Laura Hailes
Laura graduated in Adult Nursing in 2010, from the University of Nottingham. She started her clinical career in Chemotherapy and Cancer Care, and was here until she gained the Roosevelt Travelling Scholarship in 2012. The Scholarship saw her visit 13 hospitals, in 12 States, over 3 months. Whilst in the US, she investigated Hospitals’ use of Shared Governance. Shared Governance is structure used to organised Nursing Leadership, which sees hierarchies flattened, managers adopting a more facilitative style and frontline staff having a key voice in the decision making process.
Whilst touring America, she got a good sense of the benefits of Shared Governance and also gained an overview of the attributes required of organisations in order to have Nursing Excellence. On her return, although still junior, she was tasked with implementing all she had learned, across Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH), one of the largest Health Care providers in Europe.
She used her US experience to design and implement a Shared Governance structure that would fit the UK’s needs She also set up and hosted the UK’s first Forum of Shared Governance, using the contacts she’d made in America, and her fellow Board members of the International Forum of Shared Governance. These UK Forum meetings have grown greatly since the inaugural session in 2013, which saw a handful of Hospitals meeting to learn from the success of NUH. The last meeting in 2015 was chaired by Lord Willis, had guest speakers from the US and NHS England and had a large delegate attendance from across the UK and Ireland.
Shared Governance has really put Nottingham on the map. And this is all thanks to the Roosevelt Scholarship, without which, the real nitty gritty of Shared Governance, wouldn’t have been seen and a robust structure would not have been created. There is only so much that one can glean from literature searches on a topic. To really know the subject, one must see it in action and talk to those living it only then does one truly understand it.
NUH is currently on the path to applying for Magnet status. Magnet is a badge of Nursing excellence which is awarded to Hospitals by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. It is a very competitive and involved process, with successful organisations having to prove they perform highly against a raft of outcomes. One of the main requirements for Magnet status is that the hospital has a good, active Shared Governance structure. Due to the understanding of Magnet and a head start on Shared Governance implementation that the Roosevelt Scholarship gave, NUH is well prepared for their Magnet journey and on track to being named as the only UK hospital with the internationally recognised status.
For all her efforts and successes in Shared Governance design and implementation, Laura was both locally and nationally recognised. These include;
- Shortlisted as Emerging Leader for the NHS East Midlands Leadership Academy 2013
- Shortlisted as Rising Star for the Nursing Times 2014
- Named in the Nursing Times’ inaugural Rising Stars List 2015 – showcasing the top 25 Junior Nurses in the UK
Laura is now undertaking regional work for Health Education England as a Transformation Fellow. For this new role, and for her MSc, she is focussing on the future of Nurse Leadership, in relation to the Five Year Forward View (5YFV). The 5YFV is a Government focus which will see a complete redesign of Health and Social Care by 2020. She is tasked with making recommendations for how the NHS can equip its Nurses with the Leadership Skills needed to take on the challenges of working in ways, with new roles and in new environments.
Laura is excited for what the future may bring for her and her career and will be eternally grateful for the opportunities had, lessons learned and skills gained from the Roosevelt Scholarship.
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Laura has also been published in various areas
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