The Ethnic Minority Staff Network were honoured to host a virtual visit from Liz Fenton, RN, QN, Deputy Chief Nurse at Health Education England.

Liz gave the keynote speech at the LEAP (Leaders Empowered to Achieve their Potential) and Finding your Mojo graduation ceremony during the summer. The three cohorts covered staff at bands 3&4, 5&6 and 7&8. Nearly 25% of our graduates have already gone on to progress in their careers. 

At the ceremony, graduates presented reflections on the programmes and spoke about the QI projects they had completed. Liz was so impressed with/interested in what she heard that she asked for a follow up 'visit' so she could have more time to speak with the graduates in an informal setting.

34 graduates joined Liz on Teams for a lively discussion. Topics included:

Opportunities for non-clinical NHS staff, barriers to progression, and the importance of coaching, mentoring and shadowing, with Liz offering mentoring and shadowing opportunities to colleagues on the call. We also explored the idea of bank staff being able to take part in such development programmes and the possibility of replicating LEAP and Mojo across other Trusts.

During the session we collected feedback from graduates on how the programmes had helped and changed them. Here are a few comments: 

“I have rediscovered myself and applied for more jobs well above my current grade.”

“I feel more in touch with what I want out of my future career and how to advance. I definitely feel more confident to overcome obstacles.”

“Nothing can block my progress.”