General Practice Non-Clinical Development

Our Management and Leadership and Non-Clinical development pathways aim to provide a visual framework, which describes how staff who are working within general practice non-clinical roles might move between different stages throughout their career journey.

We know that practices and PCNs can be structured very differently, therefore these pathways are not aligned to a particular staffing model. Neither are they designed to be hierarchical. Instead, they set out a selection of example roles that sit within different areas of the general practice non-clinical environment, to suggest what development or progression might look like as someone’s expertise, competencies and levels of responsibility evolve.

The development pathways can be used as a tool to support 1:1 and appraisal discussions. They may also be used as a supporting resource alongside the One Care self-assessment development framework.

 

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The IGPM Accreditation Framework and the NHSE Primary Care Manager Career Development Framework are also useful resources to support general practice management and leadership development.

Non-clinical roles make up 50% of the general practice workforce across BNSSG. These vital roles are essential to the day-to-day functioning of general practice, ensuring smooth operations, patient access, and continuity of care.

Read about the real experiences of two of our BNSSG non-clinical colleagues, and their journeys into general practice. Through their personal stories, they offer a glimpse into the opportunities, challenges and triumphs they have encountered along the way, as well as highlighting different career pathways.

Phoebe – Operations Manager, Grange Road Surgery

How did you start your career in general practice?

After completing my A levels at college, I was unsure of my next steps. I came across an apprenticeship opportunity at Grange Road, and I was drawn to this as it meant that I could work in a role that combined learning with meaningful impact, in an environment that aligned with my interest in helping people and making a difference.

My apprenticeship was for 12 months and consisted of attending college one day a week and working at the practice the other four days. My college assessor would visit every month to discuss how I was getting on and observe me in my role.

I was given many opportunities to learn and understand the different areas of the practice. I was very lucky to have a supportive management team that were willing to take the time to teach and guide me through the apprenticeship, opening the door to long-term career development.

How have you developed in your career?

Following my apprenticeship, I was successful in securing a permanent role as an Administrator at the practice. Whilst working in this role, I was given the opportunity to take responsibility for different tasks. One year later I completed ILM Level 3, undertaking multiple in-house training sessions with different teams including medicines management, document management and reception. I also completed many external training courses, including fire marshal training and medicines management for prescription clerks.

Over the next couple of years, I grew in confidence and capability and was successful in securing my next role of Administration Manager. This role involved taking a lead for Information Governance, which I took training on. I was also responsible for managing one member of staff – my first line management role.

I continued in this role for around 18 months and then following some other staff changes and movement within the practice, I was successful in securing a promotion to the role of Operations Manager.

What have you learned during your career journey?

The hardest challenge for me was confidence – both within the work environment and in dealing with patients. I spent a lot of time on reception to begin with, which can be quite intimidating especially when you are young and inexperienced. However, I feel like starting off in this role helped me gain resilience and confidence.

Throughout my time at Grange Road, the support and guidance I have received from the management team and the Partners has helped me to achieve success. By being flexible and willing to offer training opportunities, they have enabled me to progress.

What is next for you?

I am hoping to further develop my skills by undertaking ILM Level 5 in Leadership and Management, which my practice is supporting me with.

Alison – Quality & Projects Lead, Gloucester Road Medical Centre

How did you start your career in general practice?

At the start of the first Covid lockdown in 2020 my new job in financial services had been put on hold, so I took a temporary job with South West Ambulance Service (SWAST) as an Emergency Medical Dispatcher = 999 Call Handler. I received a lot of training and it was a very immersive role, so when I left – two years later! – I decided that I wanted to use the knowledge and experience I had gained. This was when I started at Gloucester Road as a Receptionist/Care Navigator.

How have you developed in your career?

Whilst I had a lot of experience on the phone dealing with people needing help, it was still quite a steep learning curve adapting from the emergency services to primary care. I received a lot of 1:1 training with an experienced receptionist, developing my skills in areas such as EMIS, Accurx and Docman, as well as learning things like which appointments could be made for different staff members, which GPs ran certain clinics, and which nurses could deliver particular injections or services.

As my knowledge and experience grew, I was able to gain a wider understanding of how Reception dovetailed into the wider organisation of the practice, and I got more involved in helping to streamline processes and improve documentation and filing systems.

The practice then flagged to me a new PCN Quality & Projects Officer role that was being created and, after learning more about the role from my Practice Manager, I successfully applied for it. This was a very different job, not patient facing, but working on projects across the PCN to improve quality and processes and to bring in additional funding. There are two others in the team who have been able to give me a lot of informal training and guidance but, in taking on new areas of work such as Research studies (new to the practice as a whole), I have also had to work out a lot of things for myself. I have found resources from the new platforms I am using and where necessary I have reached out to colleagues and external stakeholders for help. Although it has inevitably been a slower process of learning, it has also been very satisfying getting to grips with something completely new.

Over the years, I have gained a huge amount of knowledge and experience. I am now a good source of information for others, and I know where to go for information that I don’t have myself.

What have you learned during your career journey?

It can be difficult to maintain a sense of purpose and perceive an element of challenge within a role where there is no obvious opportunity for growth or progression. I have responded to this by pursuing topics of interest, taking on different responsibilities, identifying new areas of work and putting myself forward for additional training and projects where possible.

What is next for you?

Our team has grown, and I now have some responsibilities for managing the training and the time of another staff member. The workload is very varied which helps to keep things fresh, and we have intentions to build up the amount of Research we are getting involved in, which will keep me busy.

I feel it’s important not to settle into a comfortable rut and always do things in the same way. Staying alive to developments, keeping abreast of new practices, new software and new training opportunities all help to keep things fresh and interesting. I would like to ensure I carve out more time for training and development in areas where I would like to gain more knowledge – a challenge!