I would like to take this opportunity to offer my thanks for the professional support and leadership development that this scholarship has given me and in particular I would like to thank the Florence Nightingale Foundation for accepting my application.
I would like firstly to thank Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust for supporting my application, contributing to the scholarship and allowing me the time to attend the many opportunities I have been given during the scholarship duration. Secondly my thanks should also go to East Lancashire NHS Hospital Trust for allowing me to continue the scholarship part way through the scholarship year and supporting me with the time to both study and undertake the travel in support of my project.
I owe so much to Sue Machell for her many mentor sessions, both telephone and face to face meetings. When she realised the benefit I gained from meeting in person she made every effort to travel to the North West so we could meet up and for that I am really grateful. She believed in me and recognised my potential and supported me when I felt that I didn’t have the confidence to go further. If she hadn’t done this for me then I don’t think I would have made the career leap I have achieved.
Without one individual behind me, pushing me for every opportunity and telling me that I had what it takes when I didn’t believe in me, so for this I can’t thank you enough Elaine Inglesby. In the working day you gave me the opportunities I needed and when I doubted myself you gave me the very much needed shove to move forward. The travel to Australia and New Zealand would have been really lonely without you so for that I thank you.
Finally I would like to offer a huge thank you to my husband for keeping the home together on what seemed like many nights away. I couldn’t have got through that last 18 months without you and for this I owe you one.
Many have supported me and believed in me during this time and they would be too many to mention, but you all know who you are and I will always be there for you in a similar situation.
Thank you for the changed and developed leader I have become.
For my dad, for believing in me and supporting me and helping make me the successful woman I am today, this is for you.
This report describes a personal and professional leadership journey carried out as part of a Florence Nightingale Leadership Scholarship awarded during 2013/14. The report provides an introduction that highlights the reasons why I applied for the scholarship.
It highlights the objectives that were established within my learning contract that I wanted to achieve in my scholarship year:-
- Develop self belief
- Explore my career aspiration to achieve Executive Director of Nursing
- Build in confidence
- Strike a healthy balance between work and home
- Be a high performing individual.
It discusses the shadowing opportunities that I have undertaken both with Executive and Non Executive Director colleagues both within my employing organisation and outside the organisation. It highlights the strengths of shadowing and the gains that I have made and discusses how it has been of considerable value to me and my development and how this is something that I would continue to explore further.
It details how I worked with my mentor Sue Machell to explore my development needs and what skills and techniques I could use to make progress and highlights how face to face meetings were of huge benefit to me.
I had an opportunity to attend a variety of programmes ,conferences and events and these were:-
- Leading Change Through Organisational Renewal
- Westminster Experience
- Florence Nightingale Service
- Impact and Influence Driving Outstanding Results Ashridge Business School
It describes how each of the above opportunities supported my leadership development.
The report describes my career progression and the role I accepted and the impact that this had on the scholarship term.
The patient care improvement project is given considerable focus and shares how the issue of assuring the Board within my organisation about safe nurse staffing was addressed. It identifies some key pieces of documented evidence and the influential documents that have been published about the subject. It gives examples of initiatives I have been involved in developing and the benefits that these have brought to ensuring safe nurse staffing levels.
It shares the objectives for travel to both Victoria Australia and New Zealand and discusses the organisations visited and the staffing models that are evident in the country’s health system.
The Florence Nightingale Leadership Scholarship has been a fantastic opportunity and has allowed me to fulfill my professional and personal learning objectives. It has allowed me to develop my leadership skills and in particular my influencing skills. It has given me the opportunity to visit Australia and New Zealand to understand how the subject of safe nursing and midwifery staffing is addressed and to bring back the learning and apply to my own health care setting within the NHS. The developed skills have supported me in being successful in achieving my promotion to Executive Director of Nursing and to professionally lead a large nursing and midwifery workforce.
I believe the opportunities have exposed me to new opportunities that have strengthened my confidence and move forward in my career.