A mum-of-two from Morecambe who won two national awards has spoken of her pride at being part of the nursing profession.
Cherish Otoo has encouraged more would-be nurses to join the NHS and said "If you have it in you, go ahead and do it, don't be afraid."
Cherish spoke to Beyond Radio after she won Most Inspirational Student of the Year and the Mary Seacole Award for Outstanding Contribution to Diversity and Inclusion at the 2022 Student Nursing Times Awards.
The Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI) nurse spoke about her pride in winning the awards, her work to support the BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) staff within the NHS, her work in the RLI Accident and Emergency Department, being a working mum, and her thoughts on encouraging more nurses into the profession.
PART 1 of our interview with Cherish Otoo
PART 2
Cherish, a newly-qualified nurse at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, was described by judges as “an exceptional and inspirational nurse trailblazer” who “emanates a modern-day Mary Seacole in every sense of the word”.
She was said to have made an exceptional contribution to diversity and inclusion, with a “courage and enthusiasm to tackle the challenges faced by (minority ethnic) colleagues at both a student and executive level”.
Mary Seacole was a pioneering nurse from Jamaica who cared for British soldiers at the battlefront during the Crimean War.
Cherish's win was announced at a ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London last month.
The awards ceremony, which honours the achievements of student nurses and nurse educators, celebrates its 11th anniversary this year.
Cherish, who had previously worked for the Morecambe Bay health trust in a non-clinical role, was one of the first people in the UK to enrol and qualify as a nurse through the University of Cumbria’s Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship programme, which was the first of its kind in the country when it launched in 2018.
Related story: "Exceptional and inspirational" Morecambe nurse wins two national awards - Beyond Radio
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