UHNM nurse receives national recognition for inclusion work

University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) is delighted to announce that Joko Adeshina, a Quality Nurse and Professional Nurse Advocate on the Royal Stoke University Hospital’s Frail Elderly Assessment Unit (FEAU) is a winner in the HSJ Patient Safety Congress Poster Competition.

Joko, who was born in Nigeria and joined UHNM in 2017 as a newly qualified student, started her nursing career on the Royal Stoke’s Acute Medical Unit (AMU), and has since worked on our Winter Escalation Ward, FEAU, had a secondment as a Junior Sister in Short Stay before returning to FEAU, where she has currently been for 18 months. 

Wanting to progress her career, Joko enrolled on UHNM’s Chief Nurse Fellowship Programme, and based on her own experiences, conducted her research as part of the programme into the obstacles hindering the career progression of Black, Asian, and Ethnic Minority nurses.

Encouraged by her colleagues, land manager and matron, Joko entered her research poster into the HSJ Patient Safety Congress Poster Competition, and last week discovered she was a winner in the ‘A just culture for learning and change’ category.

Sharing her story with Trust Board, Joko said: “My manager on FEAU told me I had won, I didn’t even know! But I’m really proud to have won. Doing the poster is about taking an opportunity, and working in UHNM has been a great opportunity for me and I want to thank you to my managers for their support. It makes a massive difference for people to give you that development.

“We want our staff to be supported irrespective of race, colour, gender, or sexual orientation. Everybody needs an opportunity and people to support them to say, I’ve seen your potential and I’ve got your back.  

Joko, who has since worked with NHS England, NHS Midlands and the ICB on a range of anti-racism initiatives said: “My sister-in-law came in as an international student nurse and works Endoscopy at County Hospital. She loves every bit of it, UHNM is place we all want to work. We have a lot of international nurses on FEAU who are settled, happy, progressing and are part of the team, and that’s what we want to continue at UHNM, to ensure the Trust is a place we all want to work. I’m really proud to be part of that team, workforce is the backbone of UHNM, and make sure we make sure everybody is represented.”