Professors from Queen Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh, have been crowned two of the country’s most inspirational nursing leaders of 2015 by Nursing Times (NT).

Professor Brendan McCormack (Head of Division of Nursing) and Professor Jan Dewing (Sue Pembrey Chair in Nursing) at QMU were amongst 48 nursing leaders from across the UK to be honoured at a special ceremony at Prince Philip House, London, on 30th September.

Those shortlisted come from all aspects of the nursing profession including frontline patient care, management, research and academia, national organisations and charities. They include nurses and midwives at all career stages.

The NT brand, which provides continuing professional development for nurses as well as being the voice for the nursing community and the leading source of nursing news and best practice in the UK, has compiled the list in association with Allocate Software and NHS Employers.

Many of the leaders were nominated by NT readers, and the list was selected by a panel of expert judges that included the chief nursing officer for Northern Ireland, and has been endorsed by the chief nurses of all four countries in the UK.

Nominees were judged on the impact of their work on nursing policy, practice or care; their influence on and understanding of how health and social care fit together; the sustainability of their achievement and the extent to which they act as role models for others.

Nursing Times editor, Jenni Middleton, said: “Nursing Times Leaders are the most influential, intelligent and impactful nurses in the profession, and demonstrate the huge contribution nurses and midwives make to defining and implementing excellent patient care.

“I hope they will inspire others in the profession to have the confidence to achieve their full potential, and highlight to the wider public just how far nursing has come in the past two decades.

“Nurses are no longer junior partners in healthcare – they influence all levels of healthcare from clinical practice to government policy, and patients benefit from their skills and insight.”