Scotland’s Chief Nursing Officer, Professor Aisha Holloway, praised University of the West of Scotland (UWS) for widening access to nursing education.

As part of a tour of Scotland’s universities, Professor Holloway visited the UWS Lanarkshire campus on Wednesday where she met and spoke with first year students from the BSc Adult Nursing and the BSc Mental Health Nursing programmes, who were able to ask questions and receive advice.

She then toured the campus’ state-of-the-art clinical simulation and immersive learning suite as well as the clinical skills labs.

Professor Holloway congratulated the students on finding their place at UWS and said: “Thank you so much for choosing nursing. It is inspiring to hear your ambitions for your career and for recognising the value of nursing care. It is such a rewarding career. You are our future workforce.”

Thank you so much for choosing nursing. It is inspiring to hear your ambitions for your career and for recognising the value of nursing care. It is such a rewarding career. You are our future workforce.

Scotland's Chief Nursing Officer, Professor Aisha Holloway

The visit highlighted UWS’ role as Scotland’s largest provider of nursing and midwifery education, and the importance of widening access to prospective students to achieve their potential regardless of their background.

UWS’ widening access pathways into nursing aligns well with the Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce (NMT) in its focus on enhancing the nursing workforce of the future.

Professor Holloway continued: "UWS’ widening access pathways into nursing aligns well with the Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce (NMT) in its focus on enhancing the nursing workforce of the future."

Professor Lynette Shotton, Dean of the Faculty of Health, Education and Social Care, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome the Chief Nursing Officer to our Lanarkshire campus.

This was a great opportunity for our nursing students to ask important questions and receive practical advice and encouragement from a government official with hands-on clinical experience, on the challenging yet hugely rewarding career path they have chosen to embark on.

Professor Lynette Shotton, Dean of the Faculty of Health, Education and Social Care

“This was a great opportunity for our nursing students to ask important questions and receive practical advice and encouragement from a government official with hands-on clinical experience, on the challenging yet hugely rewarding career path they have chosen to embark on.”