Volunteering: my experience as a Governor

1-12 June is Volunteers’ Week. We have lots of different types of volunteers in our Trust – one which you might not think about is the role of Governor. We asked Natalie Jennings, who is new to the role of staff Governor, about her experience so far.

I put myself forward for the Governor role (nursing) within the Trust, as I am a passionate nurse who is keen to understand how as a workforce decisions are made which involve such a large group of people.

I am an inquisitive person and enthusiastic about being part of the future of nursing, and how we can shape and support our workforce through challenging times. As I am dual qualified with a broad range of nursing experience, I feel I can represent the views of others.

My expectations of the role were that I would be exposed to a lot of information that I might not understand in the detail required and that there would be times when I felt out of depth. I also expected to feel like an outsider in an area that I don’t know much about.

I have always liked meeting new people and gaining knowledge from them. I think it’s important to listen to others’ views about how we care for our patients and how we are doing as a Trust. I expect that this role will provide some insight into that. I also expect that I will need to gain views from my colleagues about how they are doing and what is important to them. I will then need to understand how I get this back into the right places within the Trust.

So far I have been made to feel very welcome and very supported in my role as a governor. There are a lot of new terms that I am not familiar with, but I am getting there with some great help. It is like being in a new world but with some familiarities that give me some comfort.

It is nice to see some of the issues we talk about being discussed at board level, and that the board are aware and taking action on what is important to staff and patients. It was great to see so many interested people who are passionate about improving care in many ways. I look forward to learning more and I am excited to see what else I can learn about that I can share with other nurses across the Trust.

For more information about the Council of Governors please contact Becky Cassidy, Governor Support and Development Officer on 0115 9691300 ext:10509 or by email becky.cassidy@nottshc.nhs.uk.