NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme (GMTS) |

Thankfully the 20-day orientation period gave me a smooth transition into the NHS and I was exposed to a wide array of experiences such as: spending a day with a porter, meeting the CEO of the Trust and experiencing the business of A&E. These experiences and many more exposed me to the sheer enormity of an NHS trust and just how much work goes on by different staff members (clinical & non-clinical).

I am currently in my 1st placement in the role of a Service Manager whereby I am managing the inpatient Physiotherapy & Occupational Therapy department. This role has thrust me right in at the deep end – and it is exactly what is required to be able to immerse yourself within this role. The Service Manager role has a wide remit of HR, finance and operational management as well as many other areas. Thus this role is one where no day is the same and you are always having to think on your feet. I have massively enjoyed adapting to a role with such responsibility and learning much more about the importance physiotherapists and occupational therapists play in an acute hospital setting.

One key achievement in my time so far is being nominated as a finalist for my Trust awards in the category of inclusion & diversity. This nomination stems from my work in creating a Ramadan pack (including dates and water) for our Muslim staff during the time of fasting in the month of Ramadan, to ensure they feel valued during this enduring period.

Alongside my role, I am also studying for the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Programme (EGA). This has allowed me to develop my leadership skills and allows me to enhance the leader that I can be to my teams. The Scheme has firmly supported me whilst I am on my journey and I am excited to be starting my flexi-placement at EY (Ernst & Young) within the next few weeks.

Tahmid, General Management, South East

About me

I am an individual from an ethnic minority background who was the 1st person in my whole family to attend university. I wanted to join the NHS GMTS because I grew up with the values of appreciating the healthcare system and I always wanted to contribute positively towards this as well as reduce the inequalities that are present in our healthcare system.

Fundamentally my career aim is to become the CEO of NHS England one day and this scheme provides me with the tools and skills to provide me with that pathway to achieve that goal.

Having worked for the NHS for a couple of years in HR, I felt that joining GMTS would be an opportunity to gain operational experience, which was the next step I was looking for.

I’m pleased that this was the right move for me and I have absolutely loved my time on the Scheme so far.

And I’m based at the hospital I worked at previously – which is fabulous as I still get to see my old colleagues – the relationships you build really are key to your success wherever you are.

I’m currently working on a project redesigning the Stroke Pathway for the county. The project itself is obviously super interesting, and important, but I’m learning so much too. It’s given me a real opportunity to collaborate with system partners and manage stakeholders, ultimately to do the right thing for our patients. It’s also really challenging, particularly as I’m not an expert in anything in healthcare by any means, but what I’ve learnt is to be interested and committed to making a difference really does get you a long way in the conversations you need to have!

Being gay I’ve always felt that I was “different” and felt that was negative, but as I’ve got older, being gay is something I’m truly proud of. I joined the LGBTQIA+ Network so I could have a positive impact on trainees from my community, reducing barriers and empowering us. Pride is my favourite time of year and is a time where we can celebrate what it means to be queer and educate those who want to know more!

I’d encourage anyone who is genuinely interested in making a difference to apply to GMTS. You will have real autonomy and be given the opportunities to be able to shape the future of healthcare in the NHS. There really isn’t another opportunity like it.

What do you actually do on the grad scheme?

When I was researching graduate schemes to apply for, I was always keen to find out what my life as a graduate would look like. Looking back, I had no idea what I was about to sign myself up to on the GMTS. It is a very demanding, but also very rewarding scheme.

One of the main reasons I chose to apply to GMTS was for the varied placements you get while on the Scheme. I wasn’t from a professional background so I didn’t know what was out there for someone with a degree, so I was keen to try as many roles as possible to increase my chances of finding something I liked and could make a career out of.

Typically, on the General Management specialism you’ll do two longer NHS placements and a short trainee-organised flexi placement. Often, one of your NHS placements will be more operational and the other more strategic.

I did my operational placement at the Lister Hospital in Stevenage. I worked in the surgical division and had day-to-day management responsibility for a particular surgical specialty. I started out in Trauma and Orthopaedics and later moved to Plastic Surgery.

