Samantha Smith, Head of Nursing for Intermediate Care in Community, has been honoured with the title of Queens Nurse by the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) at an awards ceremony in December.
The prestigious title of Queen’s Nurse was reintroduced in 2007 after a gap of almost 40 years. The title is recognition of individual nurses who have demonstrated a high level of commitment to ongoing learning, leadership and excellence in healthcare.
Queens Nurses must complete a rigorous online application process, and each application is assessed anonymously by two assessors, with an additional moderation process. All applicants must have worked in the community for at least five years.
The QNI supports professional networking amongst nurses working within a variety of community specialisms, supports access to developmental programmes and provides formal recognition of nurses commitment to improving care for patients.
In 2023 the title of Queen’s Nurse was awarded to 564 nurses, after a rigorous application process. Samantha also joins over 20 other Queen’s Nurses recipients within East Sussex.
On the award Samantha said: “I feel honoured and privileged to have been presented with the title of Queen’s nurse. I have worked in community nursing roles for the past 10 years, including planned care nursing, practice education, continuing healthcare and intermediate care. I am passionate about supporting a personalised approach to care delivery whilst ensuring the provision of high quality, safe patient care and am also an advocate for supporting staff training and development. I am very much looking forward to connecting with fellow Queen’s nurses and being part of the QNI network.”