Join us for a webinar delving into the future of healthcare leadership in the digital age. Explore the growing demand for digital health expertise and the role of the Shuri Network Digital Fellowship in shaping career trajectories and capabilities. Implementing digital change at scale in health care will not happen by magic, legislation or strategies alone. We need to develop digital champions and credible informatics experts who are confident in using technology to improve patient care and are able to bring others around them on the digital transformation journey. Learn how we have demystified careers in digital and data in order to fully harness the talent and potential within our teams

Experts:
Shera Chok, Founder, Shuri Network
Shereen Bryan, Clinical Transformation Midwife, System C
Elohor Uwadiogbu, Clinical Research Nurse, Shuri Digital Fellow

Transcription:

Hello everyone and welcome to our third webinar in the future health series. We're delighted that so many of you could join us and it's going to be a great session today. I'm Helen Serrana I'm one of the editors in the BMJ team and I've been helping with putting the program together and  presenting some of these webinars and I'm delighted to welcome the Shuri Network today. 

So the Shuri Network is all about  bringing the best diverse talent into digital health. And that is so core to what we're trying to work towards at Future Health as well. So I'm not going to talk anymore, but I'm going to hand over to Shira Chok, who is the founder of the Shiri Network  and alongside her, we have Elohor Wadioglu. 

Awadiyobu, sorry Eloho, and Shireen Bryan, who are alumni of the Shireen Network. And so I'm not going to say any more and hand over to them. Thank you all three of you for joining us.  Over to you.  

Hi, everyone. And thank you for inviting us to join the BMJ webinar today and to talk about how to develop the next generation of digital leaders.

It's such an important topic. And I'm so excited and honored that we are joined by two of our fellow alumni from our digital fellowship program, Shereen and Ella Hall.  My name is Shera Cho, and I'm a GP in East London. By background, I'm also the former Chief Medical Officer for NHS Digital and a the founder and chair of the Shere Network. Digitization and innovation. These are buzzwords that we hear all the time and. Technology is often seen, I think, by many as the solution to all the problems in the NHS, including improving productivity, improving outcomes, improving capacity, supporting staff, and saving money at the same time. 

And there is recognition that we need staff with the expert digital and data skills, but also really importantly that we need to engage all staff within health and care, and ensure that there is a basic level of digital literacy and competency, and people feel confident and supported to use digital products and services. 

Now,  There has been already a lot of really good work developing digital leadership and building the pipeline of digital leaders. So we have the WACTA report, the Topol review, the Digital Academy has been doing excellent work for the last few years, and there's also the Topol fellowships and other programs such as the Florence Nightingale and the Shuri fellowships.

But what else can we do to ensure that we deliver the digital innovation? And the changes that our staff and our patients deserve.  Now Health Education England estimated that we need at least 30, 000 people more within the NHS who have the specialist DDAT skills.  And the challenge is not restricted to the NHS.

I spent four months last year in Germany looking at their digital health strategy, which had been published in 2023.  And how they were going to implement that because they are not so far along the journey of leadership development as we are GPs in Germany are still faxing referrals to hospitals, and only around one to 2 percent of the patient population have access to the electronic record. 

So the challenge if you think about if you multiply it just with European countries is huge, and we are competing with private tech companies as well. We're really keen to recruit people with both a health background and also digital skills.  To work with them.  So we need to ensure that as the NHS and social care that we are seen as the employers of choice, because we need to attract retain and develop the best and most talented people and people that represent our workforce and a wider population.

To develop and lead digital transformation,  and I found a really interesting report that the Health Foundation published last month, and they did a survey of clinicians in the NHS and asked him about the gains and the challenges afforded by digitization.  And they said that change enabled by technology depends on the staff who use it. 

And I think this is really an important statement, and I would expand it to include our patients and a wider population. Because I'm a GP, we use EMIS in East London. And I know that EMIS is a good product, but I only use it to about probably 20 to 30 percent of its full functionality. And that's because I was trained to do it.

and to use it when I was a registrar a long time ago,  and there hasn't been structured updates and structured support to help me cope with all the updates and new functions and new buttons that I need to press. And I've had to muddle my way through, and this is an experience I think many clinicians and people in the health service find. 

The Health Foundation report also identified the barriers that clinicians reported in terms of implementing technology effectively. And interestingly, the two top barriers were, first of all, lack of IT support and expertise,  and secondly, lack of funding to implement technology effectively.  So that chimes very much with what I'm hearing from my colleagues, from our members in the Shuri Network and our fellows. 

