Hello there, it's me, the city girl who, last year, was forcibly removed from the concrete jungle she called home and delicately placed in the beautiful Yorkshire dales. Why? You ask. All in the name of the NHS management training scheme. A huge and exciting adventure made all the more brilliant by my surprise relocation.
So what have a learnt so far? Where do I begin?! For starters, when in Yorkshire, having a biscuit to 'put you on' doesn't mean you have a carb related sexual fetish.
‘Put you on’ : [puht y’ohn] meaning: that snack you have when you don’t want to spoil your appetite before a meal but you simply can’t do without a little something…to put you on.
In addition to this useful clarification I have also realised that the NHS does even more for me than I had ever realised. Yes, you may have to wait for four hours in A&E when you have drunk yourself silly or stepped on a plug (I imagine this is equal in pain to childbirth – I live in hope) and yes, we all like a good moan, but actually the NHS is like your favourite pair of shoes. Not everyone likes them, they might look a bit worn out; but they are always there for you, to support you and make you feel a million dollars as you strut through life.
Since working for the NHS every friend, relative and acquaintance has imparted upon me their, obviously correct, solution to 'fix the NHS' and make it all better. At first I was slightly dismissive of this but then I realised that this is the NHS. It's owned by us and of course we all have an opinion (and we ALL think Alan Sugar should hire us because we are GREAT and perfect and know all the answers). That's what makes working for the NHS so exciting and challenging and dynamic. And that’s what has inspires me to work harder and really push myself. It’s what I affectionately call ‘NHS guilt’ – that feeling on a snowy day when you realise that a day in bed would not be a day well spent when you could be turning a valuable cog in a brilliant machine.
The training I have taken part in so far has opened my eyes like kiddie in a sweet shop. I've realised that being an extravert doesn't just mean that I'm noisy and confident. It means that I think out loud and that telling me to stop being chatty won't stop me being chatty. It will make me stop learning. My personal challenge now is to appreciate introversion and understand how best to communicate with people who do silent thinking.
I have also learnt that I am a fire fighter. Not literally, one public sector workplace at a time please. I look for quick wins. The more I think about this the more I want to see what would happen if I were to work in or manage a strategic team. Would the job get done any quicker?
I can now confirm in my infinite wisdom that 2% of all the people you know right now will make you want to punch a wall. That's just how it is. But we shouldn't write the rules to account for those people who advantage. We need to focus on the 98% of people who are loyal, honest and committed and make the minority want to be a part of our club. Of course, we will welcome them with open arms as we tear up our lengthy expenses and annual leave policies.
And finally, after one year I am quite confident that I understand units of time in Yorkshirespeak. It's simple really; you have your dinner at lunch, your tea at dinner and a cuppa if you're thirsty.
My dear bloggee, we have come to the end of my inaugural blog. Until the next one, how about a lovely slab of cake…to put you on!
