Pilbara Nurses Leadership Program takes the lead on positive change

On 27 July, WA Country Health Service Pilbara team delivered a two-day leadership series in Port Hedland and Karratha, partnering with the Australian College of Nursing Institute of Leadership.

Regional Nurse Educators Sonja de Smid – Pilbara, and Susan Kay – Wheatbelt stepped up to present and reveal insights on: Leadership in Healthcare, Empowering you, Clinical Quality and Risk, and Leadership Scenarios.

“The participation, engagement and problem solving during the program was outstanding,” Sonja and Susan shared.

They unpacked the “amazing ideas” from the Quality Improvement proposals that the participants put together on how emerging leaders improve patient care in their service.  

“All staff were collaborative, professional and collegiate; it was lovely to see so many differing departments connecting well.”

For Adjunct Professor and Australian College of Nursing – Nurse Facilitator Shelley Nowlan, the program was an “inspiring journey” for nurses in the Pilbara.

Shelley delivered the Stress, Burnout and Resilience presentation, covering wellbeing and resilience for stress management, along with Qualities, Behaviours and Values, exploring effective leadership qualities, translating values to behaviour and leadership styles.  

In the Communicating your Message presentation, Shelley spoke to the phases of conversation, tools and strategies to improve communication.

The program’s delivery sent a ripple of positive feedback, with participants giving their seal of approval and praising the skills they gained to build confidence in nursing leadership.

With 98 per cent of participants recommending the experience; an overall score of 4.88 out of 5, the program was a success.

“The program gave me tools to utilise as a leader in my work area.”

“Understanding of emotional intelligence in a leadership role- cultivating the ability to control and regulate emotions to demonstrate unbiased leadership. Had a great impact on my confidence as an RN finding my feet in leadership role.”

“Learning about the different theories of leaderships and identifying which ones I resonate with. The stress framework - having a simple tool to breakdown ways in which coping strategies can be implemented.”

“Shelley! She took her time to explain and engage the group. Really explained everything well.”

For Shelley, seeing WA Country Health Service’s commit to prioritising the program made it clear that investing in nurses empowered them to “lead with vision, courage and purpose.”

“It has been a genuine privilege and a great joy to work alongside such an exceptional group of nurses,” Shelley said.

In her role as a facilitator, she has seen participants “grow in confidence and strengthen their leadership skills” which has brought forward positive change.

“It transforms not only their own careers, but the future of nursing and health care delivery across the communities that they live and work in.

“Their passion, resilience, generosity and commitment to their communities have made this experience incredibly rewarding, and I feel fortunate to have been part of their leadership journey.”

After Pilbara nurse leaders identified areas for growth in leadership, knowledge and education, Regional Director Nursing and Midwifery Katrina Seng championed the program from its inception.

From securing regional endorsement to helping unlock regional funding, Katrina has been there every step of the way.

“We initiated the series to build our own clinical nursing capability due to workforce shortages when recruiting clinical nurses across the Pilbara,” Katrina said.

“With the support of the Pilbara Executive and Directors of Nursing, we offered leadership training through the Australian College of Nursing and WA Country Health Service.

Looking to the future, she is keen to see the program go from strength to strength, maximising its long long-term impact.

“We will continue the journey of growing and supporting our staff to feel capable and confident.”

Katrina extended sincere thanks to everyone involved in the leadership training, and to the staff who presented in Port Hedland and Karratha.