Christiana C. Ekpete is a registered nurse and currently works as a Specialist Lead on Pastoral support, Education and Onboarding, Centre for Workforce Supply Social, NHS Education for Scotland.This blog celebrates and marks the significance of Black History Month 2024.
The theme for this year’s Black History Month is “Reclaiming Narratives”. Narratives are defined as a “description of events” or “a compilation of personal narratives” often recounted by a narrator. Nature and nurture forms who we become but the narratives passed down from one generation to another often determine our outlook on life and work and how we see ourselves which in turn influences our ways of being, and the perceived narrative others have of us.
The recent Scottish Government publication on “Improving Wellbeing and Working Cultures” provides an opportunity for reflection on the 3 pillars of wellbeing, leadership, and equality. Our narratives can be intertwined within these pillars as we find our wellbeing impacted by work and life, our access or distance from power may determine our roles in leadership as well as the need to ensure equity and fairness in smaller or larger social and occupational constructs.
This blog seeks to challenge the narratives that shape the stories we grew into and how we can evolve from doing to being, in rewriting our own story.
I grew up in West Africa and as a child, I knew something was different about me. My mother often hinted her desire for a male child, and I wondered if or why my sisters and I were not enough. I did not hold her to account as she was also a victim of an inherently unfair society. I lived in a patriarchal society where women were often treated as second class citizens. They had little to no recourse to the privileges given to sons and deprivation of rights to inheritance, irrespective of age or hierarchy of birth. By contrast, I observed elderly matriarchs who maintained a strong foundation for their homes. This created that yearning within me to be all the son my father could ever need. I would carry out functions expected of sons to gain the admiration of my father. I never felt it made any difference to him. As a daughter, I DID what was expected of a male child, and still do, to BE the son my father never had. Despite the cultural narrative, I am grateful for the values of listening, respect, empathy, resourcefulness, and sense of justice set by my parents.
As healthcare professionals, we have various responsibilities with matching expectations. This sometimes mean we are expected to bring in transferrable skills into our work. This is with the hope that we will engage with and put our best within these roles. We DO the work as best as we can to achieve a sense of BElonging within that role, team, or organisation. This may be the case for some, more than others.
My passion is holistic education and promoting health and wellbeing amongst the working population. As employees, we often spend a good number of our active years working. In my work life, I tend to gravitate towards roles which aim to minimise the impact of stress and burnout. I do this by promoting healthy work wellbeing practices, workforce development, education, and pastoral care. I find listening, learning and networking a superpower of mine and have always believed that learning equals growth and growth can be powerful, if embedded correctly.
I may not be my father’s son to gain the respect and recognition the society I grew up in denied me, but I do know that I hold the power to add value to myself through education. I continue to work on gaining the experience and leadership qualities I need to be a better healthcare professional. The goal is to keep making a difference having transitioned from acute care to BEING a leader and supporting workforce wellbeing and development within the health and social care sphere.
Having lived in and visited other countries of the world and discovered other cultures and narratives, I have chosen to form my own narrative. In commemoration of Black history month, I urge us all to work together to reclaim our true narrative. From here on, I am choosing to be the compassionate leader who caters for the wellbeing of those whom I serve, promotes a sense of inclusion and belonging, and does so remaining my father’s daughter.
The main lesson here is this, irrespective of where you find yourself within or out with your profession, we all want to feel valued, respected, and seen. This reflects on how we relate with people at work and our response to those whom we know hold power within our work environment. So how will you hold the power you yield in spite of the odds? Remember to connect with your core purpose, so that you are not just DOING the job but BEING the best version of yourself while at it!
Reflective Challenge: What is your personal and/or professional narrative and how can it help you explore the power you hold in the workplace?
We’d like to thank Cristiana for writing this guest blog which is part of the Leading to Change Diversity Blog Series. We want to highlight and promote the voices and experiences of diverse leaders at all levels including those working at frontline / grassroots levels. We aim to celebrate diverse leaders who can act as role models for other aspiring, diverse leaders.
Christiana C. Ekpete
Role:
Specialist Lead on Pastoral support, Education and Onboarding, Centre for Workforce Supply Social, NHS Education for Scotland.
Christiana is a registered nurse by profession and currently works as a Specialist Lead on Pastoral support, Education and Onboarding, Centre for Workforce Supply Social, NHS Education for Scotland. She has acquired skills and knowledge in human resources, adult nursing, public health and health promotion, case management, spiritual care, and healthcare management in Health and Social Care. Christiana has a strong commitment towards staff and student wellbeing at work as well as workplace health promotion, development, and education. She is privileged to utilise her experiences to champion candidate-centred recruitment, developing resources which uphold the tenets of the National Health and Social Care Workforce Strategy in developing a model for international recruitment, and offering reflective training and practice, whilst supporting her team in the day-to-day decision making of the project.
Christiana enjoys family time, travelling, singing, and supporting charities to combat period poverty in her native community.
All information regarding our contributors was correct at the time of publishing.
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