May Parsons, an alumna from the UST College of Nursing, is set to receive the George Cross award from the UK’s Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles on July 12.
Parsons will represent the 1.5 million staff working in the National Health Service (NHS), UK’s publicly funded healthcare system, together with its chief executive Amanda Pritchard.
Conferred for “acts of the greatest heroism” or “meritorious service,” the George Cross is the highest award given to civilians by the British government. Parsons described the prestigious award as a “fitting tribute” to the healthcare staff working in the NHS.
In December 2020, Parsons was chosen as the world’s first COVID-19 vaccinator outside of clinical trials, administering a dose of Pfizer-BioNTech to then-90-year-old Margaret Keenan in Coventry, England. This commenced the UK’s vaccination program as it became the first country to roll out fully trialed and tested COVID-19 vaccines.
In an interview with UST Tiger TV in 2021, Parsons shared the insights she gained from her mentors in the UST College of Nursing, which contributed to her present approach in taking care of her patients.
“We lead with our hearts, we serve, we’ve accepted the fact that this is our calling. We treat [our patients] as if they are our own, so the care that we give to each of our family members is the same as the way we care for our patients that we encounter.”
Parsons obtained her bachelor’s degree at UST CON in 2000, then received her Professional Regulation Commission license at 19 years old the same year. She worked at the UST Hospital as a scrub nurse before moving to the UK in 2003, where she eventually became a post-anesthesia care unit nurse.
She is currently a senior nurse and Modern Matron for Respiratory Services at the University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.
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