Ms Tranka, who is of Indian South African descent, said she hoped her appointment would help show other nurses from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds that there were no limits to what they could achieve. “I think it’s absolutely essential to help you to navigate what can be quite a complex landscape in terms of career progression,” she noted. She said that having good mentors and role models was “fundamental” for young nurses coming into the system to help them draw out a career path that was right for them. I have just grasped opportunities when most people have said: ‘Are you mad why are going to do that?’ and I’ve said: ‘no, I’m going – it will either work or it won’t’.” “It’s not an easy walk in the park but I have worked hard, I have networked, I have kept my important relationships lukewarm through my career, and opportunity has presented itself,” she told Nursing Times. However, while she said her journey up the NHS ladder had been relatively smooth, Ms Tranka stressed that it had not been void of challenges and had demanded relentless hard work and perseverance. “I think there’s an absolute desire for inclusion and equality" In particular, Ms Tranka paid tribute to NHS nursing leaders Paul Reeves, Carolyn Morrice and Lisa Knight, who she described as being “absolutely instrumental in my career”. “I have had amazing mentors and people along the way who have really seen my talent, my potential and have supported me to have an opportunity at a secondment like this,” she added. She also credited superiors and colleagues who had acted as mentors to her.
Ms Tranka, who trained when apartheid and segregation still existed in South Africa, put her success down to her willingness to take on new challenges.