Erica Isherwood is a registered children’s nurse, and has been nursing for nearly 20 years. Erica started life in Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool where she loved the experience. She then became apart of the children’s community at Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust (now Mersey and West Lancashire NHS Trust) where she currently works.

Stepping Into the Digital World

When a digital secondment came up Erica initially thought that the role was not meant for her. As she believed that she did not fall into the stereotypical type of digital nurse. Erica quickly realised that the world is in fact her own oyster, because there are so many opportunities to become more digitally advanced as a nurse.

It took Erica a little while to see the impact that she could have on patient care as a digital nurse. But it became more and more apparent to her that you could go everywhere and do anything, which is what she loves. In her new digital role Erica had the ability to go into maternity, paediatrics, geriatrics, or even sexual health.

“You can go everywhere and do anything because [digital] literally fits in with everything and you can work with anyone such as domestics HCAS doctors and ICU consultants.”

Erica believes that helping progress individuals with digital literacy is of the highest priority. As even though she thought she was quite good on the computer, she learnt so much in such a short time using resources such as courses, webinars, and podcasts.

Joining the Aspiring Digital Leadership Programme

Erica applied for the Florence Nightingale Foundation’s Aspiring Digital Leadership Programme as she was aware of the course through her education and background. But she was also aware of the programme from all the digital nurses who took part, as they all mentioned that it was an amazing experience.

As a result of all the positive comments from her peers, Erica desperately wanted to take part. She carefully crafted her application over two days to make sure that she had the best chance to undergo the programme. System C was sponsoring this opportunity during this time and supported Erica in participating within the Aspiring Digital Leadership Programme.

The Aspiring Digital Leadership Programme had many benefits for Erica and her career, here are her top five benefits which she felt has helped her to get to her current stage.

  • A new cohort of digital friends who all have similar experiences and journeys.
  • Confidence
  • Digital Literacy
  • Networking
  • Leadership and Presentation Skills.

All these benefits really helped Erica settle into her digital role with ease and supported her in realising how she should value herself. Those on the programme taught Erica that she already had a lot of valuable and great skills which she can use to elevate her career, whether that is through digital literacy or communication.

Erica has come leaps and bounds since undergoing the Aspiring Digital Leadership Programme and has successfully launched digital champions. The Florence Nightingale Foundation really helped to open some amazing doors for her, so Erica decided to that she wanted to keep those doors open for the next generation of digital practitioners.

“It is such a fantastic course […] even if [participants] are not in a role that was particularly digital or stereotypically digital.”

A Vision for the Future

Looking to the future Erica wants to create more conversations about digital inclusion, digital poverty and digital literacy because she believes that these key features are the future of the NHS. She wishes to make it more accessible, sustainable and to get closer to patients’ homes.

If you’re inspired by Erica’s journey and want to explore more clinician spotlights, don’t miss our collection of news and blogs featuring stories from other healthcare professionals.

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