in general practice. Practice nursing also allows me to have a great work life balance, as with regular shifts I love to be able to make plans with friends and family (Covid permitting!) at weekends. The development opportunities within general practice are amazing too; I am studying the fundamentals of primary care and asthma courses! I also love the variety of ages we treat – from giving babies their first vaccinations to caring for adults and children with long term conditions. Random facts: I love to bake, sew and practice yoga! I’m really looking forward to being involved with GPNSNN! Follow me on Twitter @BethHowie8

Elizabeth Semmens

My name is Elizabeth, and I am a 3rd year adult nurse student. After being able to experience a placement in GPN, I knew it was an area I want to be in when I qualify. I also want other students to be aware of general practice, and what it offers. I feel that general practice can offer holistic care much than ward based nursing and it is one of the reasons I am passionate about general practice. Follow me on twitter @elizabethsemme1

London

Aylin Yilmaz

My name is Aylin and I am in my final year of studying adult nursing at University of Greenwich. I am kind, committed, enthusiastic, and patient. My interest has always been (and will be) practice nursing. I strongly believe that more nurses should come in to general practice nursing as it provides care holistically and it is an amazingly rewarding job. My interest in practice nursing has indefinitely kept me motivated throughout life, and my studies. I chose a GP as my management placement, despite the distance from my home to this GP, I still chose to come here and I am so proud to say that I have made the best decision yet. I am currently working in a GP as my management placement and so far, being here has grown my passion for GPN increasingly even more. Additionally, my mentor, who is an advanced nurse practitioner, is an amazing role model. She is great at what she does! I look up to her and hope to be like her one day in the near future. Follow me on Twitter @aylinyilmazsn

Khadijah Abdel-Illah

Rebecca Clancy

Hello, my name is Rebecca and I am a first-year student Paediatric Nurse at London South Bank University. My journey into primary care and practice nursing began in 2003 when I started working in General Practice in London whilst completing my Assistant Practitioner qualification. I worked for many years alongside the multi-disciplinary primary care team, absorbing the wisdom and practice for GPNs and ANPs. I knew my passion was in General Practice Nursing, but the time had to be right to do my degree training.

Since then my career encompassed General Practice Management, a founding member of a tech health start-up, training in complementary therapy and pilates, lots of work across London as an Assistant Practitioner and working for One Health Lewisham, where I have been fortunate enough to be involved with the development and delivery of such projects as the NHS Health Checks programme and the 3TT Diabetes Pilot.

The Diabetes project won an HSJ award this year in the category for ‘Clinical Governance & Risk Management in Patient Safety. I was very proud to be at the award ceremony and to be part of the team.

The General Practice I work with has recently been awarded the ‘Gold Award for Pride in Practice’, the first practice in South London to achieve this. The Practice team are incredibly proud and honoured to receive this.

My work with One Health Lewisham and within General Practice will continue as I finally begin my Nursing Degree training. I have decided to do my BSc in Children’s Nursing to add to my skillset and broaden my experience. Within General Practice you are privileged to be involved with health promotion, support during illness, pregnancy, newborns, children and adults through to elderly and end of life care. I hope to use the skills and knowledge I gain to enter GPN, to train to become an ANP and to be involved with triage and minor illness as well as the full scope of Practice Nursing work

I have been incredibly passionate about Practice Nursing and Primary Care for 16 years and feel incredibly privileged to be an Ambassador for the GPN SNN. I hope to bring all of my experience to the table when helping to support and encourage GPN as a Career choice for all Nurses, including NQNs. Follow me on Twitter @bex_clancy

Vanessa Anthony

Hello my name is Vanessa and a first year BSc Adult Nursing student at the University of Greenwich. I am also a Student and AccessAbility Ambassador and opportunities to network with other prospective student nurses, as well as nursing professionals. Previous work experience in the capacity of various support roles within the NHS enables me to understand some of its operations. However, my role as a carer and placements in the community via my degree made it apparent where I would like to establish my future nursing career: a natural passion for advocacy and care delivery in general practice. My mentors in primary care placements have inspired me. Their holistic approach in fulfilling person centred care is amazing; the rapports built contributing to best possible patient outcomes that are understated in the community due to misconceptions. Secondary care delivery is at the forefront misplacing primary care. I have proven for myself that individuals prefer recovery in their home and community. Recently attending GPN conference further ignited my passion for general practice. Through my privilege of being a GPN SNN Ambassador I aim to influence others there is another pathway to consider. Follow me on Twitter @MsVAnthony1

Natasha Monk

Hello, my name is Natasha, and I am a mature 1st year adult nursing student at the University of Roehampton. I found the GPN SNN through my research into practice nursing through social media and via practice nurses and students wishing to pursue this pathway.