To try to help demystify what you do on an operational placement, or what NHS managers do in their day-to-day, I have split the role out into a few key areas and will go into a bit more detail for each:

1. Responsible for smooth running of services
2. Line management of admin teams
3. Dealing with issues as they arise

Responsible for smooth day-to-day running of services:

• Checking outpatient clinics were booked when doctors were working, and cancelled or covered if they were on leave
• Checking operating theatre lists were fully booked when doctors were working, and cancelled or covered if they were on leave
• Reviewing operational performance against relevant national standards (eg. 2 week wait appointments for suspected cancer, cancer treatment within 62 days and reducing the routine waiting time that had increased to beyond 2 years as a result of COVID)
• Ensuring booking practices were fit for purpose, implementing improvements wherever possible

Line management of admin teams:

• Acted as line manager for 5 medical secretaries and an outpatient booking team
• Approval of annual leave requests
• Managing sickness and supporting staff back to work once fit
• Recruiting into vacancies including:
  – Approval of vacancy
  – Preparation of job description, person specification and job advert
  – Shortlisting candidates for interview
  – Interviewing
  – Appointing successful candidate
  – Arranging start dates and onboarding
  – Appraisals and 1:1s

Dealing with issues as they arise:

• Doctor unexpectedly unavailable or delayed with patients waiting
  – Locating/contacting doctor
  – Dealing with impact on patient care – do any appointments need to be rescheduled?
  – Investigating cause and attempting to prevent the same thing happening again
• Patients presenting to the department thinking they had an appointment that we were unaware of
  – Investigating communications sent to patient
  – Determining if they can be seen
  – Making arrangements for their future care if we were unable to accommodate
  – Investigating cause of any mistake/issue to prevent it happening again
• Projector not working for staff meeting
  – Getting up on a chair and checking the cables at the back (got it working again!)
• Chairs gone missing from waiting room
  – Literally searching the hospital for spare chairs and begging other departments for some of theirs
• Not enough surgical equipment to perform skin cancer biopsy
  – Contacting the Sterile Services Department to see if any kits that had been cleaned were available for use
  – Contacting theatres department to determine if they had any appropriate spare equipment that could be used
  – Escalating to matron who usually holds responsibility for ordering supplies
• Case overrunning in theatres delaying the start of our afternoon list
  – Determining if surgeon and operating team will be able to operate in a different operating room
  – Finding out if team can support a late finish
  – Agreeing most clinically appropriate patient to cancel if required, and escalating to higher management for approval to cancel if required

The above covers some examples of what I have come up against during my time in an operational role on GMTS, but the scheme take 250 trainees every year into 100+ different placement organisations. So, everybody has very different experiences and there is no typical day in the NHS!

About me

I grew up in Essex and was the first in my immediate family to go to university. I studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge but didn’t want to pursue a career in the sciences, so I was looking at various graduate schemes to apply to. I was heavily involved in the university response to COVID-19 as Students’ Union President for my college during the first two lockdowns. This was my first taste of operational management and lead me to apply to the GMTS.

Outside of work I’m a keen Formula 1 fan, have been known to take karaoke a bit too seriously and enjoy a night out with friends.

Career change: from NHS doctor to NHS management trainee

Towards the end of med school, I realised that a) I had found no specialty I wanted to go into and that b) I wasn’t enjoying doing medicine. By this point I had been running several societies and involved in student council and realised that I much more enjoyed the logistics and politics of running groups etc.

So I did something I enjoyed, I went back to studying at my olduniversity and studied Global Health.

Doing Global Health taught me a lot, not just in terms of the subject matter but also diversifying the way I thought about healthcare and how healthcare is managed on a much larger scale than what I saw as a doctor.

I joined GMTS after gaining a Masters in Global Health. Below are some highlights from my first weeks on the Scheme:

Week 1

The first week and a half had been really informative and confusing. Confusing in the sense that this is a big hospital and therefore very easy to get lost in and lots of people to meet and try to remember. The meetings ranged from meeting the CEO to seeing how the radiotherapy department works and in the meantime dealing with the normal IT starter issues, signing of forms etc.

Meeting the Exec has been really interesting and surprising. In the first week we met with the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Finance Officer and Chief People Officer (formerly Director of HR) and all 3 have been very excited to meet us and have been equally interested in learning about my background. It definitely came across that they were interested in helping us progress both on a personal development level but career wise as well which was unexpected as we are just trainees.

