RCN Political Leadership Programme

Published: 30 January 2012

Forum member Bev Clarke shares her experience of the RCN Political Leadership Programme in Wales that took place in December

When I heard about the programme, I thought "yes, this sounds interesting," particularly as I believed I had very little knowledge of Welsh politics. The agenda for the two days seemed very captivating and thought-provoking.

Having never been to the Wales Millenium Centre before I was pleasantly surprised at the ease to which the location was accessible, and despite some glitches with the air conditioning, the facilities were first rate.

15 eager faces awaited. After introductions and "getting to know you ice-breakers," it was down to business.  Day one passed incredibly quickly and I was very much looking forward to the next.

The course facilitators encouraged us to speak, and made us feel at ease very quickly.

It was a challenging course, which I would recommend to anyone who feels frustrated with what they perceive to be an inability to influence change - the course has certianly inspired me to have the courage to speak out.

I now have a better knowledge base of the process of Welsh politics, a clearer understanding of how and why change is made (not always for the better though!), and the confidence to approach and challenge managers and authority figures when I feel patient safety and dignity may be compromised.

However, the course also enabled me to understand some of the challenges facing our policy makers, and to understand some of the complexities behind the political process, and how the assembly and Welsh Government works.

Prior to the course I admit that I had a very naive impression of poitics generally, but now have a greater depth of knowledge regarding collective decision making, regulations of public affairs, and the methods and tactics used in formulating and applying policy.

The session relating to the history of Welsh politics and devolution was extremely interesting - particulary when related to Welsh health policy.

Over the course of the two days, we were encouraged to utilise the face to face opportunities to speak with our political leaders, (both past and present), which I would have to say met my expectations. The majority of the guest speakers were relevant, interesting and of a very high standard.

If there is any criticism I would make, I would say that it would have been an ideal opportunity to meet and speak with all the lead nurses from all the clinical areas as the delegates were from a variety of sectors and disciplines. It was still, however, a great opportunity to network with colleagues and engage with politically aware and interested people.