Ellen H.
About me
| Ellen H. | |
| Politics, Economics and Philosophy | |
| Politics and Philosophy | |
| Undergraduate | |
| Derwent | |
| 2001 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Assistant Director Quality, Performance and Business Support | |
| Beds and Luton Adult MH | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Healthcare |
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A day in the life of a Assistant Director Quality, Performance and Business Support in the United Kingdom
It's OK to not have a high powered job when you graduate. You can get valuable experience in any job.
What do you do?
I oversee the quality and performance team who are responsible for helping staff to understand their performance or quality data and use this to improve services, the team is also responsible for managing how our data is presented externally. I also oversee the admin function with 100+ staff.
On a typical day I may be asked to check a new service contract particularly to make sure that the reporting requirements and targets are reasonable, help the service director to prepare for an unexpected meeting at a local council by quickly reviewing our data and using statistical process control charts to explain it. I might also work with a team to think about other ways they can collect patient feedback and then meet with the admin manager and finance manager to understand the budgets.
Increasingly my role is now less to do with actually doing everything myself and more of a coaching role, helping the managers in my teams to find the best way through a problem.
Reflecting upon your past employment and education, what led you to your current career choice?
I had worked in governance for a while and wanted to work closer with the people delivering services so I took a small pay cut to join my current trust as a performance manager. A couple of years later my boss left and I was appointed to her role which has since evolved to include the admin team.
Is your current job sector different from what you thought you would enter when you graduated?
When I graduated I mainly looked for sales and recruitment jobs as there were plenty of vacancies there. I didn't really know what I wanted to do but still think the early experience of being a recruitment consultant taught me a lot about resilience and tenacity.
Describe your most memorable day at work
I love delivering training to our new nurses. Performance data sounds like a dry topic but it helps people understand why we need a common way to describe 'good' and how drilling into your data can give you an 'ah ha' moment that means you improve how care is delivered. In the last face to face session the nurses worked in groups and made some great posters to get their wards more involved in quality improvement.
Are there any challenges associated with your job?
It's a lot of juggling of deadlines and trying to find a common ground between my preferred way of working and that of people around me (I can be a little chaotic!)
What’s your work environment and culture like?
We are a close knit team based in two offices at either side of the county. Post pandemic we now work from home part of the week to minimise overcrowding. A key value in our team is understanding that everything we do should.in some way improve patient experiences and outcomes.
What extracurricular activities did you undertake at university and what transferable skills did you develop through these?
I was in Cassoc and winesoc. I think that the sales patter you use to get people to sign up at freshers fayre definitely helped me get started as a recruitment consultant.
What would you like to do next with your career?
At the moment juggling two kids means I am happy where I am. In the future I would like to work as a service director in mental health..
What top tips do you have for York students preparing for today’s job market and life after graduation?
It's OK to not have a high powered job when you graduate. You can get valuable experience in any job; volunteer for any opportunity that comes along where you can demonstrate a new skill and prove your work ethic.
What topics from students are you happy to answer questions on?
Happy to help people starting out in NHS admin and clerical roles.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?
Keep smiling!
Next steps...
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