Whilst everyone has been very friendly and welcoming, this has sometimes come whilst departments have been stretched and short-staffed. Despite this people have still made time for us to observe them and provide insights into their daily work lives. For example, chemotherapy was very busy and we had to delay our meeting due to an unexpected issue arising (which is understandable and a hazard of working in a healthcare system). This was not the first or last meeting this happened to us and we were very grateful when the team called us back to come talk to them and we appreciated them taking the time to speak to us.

Week 2

I spent a couple of hours in phlebotomy learning how the admin and management staff work. I also spent some time learning how the workflow for the department worked from patient referral to testing. This would mirror how the rest of my orientation would go. I found it interesting to learn how the back-end of departments work as that is the side of hospital management I have not seen. And so I rearranged parts of my orientation to decrease my clinical observations and swap them for meetings with admin or management of those departments.

Friday morning saw me spending half the day with finance which is probably the thing in my orientation I was looking most forward to. I found quickly that actually, I knew more than I thought. Most people were also very friendly and gave great explanations as to what they do and their areas of expertise are.

Week 3

On Monday afternoon I met with D, the Directorate Manager for T&O. He took a different approach to my departmental meeting with him than other managers had. We discussed for half the meeting current projects that were ongoing in the department and the pressures he was facing in terms of meeting targets etc. However it was the latter half of the meeting I found more useful. We openly discussed the hardships and challenges of being a manager. He asked a couple of rather probing questions that I didn’t mind (or felt pressured) to answer but did help him understand where I was coming from and therefore then tailored his advice towards me. He also provided me advice on how to move forward during the scheme, about grabbing opportunities and working out for myself which ones would be worthwhile and which ones would not but encouraged me more so than anyone else on getting stuck in and making the most of my 2 years.

What was your motivation for applying to GMTS?

I’d worked in a few different roles after leaving university and never really found the right ‘fit’ for me. I enjoyed the work I did but I didn’t find anywhere I could really see myself staying and progressing over a long period of time. I’d always been interested in HR and loved the idea of working in healthcare. I also believed that the ethos of the NHS fits in with my own personal values so I knew it was somewhere I could really see myself building a career. I actually stumbled across the application page purely by chance and thought it meshed my two interests perfectly, so I applied there and then.

What do you think people should know before applying – now you’re a trainee?

It’s not just for what you may think are ‘typical’ grads! – in that there is such a diverse range of people on the Scheme, some of whom like me graduated several years ago and haven’t been in education for some time. Some have had careers in other sectors before applying; some are former nurses! So please don’t put yourself off applying because you aren’t fresh out of university – I almost did because I thought ‘they don’t want an almost 30-year-old parent on the Scheme’ and I was incredibly wrong. It’s been a great opportunity for me and I’m honestly so glad I took the leap and applied.

Can you describe a typical day in the life of a GMTS trainee?

Very varied – I have so many opportunities to be involved in different projects and for me it’s been such a fantastic way to learn and gain experience. My manager is also very open in our meetings and if I want to get any experience in other areas or projects, I am able to ask and my placement will try to accommodate this. My days are usually spent holding HR-related meetings with managers and colleagues, responding to queries and working on any other projects, for example policy work.

What’s the most rewarding part of being a trainee?

I would say the experiences you are able to have being as a trainee. My Trust are incredibly welcoming of GMTS and the colleagues I’ve worked with are always happy to take the time to help me and deepen my understanding. I had a moment on my induction where I was able to observe surgery in theatres and I thought about how fortunate I was to be able to have this inside view and perspective. It’s not every day you are able to see amazing things like this and it’s really rewarding.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced on GMTS so far?

Balancing my time has been a challenge because alongside my role at my placement, I’ve also got the HR Education, my EGA Education, GMTS competencies and then my roles and responsibilities as a parent and my desire to still have a social life and spend time with family and friends! So it can be a lot. But it’s manageable, I just have to be quite strict with my time and make sure I’m organised and aware of my deadlines. The GMTS team and my placement manager are very supportive though and I always feel like I can speak to someone if I’m struggling to balance my time and look for solutions.

