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Addenbrooke’s nurse wins top award for excellence

Addenbrooke's Nurse Consultant Dawn Chapman has received an Excellence in Oncology Nursing Award.

Led by the British Oncological Association, these awards were open to everyone involved in cancer care in the UK.  The awards provided consultants, nurses, radiologists and patient groups with a rare opportunity to gain national recognition for their work.  Dawn received a £1,500 grant to support new initiatives and research at the Cambridge Breast Unit.

Dawn has worked at Addenbrooke’s Hospital for 33 years and joined the Cambridge Breast Unit as a trainee nurse practitioner in 1999. The judges felt that Dawn’s integral role in developing the Breast Unit into its current influential position made her deserving of this inaugural award. Along with her wealth of surgical and clinical experience Dawn has amongst other achievements, gone on to become an ambassador for the leading charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer, who are committed to fighting breast cancer through research, campaigning and education. She also actively supports the Government pledge that all breast referrals should be seen within two weeks by the end of 2008, gaining much praise from the Department of Health.

Dawn also received her MSc degree in evidence-based clinical practice this week and is regarded as an opinion leader by her peers. Most recently, she received funding from the Cancer Services Collaborative and the Department of Health to set up an innovative advanced clinical nurse practitioner course in association with the Anglia Ruskin Hospital. The first course began in September and includes another member of staff from the Breast Unit.

“It’s only through the support of everyone in the Breast Unit that I have been able to achieve what I have done” said Dawn. “Although I won the award, it was the Unit’s multidisciplinary team that got me there. This is a great place to work.”

"The standard of entries we received this year was exceptional.” said Dr Chris Nutting, President of British Oncological Association. “They demonstrate that optimal patient care is at the heart of oncology practices across the country - whether through initiatives to support patients or through professional education".

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