The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge sympathized with the nursing students and told them that starting work in a pandemic must have been a ‘baptism of fire’ during a video call on Tuesday.
Prince William, 38, and Kate Middleton, 39, were talking to young men and women at the University of Ulster to hear more about their experience of studying during the pandemic and experiencing the front line of Northern Ireland’s Covid-19 response.
While three students were standing around a mannequin on a bed while assessing the simulated patient, Prince William said: ‘It is very difficult for you to go directly into a pandemic, I imagine. This is really baptism by fire. ‘
‘I imagine it was totally crazy and very difficult to find your feet … head on fire, all the time.’
Prince William, 38, and Kate Middleton, 39, spoke with nursing students at Ulster University by video call to learn more about their study experiences during the pandemic on Tuesday
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (pictured left) participated in a video call with a group of second and third year students who attended practical clinical sessions on the university’s Magee campus in Derry / Londonderry. In the photo, Stephanie Dunleavey, Professor at the School of Nursing, Ulster University – Elizabeth (Lisa) Semerdzhieva, 3rd year nursing student – Rachel Reid, 3rd year nursing student – Paige Murray, 3rd year nursing student
“It’s scary,” said one of the third-year students, Elizabeth Semerdzhieva. ‘Although it was scary at first, you really want to get out more now. You can’t wait to start practicing and feel like you’re helping. That’s what we’re born for. ‘
Kate, who combined an elegant blazer with a round top, added: ‘Nursing is one of the most trusted professions in the country. You couldn’t have chosen a better career. More is needed now than ever.
‘You have almost three generations now – those returning from retirement, and you are doing your training which is intensifying – it shows a real commitment and a real teamwork, and it should really be celebrated, very well done.’
The Cambridges also spoke separately with Abigail McGarvey, an adult first year nursing student, who said to them, ‘It is not ideal, and it is a shame that you have your patients when they cannot see their families, and there are some who are at the hospital for months, they have no one else to talk to but us.
But that’s part of the job and that’s what makes it so good, because they don’t have the emotional support of the family that they would have. It is very important that we are there for them.
‘We will be there if they have a bad day. We’ll be there when they have good days too. It’s great to be there for them. ‘
Kate Middleton (left and right, Prince William) praised the group of nursing students who soon joined the profession, saying they were “needed now more than ever”
The Cambridges talked separately with Abigail McGarvey, a first-year adult nursing student who kept a video diary to illustrate a typical change during her first placement as a nursing student
Abigail McGarvey (photo on the left) told royalty about some of the challenges she faced, including the emotional impact of patients being unable to receive visits from their families
She added that her grandmother, mother and sister were all nurses and commented: ‘I really couldn’t escape’.
Abigail kept a video diary to illustrate a typical change during her first placement as a nursing student.
In the footage, she is seen getting up for the night shift, traveling to work and putting on personal protective equipment (PPE) with a mask, apron, gloves and visor – later, she puts on high-level protection to work with patients positive for Covid-19.
William asked if training in a pandemic had changed his thoughts about becoming a nurse, and the student replied, ‘It really confirmed that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life – this is the job I should be doing. ‘
Abigail continued: ‘On my first day in the wards, I showed up and within hours there was a severe cardiac arrest.
‘And seeing everything go up in the air, and how the team is formed, and how everyone is really working to care for these patients – it really solidified that this is exactly what I want to do.’
Ranked among the 50 best nursing schools in the world, Ulster University School of Nursing has approximately 1,600 registered students.
At the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, students were invited to enter the front line.
The students’ placements were adapted to meet the needs and demands of the health service, with the majority of students being placed in COVID-19 areas in hospital and community settings.