What have you felt most proud of achieving as a trainee?

Aside from learning some of the main acronyms (the NHS loves an acronym) I’ve felt really proud of myself for understanding some of my HR processes at my Trust and I feel a lot more confident now with these than when I first started.

What’s your NHS career ambition after leaving NHS GMTS?

I can definitely see myself enjoying a role as a HR Business Partner from what I’ve experienced so far. I’m due to start my second placement in November so maybe I’ll discover other roles I’d aspire to, but HRBP is my goal at the moment.

About me

Hi I’m Sophie! I’m 28 and a Human Resources September 2022 trainee based in South Yorkshire. My partner Luke and I have a 2 year old little girl who is an absolute ball of energy and sunshine and in my spare time I love going out with friends and family, discovering new places to eat and doing yoga (when I have any energy left!). I’m currently almost halfway through my first placement and I’ve had an amazing experience so far and met some wonderful people, both at my placement and on the GMTS as a whole.

Day in the life of a Policy & Strategy trainee

Hi, I’m Rebecca and I’m in my final placement of the Policy & Strategy (P&S) GMTS in the national Nursing Workforce Policy team at NHS England.

I’ve found the Scheme challenging but enjoyable and I’ve learned a lot. Everyone’s placements are different but here’s what a day currently looks like for me.

8:30am: Arrive at the office, make breakfast, read emails

9am: Pull together my messy notes into slides – about the stakeholders and how we’ll engage for a new project

10am: Meeting about how to communicate survey findings and progress on actions to stakeholders, and how to identify and prioritise actions

10:45am: Coffee and add new actions to to-do list

11am: Meeting with regional teams to review funding bids from trusts and hear about trusts’ context-specific challenges. If common themes emerge from different regions, we consider what we can do to further support from a national perspective

12pm: Write up and circulate notes from a meeting yesterday

1pm: Lunch with other P&S trainees

2pm: Emails and add actions to to-do list

2:30pm: Coffee chat with my buddy about how she’s finding her placements and studies

3pm: Chair a GMTS working group meeting. These groups do some great work to improve trainee experience e.g. refreshing the study leave policy and starting EDI networks. They’re an opportunity to meet other trainees and try chairing in a friendly environment

4pm: Meeting for a new project where we agree timelines and assign responsibilities. They’ve just completed a literature review and I’m joining to help create the some of the policy outputs. This requires researching similar international projects and the stances of the main UK political parties ahead of next year’s election. Some of our projects get a lot of political attention and could be stopped or ramped up depending on a politician’s stance

4:45pm: Emails and update to-do list for tomorrow

5pm: Study! On P&S, we do a Health Policy Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) as part of the GMTS. This week’s reading is on payment mechanisms and previous NHS payment reform. It’s a bit dry but starting to make sense and the lecturer throws in some truly terrible puns.

6pm: Head home

7pm: Study more

8:30pm: Done for the day and ready for dinner

What does your placement entail?

I have two hats, really. There’s the commissioning side where I look at services, help identify service improvements and help to ensure contracts are being delivered, and there’s also some dealing with patient complaints.

Then there’s the transformation side where for example I work on projects around admission prevention in services like diabetes and frailty in the system.

What do you do, for example, in your diabetes project?

Well, I could talk about this all day – diabetes is a silent killer; a lot of people with diabetes might not know that they’re high risk for cardiac arrest, podiatry issues, amputation, and other issues. In order to prevent those issues from arising, we need to help people manage their glucose levels. A lot of these people can’t be seen by primary care but aren’t acutely unwell enough to justify or warrant admission to hospital.

That’s where the Enhanced Diabetes primary care network model comes in: in between primary and acute care in the system, to prescribe injectables and other drugs at a local level to help patients manage their glucose levels. It was a missing service in the region and really works as something community led.

How have you enjoyed the Scheme so far?

It’s been a bumpy ride, I’ll be honest. It took me time to settle.

Everyone has such different journeys but similar experiences. It’s always so interesting to come together as a group of us and realise you’re not the only one who feels like this. There might be some who really enjoying it and excelling all the way through, but there’s loads of others who feel like me too.

I love how agile the Scheme is though, you do move around a lot, and are pushed to pick up loads of skills, I’ve really enjoyed that. Everyone else seems to say it but one of the best things is meeting other trainees, it’s priceless.

