Sherwood Voices - Edition 16 - Anne Wildgoose

Thank you for taking some time out of your busy day to read my first Sherwood Voices blog. I am very excited to share the news about our new Internal Transfer Scheme, which I have been working on as part of my Clinical Fellow secondment.

But first, a bit of background into my role. I started my Chief Nurse Clinical Fellow secondment in March, and I also continue to work clinically as a Specialist Physiotherapist on the Stroke Unit.

Previously, as a Band 5 Physiotherapist, I worked in many different areas and specialities including Musculoskeletal, Cardiothoracics, Healthcare of the Older Person, Respiratory Medicine, Neuro Surgery and Stroke.

I have worked with diverse members of the Multi-disciplinary Team under different leadership styles, and I believe this experience has allowed me to gain the valuable knowledge, skills and passion to progress in my own career. It ultimately influenced my decision on where to specialise and this is the reason why I applied for the Chief Nurse Clinical Fellow project.

For the past three months, I have carefully considered how the Internal Transfer Scheme pilot should be implemented at Sherwood, and with the consultation and support of numerous people within Sherwood and in the wider NHS (thank you to you all), we have now launched, which is incredibly exciting. I am delighted to share that the pilot is now open until the Wednesday 8 September.

The key aim of the scheme is to retain our valued Band 5 Nurses within the Trust, by offering them the opportunity to apply for a permanent, fast-tracked, sideways transfer into a new area, ward or department, when a vacancy arises.

This is a great opportunity for individuals to gain additional knowledge and skills in a new area and it will allow them to take control of their career pathway. The scheme also offers numerous benefits to Sherwood: it has been proven to be successful at reducing colleague turnover and vacancy rates in other NHS Trusts.

Chief Nurse, Julie Hogg has been brilliantly supportive of the scheme and how it will support our nursing colleagues. "I’m really excited about the launch of the transfer scheme in response to feedback from our nursing teams.

"The model we have adopted has been well evaluated in other trusts and will enable our registered nurses to progress their careers whilst remaining at Sherwood. This forms a key part of our pathway to excellence journey and it demonstrates our commitment to ensuring colleagues are nurtured and developed to achieve their potential.

"The scheme is in a pilot phase at the moment but I am hopeful that we will widen the scope of it in the future. I would encourage anyone interested to have conversation with Anne."

In addition, as part of my Clinical Fellowship I am working closely with the Learning and Development Team, who offer a Shadowing Directory Programme and Individual Career Clinics. 

Additionally, we plan to launch a Strengths-Based Careers Coaching Network, to allow all colleagues the access to an independent careers conversation. There will also be an opportunity for colleagues to apply to be a Strengths Based Careers Coach, which we'll communicate soon. 

Thank you for reading about my career journey, and the exciting launch of our new Internal Transfer Scheme for Band 5 Nurses. For more information regarding the Internal Transfer Scheme Pilot, please click here.

Anne Wildgoose
Chief Nurse Clinical Fellow
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