My nursing journey began after the birth of my third child in 2008. He and my youngest child were born with Dominant Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa and before this time I was in my 2nd year of my midwifery studies. I took the decision to step away from this course and found myself drawn to volunteering within a local adult hospice as a Community Support Volunteer. This was when I saw how vulnerable adults can be with their health and the healthcare environments that supports them. Fast forward several years and I made the active decision to return to education and completed my Access to Nursing and Health Sciences course in 2019/20. I absolutely loved this course, and it ignited my passion for adult nursing especially within Primary Care.

The University I now attend was my first choice as it actively supports the need for more nurses to enter the Community/Primary Care settings as this is the future of nursing. I therefore want to share this passion for Primary Care with my fellow peers and show them the power of autonomy, continuity of care and the diversity of the role of the General Practice Nurse.

Rachel Pike

Hello, my name is Rachel and I have just completed my first year as a Mental Health Nursing Student at the University of Roehampton. I am a mum of 4 and I have 3 wonderful grandchildren. I enjoy reading (when I’m not studying!) as well as practicing meditation and arts and crafts, all of which are a great source of therapy.
Joining nursing late in life has made me realise how focussed I am for the future, and I feel passionate about there being Mental Health Nurses within general practice. To have the opportunity to treat people holistically, at their time of need, and at a place that was familiar and where they feel comfortable, would be so beneficial to their wellbeing and an extremely rewarding experience for me. I am really excited to be a part of this network of fabulous individuals, and hope to learn from them, share my ideas and be part of the future for Mental Health Nurses who also wish to follow this path.

Callum Willoughby

Hello, my name is Callum. I am currently entering my 2nd year on the BSc Mental Health Nursing pathway at the University of Roehampton. My passion for mental health stems from my own personal experience and the fact that I love making a difference in people’s lives. I am particularly passionate about ADHD; this is down to my own experience of these services and would love to be able to eventually be an ADHD practitioner to hopefully help bridge the evident gaps. I also feel that RMN’s should be introduced into primary care, this would help ensure that more patients are seen and would help to stop people falling between the gaps of secondary care services because they do not meet the required criteria of those services. I am extremely excited to be part of the GPNSNN and cannot wait to be involved with a variety of opportunities the role will open up, all of which will add valuable knowledge and aid me in my nursing journey.

Kiran Athwal

Hello, my name is Kiran. I am studying at Kings College London. Currently, I am in my final year and qualify in August. I have recently completed my preferences for my consolidation placement and I chose general practice, I hope I get it!

I have been lucky enough to work in different specialities and hospitals around Central London such as National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London Hospital, UCH Westmoreland Street, KCL Research, which have been full of amazing learning experiences.

In my first year, I messaged Claire and asked her advice on what I can do to become a GPN! She gave me amazing support, debunking the myths around NQN and GPN this encouraging me to become a GPN SNN ambassador as I wanted to able to promote and raise awareness of GPN.

Why GPN? What I love about GP is the mix of health prevention, promotion and screening alongside the continuing care of those with diagnosed with chronic and long-term conditions. I am excited to be a part of a team of like-minded future nurses, learning, promoting GPN and being an agent of change within my ambassador role for the GPN SNN.

A Fun Fact About Me: I do yoga every day!  Follow me on Twitter @Kiran20224

South

Jessica Lovelace

Hello my name is Jessica Lovelace. I am a 2^nd year adult nursing student at Plymouth University. I am extremely passionate about primary care being the intervention and prevention stage of health care. Preventing the escalation of long-term conditions such as hypertension, as this is the root cause of many other long-term health conditions. Actively managing this at a primary care level will not only be beneficial to the patient but also potentially taking the added pressures of the NHS and hospital care.