A little about me

Hi, my name is Nicky, I am a first year NHS GMTS General Management trainee based at Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust (DGT). I graduated from the University of Nottingham in August 2022 with a degree in Religion, Philosophy and Ethics.

Why NHS GMTS?

I think for me, I applied to NHS GMTS because I was fed up with talking about making the world a better place and really just wanted to actually do something to make a difference. By the time I reached my final year of university, philosophy felt detached from the real world. I had spent so much time thinking about the issues in the world that I really felt that I wanted to actively do something to make things better. A year on, I know this is a naïve view of the world but it still motivates me to get up and go to work every day.

What successes have you had so far on GMTS?

This is a really tough one to answer. I feel like there have been several small wins rather than anything massive. I have worked on a deep dive into one of the services offered by DGT, it was absolutely fascinating and I learnt so much from it. The little win for me was presenting the findings of this and gaining support for this to go forward. I have also worked on health inequalities with one of the teams and have been able to set up meetings with different charities to help us understand the different barriers that patients from underrepresented groups face.

What challenges have you faced so far on GMTS?

Any trainee would tell you that the first couple of months on any scheme are quite bumpy. The biggest thing for me has been travelling to work – I have to commute on public transport to work which takes me between an hour and a half and two hours each way. My job is 100% worth the commute but it can make things a bit tricky when it comes to having a social life or downtime after work and on the weekend. I think I have also faced a lot of imposter syndrome (also something that every trainee gets). I had no NHS experience (other than as a patient) so everything has been a massive learning curve for me. Everything from acronyms to going to a business meeting blew my mind for the first couple of months so it can be difficult to feel like you belong in the room sometimes. I have been really lucky to have been placed into a really supportive team who have never made me feel anything apart from welcome in everything I have attended which has made a massive difference to me. One of the other great things about my placement is everyone is really friendly and open. The NHS is a bit of a beast – there are so many parts to it and things work differently in different organisations so feeling able to approach people and ask questions makes a massive difference.

What are your ambitions post-scheme?

In all honesty, I don’t have a set plan just yet of what I want to do. I still feel so new to the NHS and it feels like every day I hear about a new part of the NHS which makes it really difficult to know exactly what you want to do after the Scheme. I have really enjoyed my strategic placement so I think I could see myself doing something business management related within the NHS. I also spent time at the ICB (Integrated Care Board) recently and working there someday would be amazing.

How did you achieve success in the recruitment process?

I’ll be honest, I really did not see myself getting onto the Scheme and I think that helped me massively in the process. I really was just 100% myself from start to finish, I answered all of the questions honestly and seemed to just get to the next stage each time but at no point did I think I would actually get onto the Scheme. I think the biggest piece of advice I would give with the process is to take each stage one bit at a time – there can be a bit of a gap between one stage and the next so it is best to just approach it one step at a time. I also remember being really nervous about the Virtual Assessment Centre (VAC) but the minute I logged on, I realised there was absolutely nothing to worry about. The strengths-based interview was by far my favourite part because it really was just a conversation and my assessor was absolutely lovely.

How do you make a difference to the NHS every day?

This is really hard to answer too. The amazing thing about the NHS is the people! Every single day, I am inspired, challenged and blown away by the incredible kindness, humbleness and work ethic that is present in this organisation. The NHS and especially DGT are incredibly special places to work – filled with people who quietly go about their days saving lives, changing lives and improving lives every single day. I very rarely see people looking upset and you can feel the warmth of the organisation the minute you walk in. I try to make a difference by making sure that people feel valued. I’m quite a smiley person so I like to smile at people and ask how their days are going. Other than that, I just wake up every morning and try to learn from the successes and hiccups of the day before.

What does your day-to-day life on GMTS look like?

No two days are the same on the Scheme and so there isn’t really a structure to my days. I am someone who likes to have a bit of a plan so I usually log on in the morning, catch up on emails and have a look at the meetings scheduled for that day. Then I will go through my notes from the day before to see where I got to with all of my projects to make a priority list of what needs to be done in that day.

I usually have a catch up with my manager at some point in the day to discuss projects and to ask any questions I have. Then I get on with the different things I need to get done.

