Queen’s Nurse accolade for lecturer Matthew

Senior nursing lecturer Matthew Cain has been named as a Queen’s Nurse, one of the highest accolades available to the profession in this country.

The title of Queen’s Nurse is available to nurses who have demonstrated a high level of commitment to patient care, nursing practice, learning and leadership. 

This year’s recipients of the title from the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) were the last under the auspices of Elizabeth II, but the title will remain in force with Camilla, Queen Consort becoming patron of the QNI.

Matthew received his award and official title at the QNI’s awards ceremony, held at Friends House, London on 28 November 2022. Matthew was presented this with the award by Dame Elizabeth Anionwu, QNI Vice President and Patron of the Mary Seacole Trust.  

Having started at the university in 2019 as a clinical skills educator, Matthew is now Senior Lecturer and Course Leader for the MSc in Adult Nursing. 

“It is about recognition for going above and beyond, which I am passionate about,” says Matthew, who worked as a practice nurse at with a GP surgery in Doncaster before coming to the university. “Even as an academic I still tell students that I am a nurse first and foremost. I still work in clinical practice, and I still care for patients”.

Discover more about the MSc in Adult Nursing

“I was inspired by Queen’s Nurses. I have trained and worked alongside them, and they have always inspired me. It was always something that I wanted to apply for, as it puts practice nurses and community nursing on the map. There’s a bit of oversight in this part of the profession – no-one really knows what we do because our roles are quite varied.”

“I was over the moon when I found out I was a Queen’s Nurse because I could join the Queen’s Nurse family that I had always aspired to join. It is like an inner circle of nurses, and as I was inspired by role models, I would like to become a role model and an influencer for future nurses working in primary care.”

That new role as an educator has seen Matthew transition from one-on-one interaction with patients to speaking in front of dozens of students, or even hundreds in lectures held via Teams during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I get a buzz from it,” Matthew admits. “I really enjoy teaching and I think that part of nursing is being an educator. It felt like a natural transition and progression for me to go from nursing into education. It is about making sure that everyone understands so they can make informed decisions as a patient and as a practitioner so that patients can make decisions about their care accessibility, which to me is really important.”

Photo by Hush Naidoo Jade Photography on Unsplash