Student wins prestigious nursing award

Nursing student Banjo Tamiru has won the Mary Seacole Award for Outstanding Contribution to Diversity and Inclusion at the Student Nursing Times Awards 2023.

The awards, held in London on Friday, bring together the nursing community to shine a light on the brightest talent making their way into the profession, highlighting excellence in all specialities of student nursing.

Judges described Banjo as a “selfless individual” and said his “commitment and determination” impacted communities at a local, regional and national level.

“Banjo's lived experiences as a refugee to the UK are a timely reminder and epitomise the value of diversity to the nursing profession and wider society. We applaud his commitment and determination, which impacts positively on communities at a local, regional and global perspective,” they added.

Banjo said,

My sincere gratitude goes to the University of East London, my September 2020 cohort, specifically my senior lecturers Sheilabye Sobrany and Kelly Ncube for their huge support as well as the School of Health, Sport, and Bioscience faculty professors and staff members.

The awards also provide the opportunity to congratulate the lecturers, practice supervisors, universities, trusts and private organisations providing the best support for student nurses during their studies.

Banjo is a third-year adult nursing BSc student. His inspiration for nursing came at the age of 12 when he started caring for his grandmother, whom he was very close to, when she became severely ill after a stroke.

He was nominated for the impact he has made on others in need in the UK and around the world, particularly in Ethiopia, as a fundraising lead helping to reach families affected by COVID-19. In 2022, Banjo spent a month in Ethiopia, providing leadership training to 50 project managers from the Oromia Development Association. Banjo then networked globally and raised £48,000 to support families affected by Covid-19 in Ethiopia.

He has also assisted refugees with housing, employment, and educational needs in the UK, including advocating for a refugee family.

He has supported young refugees with housing applications with the YMCA and various London borough councils, guided them in registering for college, and supported people in looking for jobs and making applications.  

Banjo explained,

I wanted to be a voice for the voiceless and aspired to touch a lot of lives of people in need of help.

 “In my cohort as a student representative team, I assisted as an IT champion during COVID-19, helping my classmates with IT-related issues and guiding them through modules and Microsoft Teams to make online learning smooth. I also supported those students who were considering quitting by offering advice, encouragement and inspiration,” Banjo added.

Banjo would like to specialise in digital healthcare through studying a postgraduate programme.

Editor of Nursing Times, Steve Ford, said, 

“A massive congratulations to all of our winners at the 2023 Student Nursing Times Awards. It is always an honour to host the awards each year, and once again, I was really impressed by the calibre of the entries.

“The Student Nursing Times Awards hold a unique place in the nursing calendar, specifically setting out to recognise an outstanding group of students on their journey to becoming nurses and midwives.

“We celebrate students from all branches of the profession and from all over the UK. Their innovation and achievements so early in their career already mark them out as sources of inspiration and rising stars for the future."

Fellow student Leanne Martin was also nominated for the awards. Leanne was part of the March 2021 Nursing Associate course and has now completed her apprenticeship with UEL. She has worked for the North East London Foundation Trust for five years, in the community, providing unplanned care for district nursing teams.

She was nominated for Student Nurse Associate of the year because she identified an area of practice within her team that needed to be improved.  Leanne completed a project around delirium, including the identification and management of it within the community, and created an assessment tool that is used within her team to help us assess and manage delirium and avoid hospital admission. 

Leanne said, “The reason that I started out in health care was that I had severe health anxiety, and started to study to help relieve this through the Open University. As I was studying, I realised that I might be able to make a difference to other people, so while I was doing my National Vocational Qualification from home, I got a job in a care home, then moved over to the NHS as a health care assistant a year later.

“I have now been working for the NHS for eight years, and the Nursing Associate course was the next step in my progression, but I will be starting my nursing degree in May to become a registered nurse. I want to continue working in the community with older adults, and eventually be a specialist frailty nurse.”