And the biggest gains that clinicians have identified in terms of technology were around electronic patient records, in terms of saving them time and freeing up capacity and reducing stress, and also platforms to aid interprofessional communication, like Teams or NHS Mail.  So they didn't identify the biggest gains from specialist and very advanced innovations like robotics or genomics or AI.

Basically, it's get the things right that will help the most number of people to deliver the best possible care to our patients.  So we need digital leaders who are creative, who are solutions focused, who are good communicators and able to engage with a wide range of stakeholders, whether within our own organization, but also service users and external partners. 

We need digital leaders who have credibility with our colleagues and also with our senior teams and boards.  Who understand the wider challenges within health and social care and don't exist within a tech bubble where the end point is designing a digital product or an app. Actually the end point is implementing that digital innovation effectively. 

Because I've spent  20 years in leadership positions in NHS. It's one thing designing a strategy. It's a whole other kettle of fish and world implementing that strategy effectively, whether that's in digital or safety or redesign.  So the Shuri Network, what is it all about? And I will now share my screen  just to tell you a little bit more about it. 

So hopefully you can see my screen. Aloha, have I done this successfully?  Great. So the Shuri Network is supported by NHS England and previously by Health Education England. We are named after Shuri, who is the Black Panther character, and that's why our logo is of a panther. Because Shuri uses science and technology to save lives and to ensure the success and the survival of her country and her community.

Sorry to interrupt. Fantastic role model. 

Shira, just to jump in, if you could just put your slides in presentation mode, please.  

Let's  do that. 

Does that help? 

Perfect, that's great. Thank you.  

Great.  So we thought Shiri would be a fantastic role model for women from minority ethnic groups who are interested in digital and data careers.  This is the launch of the Shuri Network five years ago, in 2019, at the Digital Health Summer School, and I was trembling with fear because I was standing in front of 400 digital leaders across the NHS.

As you can see, the audience is not particularly diverse or representative of the NHS workforce.  And we had an incredible impact. You could have heard a pin drop in that room. And one of the audience came up to me afterwards and said he'd been to hundreds of conferences. It was the first time he had ever seen an all female and all BAME panel talking about technology. 

So over the last five years, we've grown from zero members to about 3, 000 members, including 300 allies. Membership is free and it's open to anyone, so you can join even if you don't identify as a woman or as from minority ethnic group. We've worked with NHS England, NHS Digital, NHSX, and Health Education England, amongst other partners, to deliver a whole range of opportunities, including digital fellowships, and we'll talk more about that in a minute with Elahor and Shireen. 

We offer bursaries, and we've offered over 100 bursaries to our members to support career development. We've created 20 podcasts on key topics like what is AI, how do we use data, To reduce health inequalities, what does the CIO and the CCIO do? And these are available on our website for free.  And importantly, we've created over 150 opportunities for women from minority ethnic groups to share how we are improving patient care using technology and data. 

So opening doors challenging assumptions about what digital leaders sound and look like helping to shape policy around digital workforce and creating networking opportunities for our members to meet senior digital and health care leaders across the country.  In the process, we won for actually five national awards over the last five years.

On average, one award every year, including the HSJ Race Equality Award in 2021. On average, one  So the Shuri Digital Fellowship is one of the initiatives that the NHS is doing to develop the next generation of digital leaders. But we are the only ones to specifically focus on women from minority ethnic groups.

And that's because we know that in the NHS, 80 percent of our workforce is female, and about one in four of our workforce identify as from a minority ethnic group. But the people leading digital transformation and products  do not reflect that demographic at all.  And so for, therefore, we don't want to increase bias and increase inequalities by having a lack of inclusion and a lack of diversity in the digital leadership space. 

So the fellowship is launching applications in two weeks time. It's open to all professional groups in the NHS, as well as social care, including informatics staff, and doctors.  You do not have to be an expert in technology at all. You don't need to have the word digital in your job title, but you absolutely need to have a passion for improving patient experience and safety using technology and data. 

We focus on building confidence, building digital knowledge connections and leadership development.  And really importantly, we offer a unique network of peer support and encouragement, which Elahor and Shireen I'm sure will talk about more  in a few minutes time.  Who can apply for the fellowship? You need to identify as female and from a minority ethnic group, currently working in the NHS or social care. 

from BANs 5 to 8a or equivalent if you're medical or from social care, because we know from res data and ERS data that is where women get stuck, that's the bottleneck.  And you need to be interested in expanding your digital knowledge, as I said before, to improve patient outcomes.  So key dates applications open in two weeks time and will remain open for three weeks, and we will then spend a month shortlisting and finalizing a list of fellows for the next cohort. 

