A book written by a schoolgirl when she was nine and her grandma – a nurse – is to be distributed to children across England as part of an initiative to promote nursing and midwifery as a career. Written by Louise Kirk and granddaughter Ella Sharpe, now 13 and from Nottinghamshire, Ella’s Grandpa goes Hippity Hop! aims to better reflect the diverse and varied roles that make up a nursing team in today’s health and social care.
And it demonstrates the versatility, broad scope, and endless opportunities that lie within a career of nursing and midwifery.
Ella said: “I hope children enjoy reading Ella’s Grandpa goes Hippity Hop! as much as my Nanna and I had creating it. My little brother, Jaxon, who’s seven, has really enjoyed reading it and given the thumbs up!”
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Louise is Lead Nurse for Education and Practice Development and couldn’t be prouder of Ella. She said: “Ella and I worked closely together to develop the story. Ella created the park location, including eating ice cream and some of the narratives. We had a lot of fun creating the story and hope children will enjoy reading it. We are delighted to finally see the printed version after many delays.
“Ella’s Grandpa goes Hippity Hop is a story about Ella not being sure what she would like to be when she grows up. After Grandpa’s accident, Ella meets lots of nurses in different roles, and is amazed at how many different types of nurses there are. As a result, Ella decides she’d like to be a nurse like Robin, who took good care of Grandpa.
“I hope that when parents/grandchildren/siblings read this book, it inspires young minds to think about nursing as a career.”
As part of a Hackathon, an expert panel, including children’s author Jonathan Emmett, children and nurses, chose Ella’s Grandpa goes Hippity Hop! from 11 strong submissions. The NUH team then worked with Dr Sarah McConnell, course leader in MA Illustration at Nottingham Trent University, to draw up a creative brief.
The students had to creatively interpret the brief – and Elizabeth Haynes’ design wowed the judging panel.
The publication of the book has been supported by NHS England’s NextGen Nurse Programme. Paul Vaughan, Deputy Director, Primary Care Nursing and NextGen Nurse, said: “This is a wonderful resource for nurse ambassadors to use when going into schools to encourage young people to take up a career in nursing.”
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