Joanna was a registrar in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and when she took a year out to work at the Improvement Academy as a Clinical Leadership Fellow.

Joanna worked with the teams at the Bradford Maternity Unit and the Improvement Academy on the National Maternal and Neonatal Health Safety Collaborative. This project includes some Quality Improvement training and improving safety culture which will be applied locally to improve patient safety.

Joanna is interested in using new technology and innovative tools to improve patient safety. She was involved in a small scale exploratory study to consider the feasibility of using a novel tool to improve safety culture in maternity in comparison to other validated methods of assessment. Joanna is also worked on a project using existing technology to enable reflexive learning for healthcare professionals.

Joanna hoped to gain a different insight into Quality Improvement and patient safety projects, which she is able to apply her clinical knowledge too.

Joanna shared some reflections after her year working with the Improvement Academy as a Clinical Leadership Fellow:

“This year has been an incredibly useful year to develop my leadership skills, but also to broaden the scope of my knowledge and interests. I have gained experience in quality improvement through my work in the national Maternity and Neonatal Collaborative and now feel confident developing improvement plans and leading a team to achieve change.

The Fellowship gave me the opportunity to explore my interest in Public Health to gain a distinction in a Postgraduate Certificate in Public Health. I applied this knowledge and worked with the Born In Bradford team to lead the research aspect of a large pilot project to improve physical activity in children and young people in Bradford. I have developed project management skills, research skills and experience in co-design with the community. I also had the opportunity to gain further experience in a project aimed at improving obstetric emergency skills and referral pathways in Uganda.

I have engaged with the Future Leaders Program and enjoyed attending various workshops such as personality testing, writing skills for publication, job application and interview skills. I have enjoyed meeting and learning from the other CLFs in the region, especially as Communications Officer as part of the organising committee for the HEE QI Conference in July.

Having time to reflect and step back from my training in obstetrics and gynaecology has been incredibly beneficial and the skills I have learned in this time will continue to contribute to my career.”