And then the start of the program will be in September. It's a part time program and we will offer a range of activities including one to one coaching with our fantastic group of coaches, tailored educational events on  three areas. First of all, how do you further your digital career? What are the options available to you?

We introduce our fellows to chief information officers, chief nursing information officers chief exec officers from private startups, and we also focus on the digital knowledge and skills, like how do you implement an electronic patient record? What are the secrets to implementing a project successfully in digital?

In a finance constrained world, what is business intelligence and data and how do we use that to reduce inequalities? And we also look at softer skills like confidence. How do you build confidence? How do you build your influence in negotiation skills? How do you stand out from other applicants when you're applying for a job, interview skills, CV writing, and so on?

So what we've done is really drawn on our own experience because the people leading this program all work within the NHS. We are almost all from BAME backgrounds and also female. So we've drawn on our experience and also the feedback and the learning needs identified by our members to develop the fellowship. 

Talked about peer support. And we also had a great networking event last December, where we brought our fellows together with a wide range of digital and healthcare leaders from across the country to meet and actually give our fellows an experience of networking, because that's such an important skill. I don't want to go on for too long, so this is probably going to be my last slide. Here is some feedback from our last cohort of fellows who qualified in March, and Shireen and Elohor are part of our last cohort. So Jo gained her first CNIO role whilst on the program thanks to the support that we offered, but also thanks to her qualities and her experience.

And she said that it gave her the confidence to apply for a role that she would probably never have applied for before.  And Agnes is another, a fellow from our alumni, and what I love about what Agnes says is that the fellowship helped her to be seen, to be visible, and that if she doesn't feel there is a space for her, then she needs to make that space and not live in excuses. 

And it's that  fighting spirit, which I think will help all our fellows go forth, whatever career the pathway they choose, it's having themselves and that confidence.  So I'm going to stop sharing now.  And  we have Ella who do we have Shireen as well? 

No, I believe it's just Ella on right now. Okay. Okay. 

Great, fantastic. Eloho, it's wonderful to have you on the webinar with us today. Would you like to introduce yourself?  

Everyone, good evening. My name is Eloho Wadjoglu. I'm a clinical research nurse from Princess Shreya Hospital and also an alumni of the Shuri Digital Fellowship. 

I'm so good to be here today.  

Fantastic. Thank you Elahor. And to the audience, you can put your questions in the Q& A or the chat and we will pick them up at the end because we're really keen for this to be an interactive session and we've deliberately designed it so we have time for a Q& A session at the end.

So please do send in all your questions and comments.  So Elahor, I'm really interested in hearing about your experience and perhaps I could start by asking you. About the application process when you applied can you give the audience any advice about applying and how you maximize your chances of succeeding at the application stage? 

Thank you so much. One of the advices I would one of the advice I would give to the audience on how to maximize their applications to understand the fact that, like you have said, being a member of the sharing network is one of the prerequisites to the fellowship, then also  being aware that.  You mustn't have a digital background, having an interest in digital is another good quality and something to maybe bring forward in your application and also highlighting some transferable skills that you might have, because We all even though we are not currently in the digital world, we have some transferable skills as professionals as clinicians and highlighting this transferable skills in the application will be very useful for the application process to maximize your chances.

Another thing I would like to include is the fact that currently most organizations are going through the process of digitizing  their processes. We all use digital and data in our day to day care for patients.  My, I'm highlighting how you are going to this, the sharing network and what you will learn from the fellowship will benefit you in your role.

As in your current or your next row highlighting those areas will also be very important. The sharing network has a mantra of lifting as you climb and that's one of the reasons I'm here today to impact my what I've learned in other people and also if you highlight in your application how you're going to.

impact other people  as a result of the fellowship that would help maximize the chances of  being successful.  

Excellent. Thank you Elohu. So could you tell us a bit more about the program from your perspective, what did it include and what did you get the most, what did you find most helpful? 

The coaching section was very powerful. I had a very insightful coach and experience. So we have the coaching section was a highlight for me. And  I say, Shuri, if a member of the fellowship, you're opportune to four sections. That was what we're approaching to at the time we had for coaching sections with our coach and you have the option of choosing the coach you would the person you would like to be your coach.

So those four sections are tailored to you as an individual.  You, the coach is not there to tell you what to do. You think you are guided by the coaches are guided by you and they are there to listen. So my, my advice to everybody that will be successful in  moving forward is to come prepared.  Even before,  once you are aware that you are successful, preparing for the fellowship, preparing ahead,  just like setting your goals, what do you intend getting out of each section, because the sections are just like One hour long, but like I said, that's a lot to your need coming prepared to your section each time, even from the first meeting, because the coaches would, my coach had to ask me, what do I intend getting out of this section at the end of my.

my section. So we set the goals and we now prioritize on in order priority. What are we going to start with? And that was how we compressed everything. And it was really useful. All the goals were achieved. So again, being open because sometimes it's difficult to be open to maybe a stranger. So coming with an open mind. 

