By Cyrus A. Natividad
Last May 2021, Lañada was one of the winners of the BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) Nurse of the Year by National BAME Health and Care Awards for his work during the height of the pandemic.
The Centralian Link features CPUAAI Alumni Chapter President of the Week, Jose Ariel Espulgar Lañada – a nurse achiever in Europe. He is currently the President of the CPU Alumni Association – United Kingdom Chapter.
Lañada is a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN ‘93) graduate from Central Philippine University. He finished his Master of Science in Nursing Education (Merit) with a distinction for Project Management Dissertation in December 2018, and his Doctor of Education in September 2019 both from Oxford Brookes University.
Since he relocated to work in the United Kingdom in 2002, he has held different positions in several medical divisions at the Oxford University Hospital (OUH). He has served as Divisional Lead for Practice Development in Education, Neurosciences, Orthopaedics, Trauma, Specialist Surgery, and Children’s and Neonates Division.
Lañada now leads and supports Clinical Practice Educators in undertaking Divisional training needs analysis of non-medical workforce. Despite being based in the UK, the shift of the learning system to online classes has given him the opportunity to teach at the CPU College of Nursing.
He became a member of (TRUST-WIDE) Nursing and Midwifery Board and is a part of its Recruitment and Retention Committee, Culture and Leadership Core Change Team, Divisional Management Executive Committee, Divisional Nursing Board and Clinical Governance Committee. Lañada was one of two people selected to represent the Trust in a National Celebration of Thanks at Westminster Abbey on 5 July 2019.
For his leadership, he was elected Interim President of the newly-formed Filipino Nurses Association of United Kingdom, and President of Central Philippine University Alumni Association- UK Chapter.
Lañada said, “My strength and leadership activity is not only limited to work. For the past 18 years I have been the Chairman of the Filipino Community of Oxfordshire. I am responsible for a number of events each year including our Independence Day Celebration and Sports Festival. I also oversee our website and I am responsible for raising and accounting funds used for community events.”
Good working relationships have been established by Lañada with the Oxfordshire Community, in particular-with the Oxford City Council, Thames Valley Police and the Press. “I have successfully involved several Lord Mayors, former MP, Bishops, a UK Ambassador to the Philippines and Philippine diplomats in our activities.”
For Lañada, involving the Filipino community is important especially in helping with projects that will extend support for COVID victims in Iloilo.
Among some of his major achievements and projects with CPUAA-UK are the standardization of Job Titles, Job Descriptions and career pathways of Clinical Nurse Educators; Development and Implementation of innovative “Student School” to better support nursing students on placement; the Trust-wide initiative to establish and run “Clinical Staff Summits” to celebrate staff success, promote wellbeing, encourage leadership and career development.
Lañada is an Associate Lecturer on Leadership and Management of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at Oxford Brookes University. He serves as the Chair of the Oxford University Hospital (OUH) Black and Minority Ethnic Network. He led a project to build a church in his home village back in the Philippines. This was successfully achieved and improvements are currently ongoing.
He is from Brgy. Lu-ag, Dueñas, Iloilo.