I feel incredibly honoured and proud to have won the RCN rising star award and to be nationally recognised among 21 other fantastic nurses. This award has been really motivating and I am excited to explore other opportunities to contribute to and enhance school nursing. I am interested in young people's mental health, and hope to explore this more over the next academic year as the focus of my SCPHN dissertation MSc module. In the future, I aspire to collaborate on a strategic level to shape the delivery and provision of public health in the UK, to improve children's health and wellbeing outcomes.
Saffi Nantwi, SCPHN student
14 October 2024
Student wins Royal College of Nursing Rising Star Award 2024
Saffi Nantwi was recognised for developing bespoke training for teachers on how to manage students with asthma.
As part of the Royal College of Nursing’s celebrations for Black History Month 2024, the Rising Star Awards ‘recognise nursing staff from the capital’s Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities who’ve made an outstanding contribution to the health and care of Londoners.’
Saffi Nantwi is a school nurse student of the Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (SCPHN) PGDip programme. She recently completed her programme, and has also been working as a student school nurse at Parsons Green Health Centre, where she developed bespoke training for teachers on how to manage students who have asthma, including showing them how to manage an asthma attack in school.
Her nomination from her trust notes that ‘without having experience of the school nursing role prior, she continues to move out of her comfort zone and practice effectively with the aims of improving the experiences of the schools, teachers, students and their families.
‘Saffi as a student is an excellent role model and has demonstrated compassionate leadership qualities.’
Saffi has completed her PGDip, and has re-enrolled to undertake the dissertation module to top up her qualification to an MSc. She is interested in exploring how school nurses can promote emotional resilience in children and young people to improve their mental health outcomes.