Sunday, April 19, 2009

Afghanistan nurse trainer wins award from Royal Navy - Nursing Times

A medical assistant who has been training nurses in Afghanistan has been awarded a certificate of recognition by the Royal Navy.

Natalie Chinniah, 26, of Buxton, Derbyshire, volunteered to teach a group of Afghan nurses trauma management at a hospital in Helmand Province.

All 12 nurses graduated from the two-month course in March. The project will help to enable the hospital to operate its own ambulance service.

Ms Chinniah has served as a medical assistant to the Joint Forces Medical Group since September 2008. She is regularly attached to a foot or vehicle patrol in Helmand Province.

The current tour is her second in Afghanistan since she joined the Royal Navy in 2004.

She said: ‘The tour has been a real experience. I’ve been shot at and have been on the receiving end of rocket attacks.

‘I have been able to put my medical training to good use; on one hand I have used it to treat people who have been injured in battle and on the other hand I have used it to help train the local nurses in trauma management.’

Ms Chinniah will be returning to the UK in April.

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