They should be like, just be open to the coach and make sure that you are prepared is very useful.  Yeah. Then again, apart from the coaching sections, we had the shadowing events with the industrious parts as well. And this was very useful to help me understand some of the processes. currently ongoing in the digital world in the healthcare.

And also we had the four the fortnightly events, the these are Friday sections and they are about one hour each. And also experts are bring invited to this section to discuss with us on different topics. And like  most of the topics Shira had already mentioned. And one of them that was, that really stood out for me was the public speaking one, because it has really helped me, even with my webinar, this webinar again.

So it's very useful then.  And we also have the opportunity to attend digital conferences and events, and we'll also meet with various  leaders in the digital world.  So these are some of the things that the event, the fellowship involved.  

Fantastic.  Yeah, the coaching, I think it's, you have to prepare for the sessions.

You can't just walk into them and expect the coach to do all the work because it's very much driven by what challenges you face or what priorities that you want to talk about in terms of your career development. Absolutely. Some questions in the chat. Let me just have a quick look.  I've tried to answer them, but to find out more, please have a look at our website.

I've put the link in our chat. If you want to find out more about applications, join the network. 'cause we will be sending out information to our members in our newsletter as well as posting it on our website in two weeks time. But you need to be a member and it takes about one minute to join the network through our website, online form. 

So Eleanor can you tell us the key tips and advice for getting the most out of the program? From the other side of the table, my advice to fellows is don't be a passenger, be an active participant.  So you get the most out of any leadership program by contributing to it, whether that's your thoughts, your ideas volunteering for things like Eleanor, you volunteered to be a representative for the cohort, and hopefully you found that useful. 

But also, as you said, lift as you climb. The Shuri network is not take as you climb, it is lift as you climb.  So Eleanor, it would be good to hear  your advice about getting the most out of it too.  

Yes. One of my one of my key tips is you just mentioned, which is the active participation, because if you are involved in something and you are not,  you are passive about it, you won't really get the most out of it.

So being actively involved in. Every of the events or the sections  and even amongst the peak with it with the peer support as well. Being involved with everyone is really beneficial. And again, having the prior approval of your manager because  If you don't have the approval from your manager, you might struggle with timing to attend these events or even the one hour sections on Fridays.

So it's really important that you involve your manager and you have approval  from your manager  in order for you to even be able to participate in the sections.  

Yeah, no, that's true. I think that applies to any leadership program. It's best to talk to your manager and get their full support for it. 

Okay. And how has the fellowship Ella Hall perhaps helped you professionally and personally? How, going back to your role, has it helped you in any way?  

Yes it's, I really benefited greatly. And again, the fact that I'm more confident.  It has  brought me out of my comfort zone. No longer I don't, I put my hand up for things.

So it has really benefited me to be more active and know that I, if, even if I'm not sure what's. I want to do. I have the support of people around me to guide me. So it has really increased my confidence. And again the past supports the network of global majority women from different backgrounds amongst the fellowship, which was raised and is ongoing.

So it's not just after the fellowship, everybody disperse. We still have that support from each other and we celebrate each other's successes. And we are still looking forward to meeting each other at various events, digital events moving forward. So that's very useful. And again, the  Attending this fellowship section helped me to understand the importance of shadowing and bodying up as well to understand some processes.

And even if currently you are not in the digital field, but shadowing the team. Even within your trust, shadowing them to understand what they are doing and how you can be part of that is very useful. So those are some of the things I benefited.  

Now, that's amazing. Thank you. And I was, I listened to another webinar and another fellow who was talking about the influence on her. 

And she said before the fellowship, nobody in her board or her knew who she was totally invisible, and now they all know who she is,  which is pretty incredible. And yeah, it's just raised her visibility, her profile, her confidence.  She's talking about board members, so from being completely ignored, people know who she is and respect her for what she's doing. And also I think a key point to make that what we're doing with the Shuri network is not just restrict, it's not  just applies to digital careers, you could replicate what we're doing for any career, you could be a nurse or informatics  manager or a paramedic, actually the principles are the same.

It's empowering women. giving them the confidence, giving them the networks, the connections, the role models that look and sound like them, and giving them the opportunities and that tap on the shoulder which women from minority groups often don't get.  Is there anything else, Elahor, you'd like to share with the audience in terms of advice or key takeaways at all? 

