The work of a senior sister at the Rosie Hospital to help colleagues from ethnic backgrounds succeed in their career is being showcased by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
Neonatal intensive care unit senior sister, Ruby Lopez, is featured in the latest edition of RCN magazine (opens in a new tab), which can be found online and will shortly be in print.
Ruby is a Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) cultural ambassador, meaning she helps champion equality, diversity and inclusion and a working environment free from discrimination, harassment or victimisation.
She set up a successful career development webinar for her division, spurred on by a national RCN survey that found white nurses are twice as likely to get promoted as black and Asian staff.
Ruby was supported by Trust leaders, senior nurses, the Equality Diversity and Inclusion Team, and the hospital’s BAME (Black And Minority Ethnic) network
She wanted to help staff from different backgrounds overcome challenges and included a session on the experiences of two staff working in senior roles. They inspired attendees to pursue what they previously perceived as impossible.
The webinar covered other issues, including inequality and inequity of access and opportunity, capacity and staffing challenges, funding constraints, practical advice on appraisals, networking, mentoring, interviews and completing applications.
Just a few weeks after the webinar, after seeking support for application writing and interview prep, several staff were promoted, and one secured a place on an advanced practitioner course.
Following the success of one session, Ruby is rolling out the event across the Trust. She said:
This is only one project, one step toward opening many opportunities for our staff from minority ethnic backgrounds. I’m confident that with the support of Trust leaders, this can be transformative.
Ruby Lopez
Only last week Ruby was shortlisted is the first ever CUH annual awards. She was nominated for the All of us – Outstanding contribution to inclusion award.