A urology nurse at Inverclyde Royal Hospital and former cancer patient has picked up a bronze award at the British Journal of Nursing (BJN) Awards.
Leann Mclaughlin attended the awards ceremony at the London Banking Centre on Friday, 24 March this year where she managed to fight of competition to secure the bronze award for her contributions and commitment to her work.
The BJN awards recognises nurses around the United Kingdom who have gone over and above their daily duties to make a significant difference to patients’ lives.
Initially nominated as a clinical champion in 2022 by Prostate Cancer UK to participate in their 18 month leadership programme and to work on improving diagnosis for men with prostate cancer, Leann was elected to the Board of Trustees for the British Association of Urology Nurses (BAUN) in November 2022 to help with improvement work at a national and local level.
She was then approached by the BJN to write a foreword for their Urology Supplement and was subsequently encouraged to apply for the award by their events team.
Speaking on her award, Leann said: “I am absolutely delighted to have won this award and it means a lot to be recognised for the work that I do.
“I don’t think I am doing much in comparison to others but I am honoured to have been both nominated and selected. It was an amazing event and it was fantastic to see all of the work that is going on across UK healthcare.
“It is a privilege to try and make a difference to patients’ lives and that is what really drives me in my work. I am also very lucky to be part of a dedicated and compassionate team within urology who are really encouraging and supportive.”
In 2009, Leanne was diagnosed with cervical cancer whilst she was a student nurse and this unfortunately returned for a second time in 2010 in the last year of her studies.
Overcoming her own battles, she was able to continue her excellent work into cancer care and this has proved to be an incentive for her commitment to her own work.
“As a previous cancer patient I have a lot of experience of healthcare from the other side and I care about improving services as much as possible.
“After recovering from my own cancer experiences, my passion and commitment to help others has never been higher and that is why I have gravitated towards my particular career choices.
“A few years after having cancer, I had a small bowel obstruction and sepsis. I was really down and low in mood and was in a single room in a high dependency unit for two weeks. One of the nurses told me to get dressed as she was taking me out for a walk to get me out and lift my spirits and the compassion and care that was shown to me has really stuck with me.
“It is the small things people do in healthcare that make a big difference to patients and I can only hope the work that I am doing will continue to help others live a fuller and more fulfilled life.”
