Programme Support Assistant Review

I do administration that supports trainee doctors, involving communication via email, telephone and in person, database maintenance, organising meetings, supporting conferences, keeping in touch with internal and external stakeholders, and anything else asked of me.

I've developed my professionalism and it's been a great way to boost my confidence in all aspects of the job. I've also managed to network across the company which has been great for getting a taster of different departments. It's an invaluable qualification to help you put your best foot forward when you first enter the professional world.

I really enjoyed it! Since I'd finished school I didn't really know what to do with my career (communications, maybe?) and I found it so helpful to get an overview of everything in the company. Plus it was nice to stretch my brain and really try to get as much out of my week as possible and also speak to more people than my immediate team!

The structure could use a little improvement but I will note they'd just moved over to the new platform when I began my apprenticeship. I like to batch my subjects, so I wanted to do all the finance tasks in one go, all the comms in one go etc. but the platform had them all spread out over different months. Not a massive problem but was harder to keep track of!

I felt very supported throughout my apprenticeship. I was able to work across lots of different departments not only in my local office but also across the country. It's enabled me to have a varied set of work shadows and experiences I wouldn't have otherwise been able to finagle otherwise!

[This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyApprenticeship Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] was a fantastic educator and mentor throughout my NVQ. I could email him or phone him anytime and he'd always be there with a smile and the answers I sought! He knew his stuff inside out and was always enthusiastic and willing to chat about work and give me a pep talk when it was needed! I would recommend him to anyone who's taking their NVQ and paragon skills.

I've learnt so many new soft skills whilst doing this course. From networking to understanding the ecosystem of the company, I can inform my colleagues that the spreadsheet we're filling out is actually going to be used by 5 different departments to measure a certain need in the company. It's been the confidence boost I needed and I even got a promotion shortly after completing my NVQ!

There's loads of extra curricular activities available at my work, I've been lucky that my company is very community based and people always refer to it as a big family. (But genuinely; not in a forced corporate smile way). We were working on a Health and Wellbeing resource just before lockdown, and when Covid hit, it was a great resource for everyone suddenly working from home and maybe not coping well.

Yes

Because they're a great company to work for: there's lots of perks that come with working in the NHS, but also they've managed to recruit people who are kind and loving and genuinely care about your day. The office atmosphere is relaxed and so many people have stayed in the company for 10 years because it's a nice place to work.

My biggest tip would be to phone the department you're applying to so you have an overview of what the day to day looks like. This will help your prep as all the internal applicants usually borrow someone from the team and ask them for a run down about the job! HEE is big on training so it's a great place to get your foot in the door and work up.