Janice Mullings-George has won the Nurse of the Year award.

Ms Mullings-George, 35, who works in the post-anaesthesia care unit at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, said she was “humbled” by the accolade.

She added: “There are a lot of people who deserve this award who have put even more years of service in so I am very humbled.

“With pride I will do the very best that I can to hold the baton of nursing and to make a change.”

Ms Mullings-George said one the most important parts of her job was to work for a high level of health for everyone.

She added: “I don’t like talk. I like action, so my goal is to be that voice and to see that action.”

Jamaican-born Ms Mullings-George, from Pembroke, has been a nurse for 13 years.

She was awarded a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the Northern Caribbean University in Jamaica in 2006.

Ms Mullings-George later achieved a master’s in public health specialising in healthcare systems from Liverpool University in Britain in 2013.

She said she was born to be a nurse. Ms Mullings-George added: “I love to help people.

“It was a God-given thing placed in me. I am very caring and compassionate.

“I always say to my colleagues, despite the challenges, because nursing is a very challenging profession, keep shining because the world needs more stars just like you.

“I say always put the patient first. We often get busy hurrying around, but the patient usually knows best so listen and offer compassionate care.

“I am a supervisor also. It is also important to listen to your staff because if you get a good work/life balance you get more productivity out of your staff.

She said her interest in the profession was sparked listening to friends of her mother who were nurses.

Ms Mullings-George said Mattie Crockwell used to tell her and her mother stories about nursing.

Pauline DeShields, a nursing assistant, gave Ms Mullings-George her first stethoscope and familiarised her with disabled patients.

Ms Mullings-George beat Janice Sealey-Khan, Renée Faulcon and Roxanne Kipps-Jackson for the Nurse of the Year award.

Godfrey Nichols, president of the Bermuda Nurses Association, said: “She is the perfect choice. She is respectful, a woman of substance, a woman who is energised and ready to serve the executive and to serve as a nurse to the community.

“She is a perfect role model for young Bermudian nurses,” Mr Nichols explained.

The award was presented last Sunday at a special lunch at Blu in Warwick attended by Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health.