Yes, I  remember that I've not mentioned about the sponsorship because the network, for the first time I had a mentor, so  I benefited that from. Attending the shadowing sections. I now have mentors and people to go to for advice at any given time when necessary. And you also have the opportunity to even be to have sponsors, which before attending the Sherry fellowship, I didn't even  I know about sponsorship.

I wasn't really. Sure. Of who and what, how to go about it. So I'm more aware now of that, who I can go to, to be my sponsor. And definitely people are out there willing to support. So those are some of the key takeaways. So my key points or my final thoughts would be.  If you come on the fellowship,  please and please try and be involved because that's one of the major ways to benefit  out of it. 

Amazing. Thank you.  I'll just pick up some practical points because I've just had a quick glance at the questions in terms of time commitments and so on.  It's a hybrid program.  And ours have most all been virtual because our fellows come from all over the country. But we have actually built in some face to face events like the networking event that happened at Imperial that Ella Hall mentioned that was in person in London and the graduation event, which is always a hugely joyous and wonderful celebration.

That is also in person. So it's a mixture. It is part time, so the time commitment is five hours of coaching plus probably one to two hours every fortnight on a Friday, usually about lunchtime for a webinar on a topic related to digital knowledge or skills or career progression. So there will be at least two in person events throughout the course, potentially three, we're still designing it, plus.

fortnightly lunchtime webinars lasting about one hour to one and a half hours and your coaching sessions. Let me just have a look. There are lots of questions. So maybe now Molly can help us go through some of the questions from the audience.  

Absolutely. Thank you so much. Both sharing our for talking about the program as well as sharing your experiences.

We have had, as you'd said, quite a few questions. Just looking to start back up at the top.  So I think a lot of it, and I do believe you have mentioned this. Briefly share is that. You don't necessarily need to be from a clinical background to be eligible to apply. Is that correct. 

We started off with nurses, and three years ago because it was funded by the nursing directorate, Angela Knight Jackson at NHS England,  and then the midwives that's it. And they thought, this sounds fantastic. We want to be part of the program. And thanks to Jules Gudgeon and Wendy Olayiwola from NHS England, they funded Places for Midwives.

And then slowly other people heard about it. So AHPs have heard about it, pharmacists Informatic staff. So we are delighted this year is open to all NHS professional groups, including non clinicians and social care. We have six places up to six places available for people from a social care or care provider background. 

Great. Thank you. I think we had another quite an interesting question come through asking if fellows can become coaches once they've completed a successful cohort.  

Fellows.  can train to become coaches. Anyone can train  to become a coach. What we're really excited about is we're developing our alumni program because we have nearly 90 fellows from the last three cohorts now from across the country who are doing amazing stuff in their organizations or trusts.

And so we're trying to bring people together to keep that bond and that link and support and actually to help them. With developmental opportunities going forward. So it's not just doesn't just evaporate,  but we keep that support going. Also, the impact of the fellowship, which I didn't mention has been absolutely tremendous.

A hundred percent of our fellows have reported an increase in confidence levels, particularly confidence in accessing digital roles and finding out about digital topics. That's quite a startling shift on that.  And in our first two cohorts, over 30 percent of our fellows gained a new role or a job promotion, which is pretty incredible, because some of our fellows had been stuck at a, at their banding for 5, 10, 15 years. 

They did the fellowship and then found the ability, the voice, the confidence to apply for roles. And Cohort 3, which is Eloho's cohort,  They only qualified graduated two months ago, and already about one in four of our cohort have found a new role or a job promotion, not that everyone wants a new role, but for the people who wanted to apply for a new opportunity.

Those are pretty incredible statistics.  

Yeah, great. Thank you so much here for sharing all of this information. I think that is really important. I think a Lauren, maybe share as well. If you have any kind of past experiences that have been past have been shared with you. But did you find that there was like a challenge that you experienced within the application process itself or throughout the fellowship that you might be willing to share for those online today? 

The 

application processes. It's pretty seamless. I personally did not encounter any challenges during the application process. And what I wanted to add is the fact that previously I thought that being a digital nurse means you have to be techie, but the fellowship has really played my  thoughts, and  it's, I now understand that.

Like I mentioned before, your transferable skill is what is required for the role of the, sometimes it's not even called digital nurse,  whatever role you find yourself within that space.  What do you have to bring? What do you, what are you bringing to the table is one of the things that is required. And even when you are in that role, it is not like you must be techie, you must be a coder.

So those are some of the things I really wanted to mention.  

