Associate Professor Review

I am an Associate Professor in a School of Health Sciences. I teach across healthcare curricula and provide pastoral support to students. Currently I am also Director of Professions, which is a role focused on staff development, staff wellbeing and workload planning. I support staff to achieve their career aspirations.

Currently I am undertaking the Institute of Leadership and Management Professional Coaching Level 5 apprenticeship. This has enabled me to develop skills in professional coaching with a number of individual within and outside of the university. I am a continuous learner and so try to apply the skills that I have developed to everyday situations and conversations with others.

I am thoroughly enjoying being a coach and being able to implement new ways of thinking and working with staff. I am engaged fully with my development and find that Raise the Bar provide excellent support. In particular my coach, [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], is amazing. She is always willing to listen and provide critical discussion to my progress.

It is challenging to complete the programme whilst undertaking full-time employment but the structure of the course and the support with achieving hours from my employers has been exceptional. I have regular contact with my coach and University link person to review my progress and share experiences. The most challenging aspects is completion of the documentation, which can feel excessive and repetitive at times.

My employer is willing to provide support on a regular basis. They have allowed me to work towards my hours of coaching and are interested in the course and how I am progressing. The University link person meets with me regularly and is supportive. I have been provided with the time to attend study components of the apprenticeship.

I meet at least every month with the training provider but it is usually more often than this. They are engaged with our development and learning and are extremely approachable. They are supportive, compassionate and understanding of the pressures of completing a full-time job as well as completing the apprenticeship. They motivate you to keep going. I cannot fault them in any way.

The qualification is already helping me to perform better in my role. I have introduced coaching exercises and approaches with the staff that I work with and support. It has enabled me to reflect on my actions and communication with others and to provide support to achieve rather than direction .

There are a number of activities to get involved with at my place of work. we have a monthly social event with staff should they wish to participate. We have a number of 'away days' with professional teams to explore their roles and development. The University is well equipped with sporting facilities and staff are able to engage with these. In addition, there are a number of cultural events that take place for staff.

Yes

I have chosen to work at the University of Nottingham for over 25 years because it has allowed me to undertake a number of roles and develop my skills. It is supportive of its staff and the School I am in, encourages staff to make use of opportunities and supports them to do so.

Make sure that you have time to visit and speak to the staff and students. Find the feel of the place and not just what it offers. We spend a lot of time in employment so you need to be sure that it is somewhere you want to be. Do not be afraid to make use of opportunities. Go for it!