Three pass national leadership course
Date of release: 20 December 2023
A trio of inspirational women have become the first in Wolverhampton to graduate from a national leadership course.
From left, Ellmina McKenzie, Samantha Sewell, and Yasmin Hussain, with their certificates and badges awarded for passing the DAL course
Ellmina McKenzie, Yasmin Hussain and Samantha Sewell from The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) passed the Developing Aspirant Leaders (DAL) Programme funded by Health Education England, now NHS England.
Ellmina, 26, is a Research Midwife at New Cross Hospital, mum of two Yasmin, 40, is a Senior Research Nurse for the Clinical Research Network – hosted by RWT – and Samantha is a Matron for the Critical Care Outreach Team, Sepsis Team, Advanced Critical Care Practitioners and the Acute Pain Team, at New Cross.
The three were part of the second group to pass the 12-month course, a combination of online learning with sessions in Birmingham. They joined its 30 fellow graduates from across the Midlands who will feature in an e-book.
Sponsored by then Group Chief Nurse Professor Ann-Marie Cannaby and Catherine Wilson, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer at RWT and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, candidates had to complete two written pieces, including a “stretch” assignment outside their normal working remit.
Yasmin’s project looked at retention of international nurses, and Ellmina assessed the occupational health and wellbeing services for staff against evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted on mental health and wellbeing.
Samantha explored barriers facing Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff gaining promotion to senior positions and looked at strategies to improve this.
The three said: “The programme has been great in helping us to develop as leaders. It has provided us with the theoretical knowledge and practical understanding of core components of healthcare leadership.
“We particularly enjoyed the theoretical aspects, including the Mary Seacole Programme and the DAL stretch assignment. We also enjoyed the practical sessions, including the masterclasses and workshops.
“The programme has been inspirational, and we highly recommend it to all aspiring leaders.”
Ellmina, who has worked at RWT since March 2019 and is based in the Research and Development Team in Maternity, has helped recruit national record numbers to two trials. One is a study into maternal anaemia and the other comparing two methods of helping mothers feed their babies.
Yasmin, from Penn, manages a team of seven supporting Nurses to do research, covering the West Midlands and North Midlands.
Samantha has worked at RWT since 2021 and leads a team of Acute Nurses and Practitioners specialising in reviewing and assessing the deteriorating patient.
ENDS
- For further information, please call Tim Nash on 07714 741097 or email tim.nash2@nhs.net
