Victoria Manellari, College Nurse

Victoria is Univ’s College Nurse. She offers regular surgery hours during term-time on the main college site. Students are welcome to consult her, in confidence, on all matters of health and well-being. You can find out more about Welfare at Univ here.

What did you do before you started working at Univ?
Before I worked at Univ, I worked for the NHS 111 medical phone line, talking to a wide range of people and medical concerns and having the skill to assess patients without seeing them. I also worked in the Intensive  Care Unit and Cardiothoracic Unit at the John Radcliffe which was very interesting – stressful but extremely rewarding.

Why did you come to Univ?
I came to Univ because I missed face-to-face contact with people and wanting to work with young adults in non-hospital environment.

What does your day-to-day life as a college nurse look like? How has the pandemic changed your experience?
My day-to-day work is working from the three colleges where I am a college nurse at Univ, Magdalen and St Catz. I  try to see students face to face as much as I can three or four days a week. The reason that students come to see vary tremendously from removing stitches, minor injuries, general medical conditions to various mental health problems like anxiety, eating disorders and depression. I enjoy my role very much as a college nurse and always strive to offer the best care I can and support students and staff as much as possible.

After the pandemic, my clinics are now appointment-only bookings rather than walk-in clinics prior to the pandemic. Appointments not only prevent students from waiting outside my clinic room but it is also a more convenient way forward for both myself and students to try and accommodate seeing me and myself.

What is your proudest achievement?
My proudest achievement is teaching myself to play the piano, raising our two daughters, and as a family recently completing the Ocean Diver Scuba Diving Course this year at Stowe School in Buckingham. I cannot wait to venture into open water and explore the hidden underwater world!

Do you have any advice for students at Univ?
My advice for students is to enjoy your time at Univ, eat healthy, and reach out to others if you need to. Talking to others is so important and the welfare team at Univ is always there if you need them.

Describe Univ in three words.
Friendly, Supportive, Interesting

Published: 6 June 2022

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