Donna receives two prestigious honours for contribution to nursing
A LOCAL woman has received two honours this week – one from King Charles and one from the Royal College of Nursing.
Professor Donna Fitzsimons, from Coney Island, Downpatrick, was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the King’s Birthday Honours List 2024. She received the award for services to health care and education.
Donna is the head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s University Belfast.
“I am genuinely blown away to receive this great honour,” she said.
“Throughout my nursing career in the health service and university setting, I have always considered it a privilege to care for people and to advocate for their needs through my own clinical practice, education, research or policy making.
“Doing a job you love to the best of your ability never feels like work, so this really is amazing,” she said.
Donna also received the prestigious Kathleen Robb Award for outstanding contribution to nursing on Thursday at the Royal College of Nursing Northern Ireland Nurse of the Year Awards 2024.
“Donna was awarded for her contribution to nursing over a number of years and in particular for her nursing research in enhancing cardiovascular care pathways and treatment outcomes.
“She currently leads national and international research projects in cardiovascular prevention, heart failure and arrhythmia management and sits on several grant funding committees and editorial boards,” a spokesperson for the Royal College of Nursing said.
Rita Devlin, the executive director of Royal College of Nursing Northern Ireland, said that Donna’s “research in this area influences practice and her professional standing nationally and internationally is second to none”.
Queen’s University Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Ian Greer congratulated Donna on receiving the OBE.
“I would like to offer my congratulations to the Queen’s staff and those in our wider University community who have been recognised in this year’s Birthday Honours. This is a testament to their hard work and dedication in their respective fields,” he said.
“These colleagues are helping to shape a better world by driving forward our University’s work in changing lives for the better by providing educational opportunities, driving prosperity, and finding solutions to the many major and existential challenges facing our communities and the wider world since 1845.”
