Scotland’s youngest registered nurse graduates from GCU

A GCU student has become Scotland’s youngest registered nurse after battling illness on her journey to graduation.

BSc Nursing Studies (Adult) student Aisha Sarwar started at GCU in 2022 aged just 16 and officially concluded her studies last week as she celebrated with family and friends at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall.

“I only really thought about becoming a nurse because of my gran,’ explained Aisha.

“She had Parkinson's and I was constantly seeing the support the district nurses provided – it really inspired me. My uncle was also diagnosed with cancer during the pandemic so again getting to see that level of care in such difficult circumstances really pushed me into thinking this is what I want to do.

“I don’t have any family members that are nurses so I was the first to actually study it, but as soon as I finished my Highers in fifth year I knew this was the route I was going down.”

Despite her age, Aisha quickly adjusted to life as a university student.

She explained: “I remember just being so nervous on my first couple of days. I did have a couple of friends starting on the course but they were all older, so I really didn’t know what to expect.

“It was quite difficult because my last couple of years at school had been impacted by the pandemic and my classes were all online. Being back in the world and also being really young was obviously quite a lot, but thankfully I quickly got used to everything and it was absolutely fine. The biggest adjustment was placement and working 12-hour shifts when I had never done anything like that before, but that’s the same for a lot of students.”

Aisha’s journey to becoming Scotland’s youngest ever nurse was not an easy one, after suffering from illness during her second year.

“It all happened very suddenly. I had a rash for a couple of weeks and I ended up going to Accident and Emergency (A&E) because my throat felt really tight. My lips and hands had also started going blue but I was just sent home with steroids. I then woke up during the night and my lips were swollen to the point I couldn't even talk. My throat was the same, my fingers and toes were dark blue and my rash had got even worse.

“I managed to wake up my mum and was rushed to the hospital. I was in the high dependency unit for a few days and then moved to another ward where I stayed for a few weeks. I then got discharged and the exact same thing happened again. It was literally two days and I was back in again with Anaphylaxis. Since then they’ve tried everything – I’ve had so many scans but no-one can actually figure out what it was, what triggers it or if it will happen again.”

Despite the challenges facing her and regular flare ups, Aisha managed to pull through and complete all of her placements.

She said: “I remember getting discharged and then starting a placement three days later but I felt like I had to do it because otherwise it would really set me back. The staff at GCU and my placement providers were really good at adjusting things to support me.

“I don’t think I could have done any of it without my parents. Even at the start of my degree they were amazing with me. I couldn’t drive so my mum would get up an hour early every single day to make me breakfast and take me to university because she knows how much I dislike getting the bus. My dad was the same – he would work until 2am and then be up early to help too.

“There was a point where I felt like it would be easier to just leave – I didn’t think it was worth the stress. My mum really pushed me to stick with it because she knew how far I had come and that I had put in so much work over my first two years.”

Aisha added: “Another thing that inspired me was seeing how passionate the nurses were that looked after me. That compassion really does make such a difference when you’re feeling unwell. I knew I wanted to be in a position to have the same impact on someone else in future.”

With the additional motivation behind her, Aisha went on to catch-up on the placement hours she missed and officially finished her degree in September.

“There were a lot of long days over the last few months just because I was desperate to graduate. There’s a certain date you have to complete everything by and there was no way I was missing it.”

Last week’s graduation marked the end of an incredible chapter and saw her officially recognised as Scotland’s youngest registered nurse.

Aisha said: “I only found out about being the youngest nurse once I had completed my hours. It was really strange because I had different newspapers reaching out to me – I didn’t think I would ever get that much attention. It definitely feels good, especially with everything I’ve been through. I honestly wouldn’t change anything overall because I’m now only 19 and have the experience of a 22 or 23-year-old.”

She added: “Graduating is all that’s been on my mind since being unwell. It’s surreal to finally be finished - it feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders. It was definitely an emotional moment to walk across the stage and think about my journey over the last three years.”

By Ross Clark

Achieved something related to your course or in your personal life? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk