New job = new blog post

I have recently been appointed as the Head of Undergraduate Medical Education at Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. This is a really exciting and challenging time for the healthcare sector, Manchester is leading the way with changes in how clinical care is delivered across the region with the Healthier Together review (https://healthiertogethergm.nhs.uk). Educating our future Doctors is so important and that is why I am extremely proud and honoured to take on the role.

In some ways I’m lucky as I have worked within the team for a number of years but this is also going to be a challenge, my previous role as the IT geek has generally seen people come to me for advice/support with ‘techy’ issues, whereas now I will be utilising my team’s extensive knowledge and expertise to take things forward. I aim to do this in my own way – hopefully my colleagues will come to see me as a leader and not ‘just’ the IT geek ;o)

I’m obviously nervous about taking on the role too – I’m extremely keen to develop the great service that we provide/offer to our students whilst also ensuring the whole team feels empowered and valued – this is vital to me. Three weeks in, I’m starting to understand the complexities of the organisation and the relationships with our key stakeholders.

Manchester Medical School is at the forefront of providing innovative medical education. Recent National Student Survey results have not been where the school want them to be, I see it as part of my role (with the help of others!) to help improve these results.

I’m proud to say I have come from a working-class background; my school years were not ones I look back at fondly. I was a pretty low performer in school but as I have grown, I have matured and developed confidence and I have always worked hard – never more so than over the past two years studying for my Masters. I’d like to think my career has developed through more hard work, knowledge and a pretty good understanding of how to treat people. I hope I can continue to do the same alongside the obvious added responsibilities.

During this challenging and exciting time I’m planning to blog more about the role, my experiences, and my thoughts on management and medical education. As I have said before, this is mainly for my own personal development and records but I hope others enjoy the read too – happy to reach out further and if people want to get in touch, feel free to have a look at our website: https://cmftugme.wordpress.com/contact-us/