Most days I end up going completely off of plan; things come up that I need to get done or something I thought could be done one way needs to be done a different way so my priorities change. This is something you have to make your peace with and I have found doing a mind map every couple of days helps me clear my brain.

There are also things outside of my job that GMTS requires me to do such as competencies, EGA [Master’s degree programme in Healthcare Leadership] work and arranging my flexi placement, so I will usually spend a bit of time each week on these to make sure I am on top of things.

I know I was really worried before I started the Scheme about what my days would look like and how I would know what needed to be done each day – but I worried for no reason. At the start of GMTS you have orientation which gives you time to get used to coming to work every day and to help you understand the NHS a little bit better. I used this time to really understand what my role was going to look like and what I would be doing every day but for anyone who is worried, it really does just fall into place.

About me

Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my family, attending church, going swimming two evenings a week and reading. I am also currently learning to drive so my weeks go very quickly and the weekends even quicker.

For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to work in a job that makes a change, but I was always worried that because I had no clinical background, I wouldn’t be able to make a difference. I had a search online and found that there are so many chances to make a change in the NHS that required no clinical experience at all. So when I found out that the NHS offer a graduate scheme with no specific degree subject requirement, I knew that it was the job I wanted.

As someone who did a Philosophy degree, I thought Finance was out of the question – but when I searched the qualifications and experience I could gain from doing the Finance specialism, I knew it was the one I wanted to apply for. Finance offers both a CIPFA qualification as well as a PG Diploma in Healthcare Leadership, and a range of experiences within placements – all while starting from the basics, so I never felt like I was out of place.

From day one the Scheme has been fast paced. The 20-day orientation period took me to parts of the hospital I never thought I’d see, from watching surgery to shadowing porters. It taught me so much about the NHS as a whole and I use those experiences to help me progress through the Scheme.

I’m currently working in the Financial Service department and no day is the same. I’m currently helping lead on the annual stock take for theatres and this is just one of many experiences I have been given so far.

Although my experience on the Scheme has just started, I can say that I thoroughly enjoy my job and I know that my work makes a difference in one way or another to both patients and staff and I hope to continue making a difference in the future.

About me

Before joining the Scheme I was completing my degree in philosophy. I was one of the first in my family to get a degree

During my free time I play all kinds of sports but I primarily play golf and football. I’m also training to ride 100 miles for charity in September. If it’s not sports related I’m normally listening to music or watching movies.

I am on the General Management stream as part of the 2022 cohort and I’m working in the South East region at Royal Berkshire Hospital.

I studied BA (Hons) Business and Management at UWE and I was actually the first person in my family to graduate with a degree.

During my studies I learnt a lot about myself and how I work but I still didn’t know what I wanted to do once I finished. Then I discovered the GMTS programme during my dissertation unit and knew that this was the job I wanted to pursue.

I’m working at Royal Berkshire Hospital for both of my placements – I’m currently still in my 1st placement. I am the Self Funder Support Manager within my Trust, where I work with patients & families who pay for their own care once they have left the hospital. Like me, you may be surprised to learn that some people pay for their care once they leave the hospital, which has really opened my eyes to a side of the NHS which I wasn’t aware existed! This first year has taught me so much. I loved the orientation period which is a whole month and this really allows you to get insight into so many different areas of the organisation and get a real sense of what you’re part of.

Getting stuck in to the academic side has been a real pleasure for me. My favourite unit when I was studying for my degree was Leadership & Management, so I am getting to build further upon this topic both academically and also practically. The Action Learning Sets, Experiential Learning, Inquiry and Application Groups, as well as the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Programme provide so much context to build your knowledge upon. You get put into groups with different people so you get to meet lots of people and build your network straight away.

The Scheme really is an excellent way to work for the most prestigious institutions within the UK, so if you want to apply I would say go for it. I actually applied to the GMTS programme once and was rejected but came back the next year a little bit older and a bit more experienced and got my place. I would say to never let failure deter you but instead use it to motivate you and learn from it, especially when it is something you care about.

I am on the Policy & Strategy specialism and I started the scheme in September 2021. One of the reasons I love the Policy & Strategy specialism is the breadth of experience you get in such a short period of time.

