CAREERS STUDENT LIFE
JOHN HOULIHAN
Pamela Shaw: ‘Inclusive leadership at all levels encourages best practice among staff’
Aiming even higher Pamela Shaw explains why she was impressed by the nursing students she met at a mental health conference I was recently invited to address an audience of nursing students, at various stages of their undergraduate studies, at a conference for mental health nurses hosted by Birmingham City University. My aim was to inspire students to go beyond their expectations and to impart the benefits of teamwork as a way of maintaining best practice in patient care. I was asked to discuss the importance of an inclusive approach to leadership in the NHS, which was the subject of my MSc dissertation on black and minority ethnic (BME) leaders. Feedback from the students on my presentation was positive, particularly the findings from my dissertation on leadership as this touched on an area of nursing that the students said is not often discussed. The conclusions from my study helped to get the students and staff thinking about how inclusive leadership at all levels can lead to more motivated staff, the sharing
of different ideas and, ultimately, culturally sensitive care and the best outcomes for patients. I mentioned that I have received a number of awards and scholarships during my career. In 2008 I received a Mary Seacole leadership award, and explained how it proved to be a significant boost to my confidence and capabilities.
Leadership awards
Studying the students’ feedback, I was encouraged to read that they too felt inspired to consider applying for nursing awards, such as the Mary Seacole leadership and development awards, as a way of implementing important ideas. Following my presentation, I took the time to have detailed conversations with some of the students. I was impressed by work they had undertaken to improve services for people with mental health problems. We discussed the importance of developing their networking contacts to foster
their career opportunities. We also discussed the benefits of getting involved in project work and policy development with the Department of Health, NHS England and the chief nursing officer’s BME advisory group, all of which influence health strategy regionally and nationally. One of the students told me that he had been shortlisted for a national student award and was attending an interview later that week. He was keen to make a good impression and asked me about how he could present his work confidently so that it took account of the wider health service agenda. Another student shared with me the extraordinary project she had undertaken as part of a trip to Nepal. The experience led her to question whether the Western philosophy of mental health nursing could be applied in a developing country. We discussed the importance of cultural competency and what that means when meeting the needs of patients. After my presentation, I was approached by a major publishing house to contribute to a book on the essentials of nursing aimed at first-year nursing students. The publication is to include inspirational nurses’ stories to illustrate how and why good nursing makes a difference to patient outcomes. The publication will also examine the range of nursing careers that students can consider NS Pamela Shaw is a health visitor and practice educator at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust
RESOURCES RCN mental health nursing forum tinyurl.com/RCNMentalHealthForum Mental Health Nursing Association tinyurl.com/MHnursing-association Student Life online journals.rcni.com/page/ns/students/student-life
54 april 29 :: volfrom 29 RCNi.com no 35 :: 2015 STANDARD Downloaded by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 29, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
JOHN HOULIHAN
Pamela Shaw: ‘Inclusive leadership at all levels encourages best practice among staff’
Aiming even higher Pamela Shaw explains why she was impressed by the nursing students she met at a mental health conference I was recently invited to address an audience of nursing students, at various stages of their undergraduate studies, at a conference for mental health nurses hosted by Birmingham City University. My aim was to inspire students to go beyond their expectations and to impart the benefits of teamwork as a way of maintaining best practice in patient care. I was asked to discuss the importance of an inclusive approach to leadership in the NHS, which was the subject of my MSc dissertation on black and minority ethnic (BME) leaders. Feedback from the students on my presentation was positive, particularly the findings from my dissertation on leadership as this touched on an area of nursing that the students said is not often discussed. The conclusions from my study helped to get the students and staff thinking about how inclusive leadership at all levels can lead to more motivated staff, the sharing
of different ideas and, ultimately, culturally sensitive care and the best outcomes for patients. I mentioned that I have received a number of awards and scholarships during my career. In 2008 I received a Mary Seacole leadership award, and explained how it proved to be a significant boost to my confidence and capabilities.
Leadership awards
Studying the students’ feedback, I was encouraged to read that they too felt inspired to consider applying for nursing awards, such as the Mary Seacole leadership and development awards, as a way of implementing important ideas. Following my presentation, I took the time to have detailed conversations with some of the students. I was impressed by work they had undertaken to improve services for people with mental health problems. We discussed the importance of developing their networking contacts to foster
their career opportunities. We also discussed the benefits of getting involved in project work and policy development with the Department of Health, NHS England and the chief nursing officer’s BME advisory group, all of which influence health strategy regionally and nationally. One of the students told me that he had been shortlisted for a national student award and was attending an interview later that week. He was keen to make a good impression and asked me about how he could present his work confidently so that it took account of the wider health service agenda. Another student shared with me the extraordinary project she had undertaken as part of a trip to Nepal. The experience led her to question whether the Western philosophy of mental health nursing could be applied in a developing country. We discussed the importance of cultural competency and what that means when meeting the needs of patients. After my presentation, I was approached by a major publishing house to contribute to a book on the essentials of nursing aimed at first-year nursing students. The publication is to include inspirational nurses’ stories to illustrate how and why good nursing makes a difference to patient outcomes. The publication will also examine the range of nursing careers that students can consider NS Pamela Shaw is a health visitor and practice educator at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust
RESOURCES RCN mental health nursing forum tinyurl.com/RCNMentalHealthForum Mental Health Nursing Association tinyurl.com/MHnursing-association Student Life online journals.rcni.com/page/ns/students/student-life
54 april 29 :: volfrom 29 RCNi.com no 35 :: 2015 STANDARD Downloaded by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 29, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
