A nursing student has secured a place at the Florence Nightingale Students’ Day in London on 12 May after designing a winning patient information leaflet for people with Crohn’s Disease and colitis.

Third-year student Andrew Letters was judged to have designed the best leaflet in an assignment set by University Teacher Jane Munro, whose aim was to develop more creative and innovative approaches to learning and assessment, in conjunction with the National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease (NACC). 

Students were asked to create a leaflet that would inform patients recently diagnosed with the conditions – forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) – about how it might affect their life and where they could find help and support. Involving service users in the design and delivery of services is currently an NHS priority.

Andrew was presented with his prize at a ceremony in the Yudowitz seminar room of the Wolfson Medical School Building on Monday 26 April, and prizes of book tokens were also given to two runners-up Rachel Belfield and Mia Adora Paderganda.

Andrew’s reward for winning is a place at the Florence Nightingale Foundation’s Students’ Day at St Thomas’ Hospital, London where he will take part in a plenary discussion with other students from around the UK and senior nurses, and also visit the Florence Nightingale Museum.

Jim Stewart, NACC West of Scotland chair, said: “The people who judged the leaflets all commented on the general high quality, the effort put into them and the enjoyment and interest of being involved.”

Although the NACC, which is celebrating its 30th year, already has numerous information leaflets, the charity hopes to have the winning design professionally produced and printed for national use.

Margaret Sneddon, Head of Nursing, said: “It is fantastic for our students to have their work acknowledged and valued in this way and a credit to the creativity of Jane in developing such an initiative that not only involves public engagement but has potential to be of real benefit”, particularly as May is NACC’s Colitis and Crohn’s month and the 19th May is International Inflammatory Bowel Disease Day.”

For more information contact Stuart Forsyth in the University of Glasgow Media Relations Office on 0141 330 4831 or email s.forsyth@admin.gla.ac.uk

First published: 27 April 2010

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