You spend 2 placements in a national team at NHS England, during which you are able to work on a variety of interesting projects such as service transformation, outreach and engagement, clinical workstreams, and producing written guidance.

You also gain valuable operational experience at a Trust, where you gain a better understanding of how care is delivered and how hospitals actually function (you also might be able to sneak in on a surgery or two!).

On this specialism, you don’t go straight into a management position which is why it appealed to me, as it allowed me to find my feet in the organisation and build a network of peers before working my way up the ladder post-scheme.

The policy specialism is very tight-knit as you are a smaller cohort, however there are always opportunities for inter-specialism networking during Scheme-wide events or Scheme network groups.

To give you a deeper insight into the day-to-day of a Policy & Strategy Trainee, here is a day in my life as a grad trainee in the Children and Young People (CYP) Transformation Programme working on CYP elective recovery:

9:00 – 9:30: Catch-up on emails

9:30 – 10:00: Introductory call with a colleague from our data and analytics team to discuss the CYP elective recovery dashboard (a site that provides numerous amounts of data on CYP elective recovery)

10:00 – 11:30: Prep for a task and finish group meeting by brainstorming key messages for a campaign we are launching in April/May

11:30 – 13:00: Project reading: reading a few documents to familiarise myself with the CYP elective recovery workstream e.g. the NHS elective recovery delivery plan and the NHS operating framework

13:00 – 13:30: Lunch

13:30 – 14:45: CYP elective recovery delivery group meeting – a space for all workstreams to provide updates on their work, for regions to provide any relevant updates, and for the most recent elective recovery data to be reported

14:45 – 15:00: Afternoon coffee break!

15:00 – 16:00: Create a Jamboard to go out to delivery group members as a space for them to provide thoughts and recommendations regarding our campaign

16:00 – 17:00: Review my GMTS competencies in prep for a competency review meeting with my placement manager tomorrow

17:00 – 18:30: Uni work – we complete a Healthcare Leadership Certificate and a Health Policy Diploma on the Policy & Strategy specialism, so I spend a few evenings a week completing my coursework and assignments

Fran’s advice to anyone interested in joining GMTS:

My main advice to those applying is to really consider why you want to work for the NHS.

Have you had a great experience with NHS services and want to give back or improve the experience of others? Do you want to ensure health inequalities are tackled so everyone can receive care regardless of their background? Do you have a particular area of interest that you are passionate about?

This is something that I recommend shines through in your application. GMTS are looking for people with demonstrable passion and dedication to form the future NHS workforce.

When I first started university, I was set on a career in scientific research and academia. However, I soon realised that the laboratory life was not for me, and really wanted to work in collaborative teams where I could directly see the impact of my work.

My first ever job was working as an assistant in my local pharmacy, where I realised how NHS services often form a central part of the communities they serve. During university holidays, I worked as an administrator in a GP surgery and observed first-hand the immense value in providing effective, compassionate and person-centred healthcare.
These experiences inspired me to apply for GMTS, where I wanted to have the opportunity to look at the biggest challenges facing the NHS and design evidence-based interventions to sustainably solve them.

Before starting the Scheme, I didn’t really know what it meant to work in policy or strategy, but the variety of placements I’ve worked in have enabled me to develop a set of core skills that can be applied and adapted to almost any problem or setting.

I’ve worked in data analysis and strategy, as a project manager in a National Director’s private office and as a workforce policy manager. Each and every one of these roles have provided me with invaluable knowledge and experience about how the NHS works and responds to the needs of the population. I even got to conduct some qualitative research into health inequalities as part of my flexi placement at a think tank called The King’s Fund, where I began to think more broadly about the health and social care sector in which the NHS sits.

Whilst each placement has been different, two themes have been consistent across them all: that there is never a shortage of change in the NHS, and that there is an abundance of people who are truly passionate about providing the best care for patients.

About me

Before starting the Scheme, I graduated from Durham University with an integrated Masters in Biological Sciences. I then worked at an Arm’s Length Body (ALB) of the Department of Health and Social Care: the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority, where I managed requests for information from donors, donor-conceived individuals and their parents.