The health promotion element of primary care is highly important to help individuals take control of their own health and well-being. The NMC code as it states that as nurses we must recognise the contributions that patients can make to their own health. I also value that in primary care you can build a rapport with patients due to a good level of continuity within GP surgeries. I’ve always had a strong interest in becoming a practice nurse. This is my aim for when I qualify, not only will becoming an ambassador for GPN SNN help others understand the role better and realise the opportunities available, but also realise the need for nurses in primary care.

Amelia Rogerson

Hello, my name is Amelia Rogerson and I’m 30 years old. I have two children, and I’m a second year Trainee Nursing Associate due to qualify in February 2022! I started my Healthcare career in 2018 where I started as a HCA in a hospital outpatients department. I loved it, but I wanted to learn more and develop my clinical skills and knowledge. I got a job in General Practice in 2019 and have been there since. Since starting primary care, I have learned heaps of clinical skills and enjoy working autonomously, but also within a team. I love seeing people repeatedly and building a rapport with them. I since applied for the Nursing Associate Apprenticeship, and it’s been such an amazing opportunity. I am passionate about health promotion and prevention of ill health and improving access to GP placements for student nurses. I want to challenge the false ideologies about general practice, which need to change in order to replace retiring practice nurses. It really is an amazing career, and I would like to improve student’s perceptions of general practice. Find me on Instagram under @thetraineenursingassociate

Lucy Mustchin

Hi, my name is Lucy and I’m just about to start my final year as a mature adult nursing student at UWE Bristol.  I have three daughters aged 13, 12 and 4.  I know what your thinking – three children, plus a degree, it is challenging but so worth it!

I fell in love with practice nursing when I started working as an HCA at a GP practice in my local town in Somerset.  I was very fortunate to work with amazing nurses, GP’s and other healthcare professionals who enjoyed passing on their wealth of knowledge. I still work bank shifts in local GP practices now and I learn something new every shift – guaranteed.

I enjoy the variety that GPN offers as it combines all ages.  I love that a person centred patient care approach with an emphasis on health education and promotion can benefit a patients long term health outcomes.  By giving this advice and treatment as a trusted and familiar healthcare professional builds an amazing rapport and partnership between patient and nurse.

Once qualified I’m hoping to progress as a NQN In general practice – wish me luck!

Leah Watts

Hello, my name is Leah, and I am a Trainee Nursing Associate based in a Somerset GP surgery. I am completing my training as an apprenticeship through the University of the West of England. After leaving college I studied for a degree in Psychology where I loved all my health modules and knew I wanted to pursue a career in healthcare. On graduating I took a job as a Health Coach in primary care and soon discovered that general practice nursing was the career for me.

5 years later and I am in my second year of Nursing Associate training, and I like being able to complete my studies alongside working. Even within the nursing profession it is not widely understood what general practice nursing entails and what Nursing Associates can do. General practice nursing is diverse and encompasses everything I want to achieve in a nursing career. I am passionate about general practice nursing and hope that as a GPN SNN Ambassador that I can increase the awareness of Nursing Associates and general practice nursing. Follow me on twitter @leahbwatts

Jamie Hulley-Mills

Hello, my name is Jamie Hulley-Mills, and I am a third-year Adult Nursing student from The University of the West of England. Whenever my nursing colleagues discussed General Practice Nursing on my placements, they described it as the area of retirement, in which nurses deskill. This was my perception when it was announced I would be going to a GP surgery, ‘get ready to learn nothing for 8 weeks I said to myself.

However, after just one week, I knew this perception was wildly incorrect. The amount of nursing knowledge and practical skills performed on a wide variety of health issues and ages ranges illustrated this was a highly specialised and exciting area of practice, and I knew this was the area I wanted to work.

I am also very interested in research and its importance for underpinning patient care and was accepted onto the competitive VersusArthritis Research Internship. This has enabled me to secure an NQN as a Part-Time Practice Nurse and Part-Time Primary Care Research Nurse, which I start next year (wish me luck!). I am keen to spread the word about the amazing role of GP Nursing and to encourage more students to consider this potential career path.