Great. Thank you so much for sharing. Shira, I'm not sure if you're able to elaborate. You had briefly mentioned that you wanted people to lift as they climb. Do you have any maybe examples  of this happening throughout other people's through some of the prior fellows time within the Sherry Network program? 

Yeah, I can. I can share and maybe Elahor as well because I'm sure there are examples Elahor you know about. Many of our fellows in cohort three heard about it from fellows in cohort two  and that's wonderful because actually they are helping people around them, whether it's people within their communities or their organizations and helping them on their careers.

So I think that's one a really good way. that our our reputation has grown through word of mouth and people are actually saying you must apply. It's fantastic. And then secondly some of our fellows have gone on to write articles, blogs, podcasts to help other women, but also not just women, but men who are in the digital health space as well. 

And then thirdly one of our fellows chairs the London Shared Decision Making Council. That's Royda Luce from Barts Health. So through that, she's helping to open doors and to involve more women, particularly nurses in digital health, and actually improve patient care at the same time. So numerous examples, and Eloho, I'm sure you've got more to share. 

In addition to that the, Yes. So what I mentioned, we have that team, a community of women were from amongst our fellows on even the alumni  during one of the sections we had the alumni meetings we had,  there was this opportunity of, if you are, if you have any interviews, you are currently  planning to, we are open to help.

And again, When during the shadow, one of the shadowing events we had in London, some of the felt I personally spoke to one of the fellows. So having that insight from someone that had passed through the fellowship before myself, it was really massive because  now she's now an alumni. I was not an alumni then.

And she really spoke to me and clarified all my questions. It was really useful and they have, they still offer their support. If you want to be mentored, they are open to be a sounding board to you. So it was very, it's very useful. We have that support from the alumni. So that's one of the examples of lifting as a client. 

Great. Thank you so much for sharing and really wonderful to hear that all of those resources are really available and people are so open to taking on that mentorship role I think that there's just quite a few people asking in various  forms how many kind of places are available for this cohort, maybe in total, or if there's maybe a few different breakdowns of places you reserve for certain professions and backgrounds, Shira. 

Yeah, so it's been a really exciting journey. We started with 17 fellows in cohort one, then that doubled to about 34 in cohort two, and this year NHS England have seen the impact and they're funding over 80 places. So it's going to be a much bigger group, and we're really excited because it will be much more multidisciplinary.

And as Ella Hall said, that opportunity to support each other, to share your expertise, because if you work in pharmacy, for example, you could probably advise somebody who works in, say, speech and language therapy, or as a paramedic, or somebody who works in data. And actually that cross fertilization of expertise is key.

Actually really exciting in terms of long term potential.  

Amazing. Thank you. Sounds like a really great opportunity to grow your your cohort fellowship and  really build out to include as many people as possible. Hopefully someday. I think that's mainly  The main gist of some of the questions if anyone does have any other questions, please do put them in the chat for our speakers to answer. 

So whilst people are 

thinking of questions.  I can share a little bit about my experience of stumbling into digital, because that was never my career plan. And I think if you talk to a lot of people who are in senior roles, like CIOs, CNIOs they would say the same. So I would say to people thinking about it, just apply because you don't need to be a digital expert.

I certainly wasn't. I was one of the associate medical directors in Derbyshire probably about eight, seven or eight years ago. And they happened to need a CCIO.  At the same time, because they were implementing an electronic patient record,  and they said to me, when they offered me the job you will do it. 

And  said, okay. And then I went back to my car and I googled what is a CCIO, because that was not the job I had applied for.  But I learned that  I could actually bridge the gap between the informatics team and the clinical team, who are mainly nurses and midwives and AHP because it was a community trust. 

We had over a hundred sites, we were trying to implement an EPR. It had run into problems because the IT team, the clinical team were just not seeing eye to eye. That's something that probably resonates with many of you. So you can bring the skills as a clinician or as a wife or as a mom or as a nurse to the digital arena.

You don't have to have done a degree in coding. I hadn't. You don't need to have done an MSc in informatics. You can do that later on. You can learn on the job. It's bringing your passion and your values and your ability, as I said, to implement change and to engage with a wide range of stakeholders that I believe is what 

matters. 

Molly, are there any other questions? 

Yes. Thank you so much for sharing your kind of your experience and your story of getting into this space, Shira. I think we've I've heard from many people that they've stumbled upon this space. So it's really nice that sharing network is providing that space for people to be able to learn a bit more about just the digital role and everything.

We do have a few questions.  Someone has asked how Shuri Network is different from other fellowships and they did ask such as the Florence Nightingale Fellowship.  

