Health and Social Care professionals from across Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands will be honoured at a glittering ceremony at the University of Worcester on Thursday.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the University's Health & Social Care Mentor Awards, which recognise the outstanding contribution that professionals from the two sectors make in supporting students training in the work place.
The University's Mentor Awards celebrate the work of those from a number of disciplines, including nursing, midwifery, ambulance personnel, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, social work, criminology, and youth and community work, who build successful mentoring relationships with students.
The Awards ceremony will take place at the University of Worcester Arena on Thursday, October 18th.
Robert Dudley, Acting Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Worcester, said: "Excellent mentors are the key to successful practice learning for many students. They inspire, support and encourage our students and that is why for the past 10 years we have held these awards to show our appreciation.
"It is also fitting in this, the 70th anniversary of our wonderful NHS that we too are marking a significant anniversary in celebrating 10 years of these awards, and all the excellent work in partnership that they represent."
Elizabeth Davies-Ward, Head of the School of Allied Health and Community at Worcester, added: "Despite the considerable pressures facing staff in the health, social care and community sector, the professionals that mentor our students continue to provide first class support and encouragement, and in doing so, they play a vital role in helping to train the next generation of practitioners. We are certainly very grateful for their dedication, effort, and of course, their time, and it is wonderful to be able to celebrate their contribution with these awards.
"This year we received 334 nominations, more than in any other year, which has certainly made shortlisting this year's winners very difficult, as all those nominated have made an immense contribution."
The opening address at the glittering ceremony will be delivered by Suzanne Rastrick, Chief Allied Health Professions Officer at NHS England, and one of the first allied health professionals in the country to hold a substantive Director of Nursing post.
"I am honoured to have been invited to attend the mentor awards at the University of Worcester to deliver the keynote speech," she said. "Good mentorship is an essential vehicle for the transference of knowledge into clinical practice but it also has benefits for the organisations providing mentorship through the promotion of a learning culture, raised standards of patient care, increased staff motivation, improved recruitment and retention and the creation of a more dynamic working environment."