Anica Gray was driving to the university’s Coach Lane Campus when she saw a man who had collapsed unconscious by the side of the road.
“I felt confident and proud with my work and involvement in saving a man’s life”
Anic Gray
As first on the scene, she pulled over and immediately started to implement lifesaving techniques.
She was then joined by a nearby team of firefighters from the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, who also called for police and paramedics while assisting Ms Gray.
Ms Gray and the fire brigade worked together to deliver the basic protocol for life support, which she had learnt during her studies just a few weeks earlier.
The team were able to keep the man alive until paramedics arrived on the scene. They stabilised him and took him to hospital to continue his care, and commended Ms Gray for the role she had played.
She was subsequently praised by her tutors for playing a leadership role in co-ordinating life-saving, compassionate care, and for her confidence in controlling the situation until paramedics arrived.
“I’m sure the future will hold great things for Anica when she graduates next year”
Alison Machin
As part of her adult nursing course, Ms Gray had recently been on placement in a critical care unit where she had practiced these skills, said the university.
However, responding to an emergency on a normal day without any warning to prepare herself, made her realise how far she had come since beginning her degree two years ago.
Ms Gray said: “I would not have been able to put my skills into practice without the knowledge I had gained from Northumbria University.
Anica Gray
Anica Gray
“I was able to work alongside the fire rescue service and as a team we were very calm and organised,” she said. “I felt confident and proud with my work and involvement in saving a man’s life.”
Professor Alison Machin, head of the nursing, midwifery and health department at Northumbria University, said: “We are very proud of Anica.
“As well as using her recently learned life-saving CPR skills, she acted in a highly professional manner, was calm under pressure and displayed excellent interprofessional team-working skills,” she said.
“To be able to effectively apply her knowledge to practice and manage this experience whilst still a student is outstanding,” noted Professor Machin.
She added: “I’m sure the future will hold great things for Anica when she graduates next year.”
https://www.nursingtimes.net/clinical-archive/accident-and-emergency/quick-thinking-student-nurse-saves-mans-life-while-off-duty/7029081.article