Okay so I don't know the details of Florence Nightingale, but one of the  people who fund our program  came to our graduation last year and he said the difference between the Shuri Fellowship and the other programs that he or had come across is that  this is our life.

We're using our experiences as BAME women in the NHS and in the digital space to support the next generation, to make it a bit easier because if this didn't exist 10 years ago or 20 years ago when I was starting out, I made, I fumbled my way through eventually becoming Medical Director of NHS Digital.

Now, it would have been a lot easier with a network of people. women who understood the challenges and that safe space. So we are using directly our lived experience and the lived experience of our allies and our partners to design a bespoke program for people who are underrepresented. In digital leadership. 

Great. Thank you so much for answering that. And other questions come in actually share. How did you come about founding the Sherry network? And did you end up thinking that you would be supporting so many individuals on their digital journey that you are?  

Thank you, Aniton. Thank you. Great. I forgot to tell you about how I started the network. 

So I was in Derbyshire as the CCIO, and I went to a digital conference at the summer school. 400 people there the year before the launch, and I looked around the room and not a single person looked like me or Eleanor.  There were perhaps three or four women from possibly a BAME background just eyeballing across the hall,  but nobody from an Afro Caribbean or an East Asian background.

In fact, all the people of color were serving us tea and coffee and lunch. And if you go to most conferences now, you will see that replicated and it really made me quite angry. And I thought we all have turning points in our lives and I could shut my eyes and go back to the conference and just ignore it.

Or I could actually try and do something about it as a CCIO. And I thought if there are only four of us. Then let's get the four of us together as a network. And then five years later, we've got 3000 and rising quite quickly. So the appetite's there. The interest is there. Women are great at tech but just haven't been given that chink of hope and that support. 

Thank you so much for sharing the story of how this came about. I think, like many probably find this incredibly inspiring and really hopeful for the future. And then finally, and I'm not sure if you would like to jump in another question is what qualifications.  Do you end up being offered at the end of the program and kind of, is there anything that you're able to take on from this. 

So at the end of the program, we. We have an evaluation. It's not an exam. So it's just an evaluation, like a feedback form after completing that  during the graduation, we get given the certificates  to say certificate of  digital fellowship. So that was what we got at the end of the fellowship, which obviously, it's it's very helpful for us. 

For career development and continuing professional development. Yeah.  

Great. Thank you. And I think another questions come in through the Q and A asking, are there any opportunities to shadow other sharing network members and their digital roles in order to learn from and understand how they navigate their way in the digital world how they can influence other healthcare staffs and patients in their daily role? 

Yeah, good question. So just reflecting on my experience when I started.  So there's a slightly clueless CCIO all those years ago. I thought if anyone knows how to do this job, it's probably the National CCIO  of England. It was Keith McNeill at the time.  So I wrote to Keith and I said, can I just meet you for a coffee and find out what you do? 

And he said, yes. The worst that could have happened is he ignored me.  So you can do that. Just write to contact us or actually contact somebody in your trust or your federation or your ICS and just say, can I just have a coffee with you and just talk to you about what you do? Because most people love talking about themselves and all the great work they're doing and what their teams are doing.

Bill, just have a coffee. And then from that, you can say perhaps. I could shadow you to a team meeting, or a project meeting. Keep it quite light and informal,  because everyone's really busy. But, most people would love to talk to others about themselves, even if it's for half an hour. So don't be afraid to reach out.

I did. It helps me a lot. You've got nothing to lose, really.  

Yes, definitely. Thank you so much for answering that and just wanted to put out to the audience. If there's any final questions, we may be able to get 1 or 2 more answered before the end. Share if you wouldn't just reminding everyone when the closing date for the applications are again. 

Opens in the first week of June. So the week of the 4th of June, and they'll be open for about three weeks from then. Details will be on our website and also in our members newsletter.  Also, if you want to ask questions to us our email is also on our website. It's shuri at nhs. net and it's on our ex or former Twitter account as well.

So you can get in touch with.  By email and one of our team will get back to you. We all work part time. So it may not be instantaneous. So just bear with us if that's all 

right.  Great, thank you. I think one last questions come in for the time being. Do you, by chance know or would be able to share what kind of roles, some of your alumni have been able to secure post fellowship. 

Sorry, just going to question. No problem.  Ella, who do you want to start? Or do you want me to start? 

Yeah,  from the top of my head, I can remember about two, somebody have, about two of our fellows, previous fellows have secured CNIO roles.  I know one of them have secured this clinical safety officer role. 

Those are the two I can't remember now, but I'm sure I will.  

