THIRD year adult nursing student Zoe Butler has beaten hundreds of entries to be shortlisted for a prestigious national award recognising exceptional work.

The Kendal-based University of Cumbria student is among five vying for the Andrew Parker Student Nurse Award from the Royal College of Nursing. The annual RCNi Nurse Awards are the profession’s top accolade and recognise those who have come up with new ways to improve health, enhance patient experiences and transform nursing practice.

“The news has come out of the blue – I heard via Twitter!” Zoe said. "The awards are for innovation in practice and my work to look at mental health in young people drew the judge’s attention.”

Zoe was instrumental in working with young people to write and film a series of monologues as part of a project called ‘The Hot Potato’ aimed at raising awareness of mental health. Now in use in schools across Cumbria, the resource can start discussions within schools and organisations regarding mental illness.

The University of Cumbria has also used the material in some of the sessions delivered to all fields of nursing to enable students to consider the impact a mental health condition can have on a young person.

During her time at Queen Elizabeth School, Kirkby Lonsdale, Zoe helped carry out a review of services supporting children and adolescents with mental illness in the South Lakeland area. This report made a number of recommendations to support young people and their families who have experienced mental health issues at both a local and national level.

One of the recommendations related to training for parents, children and young people and the public around mental health which led to ‘The Hot Potato’ programme.

“Zoe is passionate about everything she becomes involved in and helps others see its relevance and importance,” Louise Corless, senior lecturer in mental health nursing within the University of Cumbria’s Department of Nursing, Health and Professional Practice, said. “She is a clear role model to peers, junior colleagues and also her tutors, many of whom have been both inspired and humbled by her motivation and passion for promoting excellence in learning environments, practice and the wider population."

Those shortlisted will be invited to the judging days in March to present their initiatives to the judging panel with winners announced at a ceremony on Friday May 5 at the Westminster Park Plaza in London.

Zoe will start work with the NHS at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary in September.