Jennifer Pearson holds a strategic role as Head of Nursing at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital and a Professional Nurse Advocate (PNA) delivering Restorative Clinical Supervision to nurses and led on the role out of PNA’s in her trust. Prior to taking on this role she was the Lead Nurse for Shared Governance at University Hospitals Birmingham where established nursing councils across the trust to improve patient delivery. She was invited by the Chief Nurse to represent her trust on the Chief Nursing Officer (England) National Shared Governance Council where national frameworks are designed and agreed for direct care staff. She completed the CNO sponsored Aspiring Director of Nursing Program. She has completed the Breaking Through Leadership Program. She was one of the Lead Nurses on the BSOL Vaccination Programme and sits on the National Vaccine Reference Group whose role is centred on deciding best practice for organisations. She is Co-Chair for the CNO Delivery group whose membership includes the 11 system Chief Nurses, the groups purpose is to translate national priorities into Midlands specific actions to improve workforce and patient outcomes. She is also a committee member on the diaspora group Caribbean Nurses and Midwives Association (CNMA). She is currently completing QSIR training and is lead for QI projects to reduce patient cancellation on the day of surgery using digital means and a workforce review to increase capacity in the preadmission service.

She is an RGN/RSCN dual qualified graduate nurse who has worked in Melbourne Australia and completed her paediatric intensive care training at Great Ormond St London. She has extensive senior clinical and management experience, a previous Matron, Head of Service, Lead Safeguarding Nurse, and RCN Regional Leadership Facilitator and has been responsible for various quality improvement initiatives. She was the National Lead in the Department of Health for the appreciative enquiry ‘Getting on Against the Odds’ which informed ‘Breaking Through’. One of he passions is developing others and mentors nurses on the Florence Nightingale Leadership Programmes.

Jennifer is the Midlands Regional Lead for the Chief Nursing Officer Chief Midwifery Officer Strategic Nursing Advisory BME Group advocating for staff contributing to national policy and advisor to the Chief Nurse (England) Ruth May. The group won the HSJ award for staff wellbeing and finalists in Nov 22. for race equality. In that capacity she co-designed the nationally acclaimed positive action Developing Aspirant Leaders programme (DAL). She represented the national shared governance council in a round table discussion with the Rt Hon Secretary of State Steve Barclay about career progression and retention. 

She is the winner of the RCN Making a Difference Award 2021for her work involving vaccine uptake in BAME staff and communities following nomination by NHSE/I Midlands and voted BAME Nurse of the Year 2022 in the National Diversity Awards. She is a judge for the Kindness Awards UK Primary School initiative. She was recognised as a local hero by the Association of Jamaican Nationals and awarded the Mary Seacole  75th NHS Windrush Award in Sept 2023 which was sponsored by Birmingham City University.  She was recently named in the list of top 50 most influential health care leader in the HSJ bubbling under category of EDI leaders.