Yeah. So in total we have three CNIO roles three CNIOs in the last two years which is great because The cohorts are much smaller than the forward cohort. And as Eloho said clinical safety officer roles when I was the NHS digital, one of the fellows successfully applied for a role as a clinical informatics specialist on my team, which was fantastic.

So it may be within their own trust internally, but also some people have moved to other trusts as well.  

I also remember one person getting a clinical, a band seven clinical informatics. Specialist nurse role with NHSN, NHS Digital. 

Great, thank you. And we do have another question that's come in. So if you'd mentioned previously that you don't need to have digital skills to be able to qualify for this, but what if it was vice versa? So what if someone does have the clinical skills, but wanted to get more into health informatics and wishing to have a full package experience?

Can someone with digital skills be supported into a nursing degree so they can help drive digital platforms?  

Sorry, can I summarize that so I get it right? Is that the reverse of somebody with a digital background who wants to explore the clinical options? 

Yes, I believe so.  Is that possible through the sharing network or is this more so for digital skills? 

This is for digital skills. So it's specifically people already  working within health and social care who want to explore and take their next steps on their digital career. I think if you are in a digital role and you want to explore nursing, that's probably not this specific program.  But I'm sure there are lots of opportunities for nurses, potential nurses, Ella Hall you're probably an expert on this, not me, on how people might  take the next step. 

Sorry, can you repeat the question?  So if somebody is from a non clinical background and they want to possibly train as a nurse, how do they do that?  

I think there are different pathways currently to train us in us. One of them is going directly to the university and some trust currently supports the they have the preceptorship program on. 

They have a program where if you are currently an HCA in your trust, they will support you through to your degree and you become a registered nurse. You'll be working while you have been supported to go to school. So currently those are the two main pathways I can remember at this time.  

Thank you both.

And I guess we just have about five or so minutes left. And I guess Eleanor, sorry, if I don't mind picking on you a bit, is there any kind of final  takeaway from your experience with the sharing network fellowship program? Or if, there's one final thought that you'd like to wrap up your experience with. 

 It's still  reemphasizing what I have mentioned, everything I've mentioned before, because I wouldn't even be here speaking to us today if  I wasn't involved in the fellowship, fully involved, because I wouldn't even know what to talk about. So that active participation in the first place is really important.

Something I will still re emphasize and making sure that everything we have learned in one way or the other, whether we are in the digital role or not in digital role applying them to our day to day work. Because like I said, most of us use digital in our roles at the moment. So making sure, finding ways to apply those.

The knowledge and experience we have gained will be very beneficial to us.  

Great. Thank you so much. And thank you as well for sharing your experiences and your journey through the fellowship and share. If I could just come to you and just, if there's any kind of closing thoughts or takeaways you'd like to just reinforce as we're wrapping up. 

Yeah, it's go for it because actually all of us are on a digital zoom teams meeting now. So we all use digital every day, whether it's a staff rota or a teams meeting or NHS net. So don't be afraid of applying.  Make sure you answer all the questions in the application form. We can't score you if you write nothing and actually have confidence in yourself because I think a lot of women.

Suffer from a lack of confidence, and that's something that holds us back. So always believe in yourself and surround yourself with people who believe in you as, your own personal board of directors whom you trust. It might just be two or three people, but find those two or three people. 

Definitely. Thank you so much. Very inspirational words to end on, I think, and a really great opportunity for everyone to apply and, the potential to join this fellowship.  And I think, just as we're coming to the end to wrap everything up, just to say thank you to both Elahor and Shira.

I know Shireen wasn't able to join in the end, but thank you to Shireen as well for preparing for this. Everything as well as thank you to everyone who's joined to this evening and submitted questions. I know that there is some resources. That have been linked in the documents resources chat as well as just on the sharing network website.

And the recording of this will be made available within the next 24 to 48 hours on the  future health website. And then we just have a final quick closing. Thank you from one of our Editors of the BMJ Innovations Journal. So just thank you everyone.  

Thank you, Molly. Thank you.  Okay, thank you so much for that really fascinating session.

It just leaves me to thank you for joining us and encourage everyone who's joined this session to  register for our session in November where you can all meet in person. And the registration link is now open. which is great news. And we'd love for you to join us again on another webinar coming up on the 28th of May at six o'clock, where we've got Liz Ashell Payne talking about the digital health landscape, where, what the  opportunities, challenges, and success requirements are.

And Liz is a great expert in the world of healthcare apps. So if any of you want to do anything digital in healthcare, then Liz is a great professor to talk to. So look forward to seeing you there. Thank you.