Miss Funmi Oluwajana
Funmi Oluwajana qualified from the University of Birmingham in 2013 with honours and distinction in clinical dentistry. She then spent a year in London where she completed foundation training and membership exam for the Royal College before embarking on the pathway into specialty training. She completed 3 DCT years in the East Midlands and Yorkshire in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Restorative dentistry. Following core training years she was successful in the national recruitment process for specialty training in Restorative Dentistry and has just finished second year of specialty training. During the next 12 months she will still be undertaking specialty training and looks forward to using skills from both roles to get the most out of this year ahead.
As a Specialty Registrar and future Consultant, effective leadership and management are a core feature of Funmi Oluwajana's daily practice. This fellowship will provide me with a unique and unparalleled experience in leadership development that she believes is not only a necessary investment for her future, but an excellent investment for the future of our healthcare services. Concrete opportunities for developing leaders in healthcare, particularly in dentistry, are often rare and the emphasis is often on developing clinical skills. Therefore, she is very enthusiastic about and excited by the opportunity to develop her leadership and management skills in an environment built for such a purpose and mentored by individuals who are experts in this field.
Reflecting on the leadership and organisational changes that have occurred in the NHS over the last decade, and considering the changing face of dentistry in the UK over the next decade, Funmi Oluwajana strongly feels that this scheme will enable her to develop the leadership behaviours and competencies required to help influence and shape the changes in organisational culture and structure that will be required of front-line leaders.
Considering her experiences so far, she believes she has the innate leadership skills and feels the opportunities provided by this scheme will help develop those natural qualities into effective leadership abilities.
