As part of EDI week (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) and to showcase the positive benefits to staff that the University’s policies can have, Dr Bana Abdulmohsen has written a short post about how it has affected her working life…

Dr Bana Abdulmohsen
I joined Newcastle University in 2015 as a Teaching Fellow in the School of Dental Sciences (SDS). This was after completing a PhD in Dentistry at Bart’s and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London.

To begin with, one of the main challenges I faced was to ensure a high standard of teaching delivery due to having worked many years in a purely research environment. I have been privileged to be supported by many colleagues and have learned a lot from them in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. I understood that making mistakes is not something to feel shamed about, but it is a something to learn from, reflect on and aim to improve. Later on, my teaching skills were refined to a large extent through the Newcastle training I had for my Fellowship in Higher Education (FHEA).

Last year, I had my second child and faced a new challenge; balancing between life and work on my return from maternity leave. I was very blessed having had great support from the FMS/University when I was awarded the FMS Returner’s Support Programme fund to attend and present my research in a prestigious international conference (International Association of Dental Research and Pan European meeting IADR/PER general Session 2018, London, UK. https://iadr2018.zerista.com/event/member/492167). This was an opportunity to network with experts and I learned about the recent innovations in my research field.

The Head of School and the School Manager were both supportive in changing my pattern of work and provided me with the facility that allows me to continue breastfeeding my baby. Not to forget the benefits that NU parents can get from the Childcare Voucher Scheme for Nursery/School clubs vouchers for my two children.
Being involved as a member in the SDS Equality Diversity & Inclusion EDI Committee helps me to understand and appreciate the efforts exerted to respect the diversity and ensure fairness among all employees. All of the above makes me feel satisfied and happily committed to my work at Newcastle University.