La-Daniel Campbell is Student Nurse of the Year

La-Daniel Campbell, the NAJ/LASCO Nursing Student of the Year 2022-23, says she is thankful for this honour.

“I’m overwhelmed with gratitude, and it’s an honour to be crowned the new Student Nurse of the Year. I’m just grateful,” said Campbell at the National Nurse and Nursing Student of the Year Awards 2022.

A third-year student at Brown’s Town Community College, Campbell was among top three of five finalists, which including first runner-up Dominique Reece from the Excelsior Community College, and second runner-up Shadae Moore from The University of the West Indies School of Nursing.

Campbell received $100,000 in prize money, along with a trophy and gift basket. She also received numerous other trophies and prizes from other organisations.

In her acceptance speech, she thanked her family, peers and lecturers for supporting her in her journey to participating in the competition and receiving the award. She especially mentioned her lecturer, Dr Donna Bunnaman, who first influenced her to join the competition.

HAD NO IDEA

“So, we’re in the middle of the [admissions] interview and she said, ‘You’ll be entering the Student Nurse of the Year Competition.’ To be honest, I didn’t know what that meant. I had no idea, but I said, okay. After rethinking, I began to wonder, why me? She just met me today,” Campbell said.

She added that when her third year at Brown’s Town began, Bunnaman again brought up the competition and encouraged her to join, while offering support when Campbell needed it.

“So, I can stand here confidently to say that this accomplishment is not something I did on my own,” she continued in her speech.

Campbell also gave advice to other nursing students, including those who may consider entering the competition next year.

“I believe that you need a strong support system, whether it’s your lecturer, your friend, your family. You need someone behind you to push you, and to motivate you when you feel like giving up,” she said.

When asked what influenced her pursue nursing studies, she explained her long-standing admiration for the medical profession and her desire to be a nurse since she was young.

“I can remember in basic school and primary school, I was always dressing up on Career Day as a nurse,” Campbell said. “Just to have compassion and care, it’s just all me. I love when patients can remember me as someone caring and someone who helped them to better themselves.”

Having joined the nursing programme at Brown’s Town in 2019, Campbell also spoke about her motivation to continue studying nursing considering the impact of the pandemic.

“We need more nurses that stay in Jamaica. We need those that are compassionate, that are disciplined, and are determined to make a difference and be strong in what they do.”