A critical care nurse has been recognised as the UK Royal Navy's top Reserve recruit of the year.

Sandi Bern, of Chryston, was presented with the MacRobert Trust's Boatswain's Call Award from Commodore Jo Adey of the Maritime Reserves.

She received the honour at the Accelerated Rating Programme Pass out Parade at HMS Raleigh.

The 31-year-old, who works as a critical care nurse at the NHS Golden Jubilee in Clydebank, is known for her compassionate nature.

Following in the footsteps of her parents who are both nurses, Sandi qualified as a nurse at the University of West of Scotland six years ago.

Glasgow Times: NHSNHS (Image: NHS)

While training, her love of horses landed her a TV role on the hit series Outlander.

She said: “I went into nursing because I like caring for people.

"When I left school I worked with horses for a few years as a groom and taught people how to ride and prepare the horses for competitions.

“There’s a caring element to that as well, but nursing was what I wanted to do in the end.

“The horses for Outlander were stabled at the yard where I worked, so I would finish up work and training then go and work on Outlander, mainly as a groom.

"I did some double work for them too, doubling some of the actors when they were doing scenes on horseback.

“If they thought the scene was too unsafe for the actors, I would do it so that’s my claim to fame.

"It was an amazing experience.”

Sandi began Royal Navy Reserve training in 2021 and within a year she was able to Pass Out.

In 2022, she completed the leadership course as a Leading Hand rank thanks to her nursing degree.

Sandi said: “A lot of the skills I’ve learned as a Reservist I can use in my own job and civilian life.

"We get really hands-on fire training with gas masks and do damage repair as well in small spaces as if you are on a ship that is filling up with water.

“There’s a lot of different experiences and you hope you’ll never find yourself in that kind of situation, but you’d be trained to deal with it if you did, so it’s quite exciting.

“There’s a great social aspect to it as well.

"You get to meet loads of different people and there’s great camaraderie.

"Everyone has different skills and backgrounds from the likes of engineers, dentists and nurses to lawyers so there’s such a range of people.”

As a Navy Reservist, Sandi is asked to commit to 28 days per year and is supported in her duties at NHS Golden Jubilee, which has Gold Award status in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS).

Sarah Jane Faichney, critical care senior charge nurse, said: “As Sandi’s line manager I’m delighted to be involved in the hospital’s support of her role as a Navy Reservist.

“She’s dedicated to her Navy activities but remains fully committed to being a staff nurse within our busy critical care department.

"I am very happy to facilitate flexibility around her hospital shifts, enabling her to attend Navy Reservist training sessions and Sandi always returns very enthusiastic and keen to share stories of her training and fun adventures.

“As she progresses in her nursing career, it’s obvious she has acquired many transferable skills.

"I’ve seen this, particularly around the leadership she shows when in charge of a shift or when organising the team during emergencies.”