Doctorate in Professional Practice helps health care manager develop key leadership skills
Studying for a Doctorate in Professional Practice at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s (UWTSD) Wales Academy for Professional Practice and Applied Research (WAPPAR) has helped Tendai Nzirawa lead and inspire others.
Tendai is a Maternity Clinical Improvement Lead Eastern AHSN (Academic Health Science Network) and has collaborated with a lot of people across the East of England region to improve maternity and neonatal experiences and outcomes.
In October 2020, she won the East of England Chief Midwife awards in recognition of her work in relation to ethnic minorities and inequalities.
And last summer she was one of small number of new Fellows elected by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). She received her award at the RCN Congress in Glasgow in recognition of her innovative contribution to the field of maternity care and her commitment to addressing the inequalities experienced by the most deprived and vulnerable women and birthing people in the East of England.
RCN Fellowships recognise innovative individuals who have made an exceptional commitment to advancing the science and practice of nursing and the improvement of health and patient care and are the highest honour the RCN can bestow on a member.
Tendai credits the continued support and leadership given by the University in helping her achieve the awards and says the course has empowered her, both professionally and personally by giving her confidence in her learning and leadership skills.
She said: “I’ve recently become aware that in my leadership, I use the knowledge and skills that I’ve learned on the course to empower other people.
“During my studies, I also learnt additional skills without realising such as mentoring and coaching that have helped develop and shape my career.”
Tendai has been a nurse for nearly 18 years across adult, neonatal, and paediatric services in community, intensive care, community, A&E, and ward settings. She previously delivered a programme of cultural awareness training, collaborated with the East of England Local Government Association to create facilitated workshops and developing sustainable maternity and neonatal care pathways for different groups across the East of England, supporting more than 17 maternity and neonatal services.
She also established a mechanism for progressing the emerging themes brought to light through Covid-19 and anchored this work as part of the regional and system response.
In addition, in her previous role led the NHS Long Term Plan programmes across the region by supporting the Local Maternity & Neonatal systems to offer continues glucose monitoring for all pregnant women with type 1 diabetes and develop their Maternal Mental health Service on an integrated care (ICS) footprint.
Lowri Harris, Professional Practice Programme Manager at UWTSD said: “Tendai has been an inspiration to her colleagues, both in work and in study. Her DProf studies have helped her grow in knowledge and confidence and have contributed to her highly impactful midwifery leadership during COVID19. Her Part 2 research should be beneficial to her patients and community in South-East of England and beyond.”
If you are interested in finding out more about the flexible range of programmes the Academy can offer you, please take a look at our website – WAPPAR.
Further Information
Rebecca Davies
Executive Press and Media Relations Officer
Corporate Communications and PR
Email: rebecca.davies@uwtsd.ac.uk
Phone: 07384 467071