Dedicated care home nurse announced as RCN Scotland Nurse of the Year 2025
Kirsty Cartin was called "truly inspiring" for supporting staff and developing students in "a too often overlooked area of nursing."
Kirsty received the award at a glittering ceremony at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh earlier this year in recognition of her compassion and dedication to excellence in care home nursing.
Described by her colleagues as a champion of the value of care home nursing, Kirsty is celebrated for fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement at Rashielee Care Home in Erskine.
Her leadership has transformed the care home into a thriving, inclusive environment where residents, families and staff feel valued and supported. Her key achievements include supporting staff development by encouraging peer learning, practice supervisor training and professional growth.
With the future in mind, she has also expanded student placements and tailored learning resources to highlight the skills required in care home nursing.
Kirsty’s person-centred approach fosters a positive workplace culture, ensures high staff retention and strengthens the perception of care homes as vital spaces for compassionate, high-quality nursing.
Scotland’s nurse of the year was selected from the registered nurse winners of the other categories announced on the night.
Kirsty received the Clinical Leadership Award, sponsored by Anderson Strathern, before being announced as Scotland’s overall Nurse of the Year.
Kirsty was presented with the award by the RCN’s General Secretary & Chief Executive, Nicola Ranger, RCN Scotland Board Chair, Julie Lamberth and RCN Scotland Executive Director, Colin Poolman.
Nicola Ranger said: “Kirsty’s clinical leadership and dedication to showing the value of nursing in care homes make her the perfect choice for our 2025 RCN Scotland Nurse of the Year.
|These awards have showcased the amazing work that nursing staff in all areas and at all stages of their careers are doing across Scotland.
“There couldn’t be a better reminder of why nursing is such a diverse and rewarding career. I would like to congratulate again all our winners, runners up and highly commended. You are all an inspiration.”
RCN Scotland Executive Director, Colin Poolman thanked all the nominees for the nursing care they and their colleagues deliver day in and day out to the people of Scotland, often in extremely challenging circumstances.
He said: “Huge congratulations to Kirsty on her well-deserved award. Too often the role of nursing in social care is overlooked.
“Tonight, the spotlight is shining on care home nursing and Kirsty’s commitment to raising the standards of care for her residents and to developing and supporting her team.
“The judges were inspired by her drive to ensure that her staff always feel valued and supported for the excellent nursing staff they are.
“Her nomination stood out as exemplifying the very best of nursing in Scotland and we are proud to call Kirsty our Nurse of the Year”.
Julie Lamberth, Scotland Board Chair added: “As a dedicated and passionate nurse Kirsty is truly inspiring.
“It is inspiring to celebrate a too often overlooked area of nursing, and she is a true advocate of this essential area of practice.
“Our 2025 awards have showcased the best of nursing, and we are looking forward to building on the success of this year’s event.
“Nursing touches all of us at various points in our lives, the commitment, dedication and passion shared by all our finalists shows that, no matter how challenging the working conditions, nurses and nursing support workers are focused on doing their best for those they care for.”
On becoming RCN Scotland Nurse of the Year 2025, Kirsty said: “I’m shocked and totally humbled.
“I’m a proud care home nurse and I want to promote nursing to everyone. It’s an excellent career.
“So many times we hear the bad news but there is so much joy in nursing, and I want to share that.”
She added: “Care home nursing often doesn’t get recognised, we are voice in the shadows and people don’t appreciate what we do because they don’t know but we are an integral part of community care.
“I want everyone to know what we do so we can all work better, especially given the shift into community care.”
She continued: “The most special thing about my whole career tapestry as a nurse is the people it’s the people I met, the residents, their relatives and the staff.
“Getting to know people’s stories and getting to be a part of that story. People think care homes are just for dying and they are not, they are places where people go to thrive and flourish.”