Nursing lecturer is all heart and up for a national award
A heart failure nurse and Senior Lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) who devoted 37 years to caring for her patients has been shortlisted for a national award.
Yvonne Millerick, 54, was nominated for the Patient’s Choice Award at the Royal College of Nursing’s annual Nursing Awards by a patient and her family.
John Stuart, whose mum Mary Stuart, 88, has heart failure described Yvonne as “amazing” and is urging people in Glasgow and beyond to vote for her.
Yvonne, from Cumbernauld, was one of the UK’s first dedicated heart failure nurses and the first to be employed within Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
She currently works with patients, their families and a wide range of professionals as a palliative care Nurse Consultant in Cardiology – providing support at a time when many are at their most vulnerable.
John said: “Yvonne is compassionate, caring and very knowledgeable about all aspects of care relating to patients with heart failure. She has always been there for us as a family and nothing is ever too much trouble or off limits.”
Yvonne said she was “absolutely delighted” and thanked the Stuart family for nominating her.
She added: “I’m totally blown away by the nomination and I thank the Stuart family. It means so much.
“We do see patients and families at their most vulnerable due to the impact and uncertainty of the illness on all of them and for me it’s about engaging in meaningful conversations from the minute you meet them through to bereavement.
“I absolutely empathise with the situation that they are in – I often reflect on what it must be like to be in their shoes and I hope they know I am always there for them regardless.”
Yvonne began her nursing career at Forth Valley Hospital, before transferring to Glasgow Royal Infirmary in 2000. As a Senior Lecturer, she has been inspiring the next generation of heart failure specialist nurses and professionals across the UK for 20 years.
Alan Middleton, Deputy Head of the Department of Nursing and Community Health at GCU, said: “As a department we are both pleased and proud that Yvonne has been nominated as a finalist for the RCN Nursing Awards 2022, Patient’s Choice Award and wish her every success.
“Yvonne’s clinical academic role as Senior Lecturer and Nurse Consultant in Cardiology has allowed her to continue to deliver and develop excellence in pathways of care for people experiencing chronic heart failure. The recipients of this nursing care would otherwise be navigating systems that are not specifically tailored for their needs.
“By continuing to provide a clinical nursing remit, Yvonne is able to utilise this work ensuring currency in the curriculum of the Chronic Heart Failure: Optimising Health and Wellbeing module, which has a UK cohort of students studying at GCU.”
Professor Angela Wallace, Nurse Director at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, also congratulated Yvonne.
She said: “Yvonne is a true NHS hero and a fantastic example of how patient and family centred care can make a huge difference and it comes as no surprise that she has been nominated for this award.
“Not only that, but Yvonne demonstrates that nurses can achieve so much more. As a nurse consultant, she is a conduit to the most effective treatment and as a teacher, she is inspiring the next generation. I wish her well and hope everyone can get behind her and vote.”
You can vote for Yvonne by clicking here: https://secure.rcni.com/nurse-awards/patients-choice