In 2018-2019, a pilot Nurse Cadet programme was offered to a few students from our Wycombe campus. The Nurse Cadet programme was designed to offer our Health and Social Care students, with aspirations towards Nursing or Allied Health Care professionals, a chance to experience these roles for real, before going to University to continue their training.
The pilot programme was an outstanding success in 2019-2020, with the programme becoming part of the Thames Valley Nurse Cadet scheme. Our students are now in Aylesbury, Wycombe and Amersham hospital enjoying a range of placements including Out Patient clinics, Gerentology, Stroke and Cardiac wards.
For our second year cohort, following a comprehensive corporate and clinical induction programme in February, the Nurse Cadets were devastated when their programme had to be put on hold just a week before they were due to start on the wards, due to the national lockdown. Since then, Bucks NHS Trust and Thames Valley Nurse Cadets have worked tirelessly with the College to ensure that the prgramme can go ahead, despite the fact that the hospitals are still in the unprecedented position of having to deal with a global pandemic. On October 15th, the Cadets underwent stringent PPE training at the HealthTec Centre at our Aylesbury campus, and with this vital aspect of their preparation in place, the Cadets were finally able to start their placement on the wards at Wycombe General and Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
Jane Bewicke and Maria Soady, our Placement Officers, have already received excellent feedback on the Cadets' professionalism and passion for learning. We are so proud of our Cadets and we wish you the very best of luck. Most importantly - stay safe.