I have always wanted a job that positively contributed to society, and my mum, who has spent her career in primary education, has inspired me in this. When I was a university student, I volunteered as a Steward Volunteer at Covid-19 vaccination sites. I was inspired by how the NHS staff at these sites went out of their way to help people, such as assisting one patient in booking a taxi home. They were also enthusiastic about teaching me as much as they could about their NHS work, and I remain grateful for those learning opportunities.

The chance to support the NHS by joining the Graduate Management Training Scheme appealed to me significantly. The Health Informatics specialism intrigued me because of its potential to improve patients’ lives by changing how healthcare is delivered.

Having studied International Relations with Spanish at university, I was worried upon starting the Scheme that this specialism would be too tech-focused for me. However, I have found that Health Informatics is well-compatible with my humanities background. While analytical methods are a significant aspect of the specialism, people-focused concepts, such as digital strategy and working with stakeholders, feature strongly as well.

What I enjoy most about my experience on GMTS is how varied the work can be, with a breadth of opportunities available. I have worked on various tasks, including writing performance reports about waiting times, helping develop my organisation’s 5-year strategy, and completing projects to increase our workforce’s digital confidence.

Another highlight of GMTS is the chance to connect with other trainees. I meet with trainees through education residentials, catch-ups with my “buddy”, and the Scheme networks. I have recently started supporting the LGBTQIA+ network, and I am currently doing exciting work planning for Pride month.

My favourite moment on the Scheme so far was facilitating an assembly session for my area’s “Integrated Care Partnership”. This assembly brought together representatives across the Hampshire and Isle of Wight area from the NHS, local authorities, charities and more to discuss how best to work together for our local population. I facilitated a session where participants agreed on the Partnership’s shared vision and values. It was fulfilling to know that I had contributed to bringing the attendees together to help our community.

About me

Outside GMTS, I volunteer for a charity called Just Like Us, which supports LGBT+ young people in various ways, including through school talks, career mentoring, and media opportunities. I also enjoy baking when I can and am glad to have fellow bakers at my office who I can get recipe ideas from!

The COVID-19 pandemic has made the GMTS programme more turbulent than I anticipated but it has also provided an amazingly unique experience. It allowed me to assist in the East of England region with the ‘Bringing Back Staff’ campaign. Despite consisting of colleagues from all areas and levels of the NHS, we quickly became a tight-knit successful team. We all had a shared goal and joint values and achieved the amazing feat of processing thousands of retired healthcare professionals to help on the NHS frontline! Being able to help directly in response to the pandemic was amazing.

I now work as a Strategic Analyst. There’s no typical day, I could be involved in project evaluations, data analysis, data visualisation or data modelling. For example, I’ve helped evaluate the impact of a new maternity app providing easy access to resources and healthcare guidance via chat. I’ve also been involved in developing future forecasts for COVID-19 patients in hospital beds to assist with a hospital bed and workforce planning – it’s so varied! Even though my work doesn’t usually involve direct contact with patients, I know that the work I do every day will ultimately make a difference to their lives – that’s the best reward of the job.

About me

In my spare time I volunteer with an amazing charity called the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) which works to promote blood, stem cell and organ donation to save lives. They have a particular focus on promotion within BAME communities as there is a global shortage of donors from these ethnic backgrounds. I have volunteered with this charity for over 8 years, attending ‘donor drives’ to actively register people as donors (with a form and cheek swab), but also to fundraise.

I am in the GMTS HR program. I started in September 2021 and really enjoyed my month-long orientation getting to see the different sides of the hospital I am based and the services provided. I even got to watch surgery! On my first placement, I got to jump into the deep end looking after Cancer and Planned Care recruitment, the team were so helpful and I have learnt so much from them. The Scheme is a great way to get experience working for the NHS in different roles and departments, and making some great connections along the way.

The Scheme has been really fantastic at providing support, there are always several people I can speak to with any issues, personal and work-related. The education you receive really dives into who you are as a person and how you can be the best manager you can be using the right techniques that match who you are. Getting the opportunity to work for the NHS is amazing and I would wholeheartedly encourage anyone even thinking about the program to apply, knowing you are making a difference every day for the NHS is a truly unique feeling.

Without the NHS I couldn’t even consider working – they changed my life. I wanted to do a graduate scheme where I could make a difference. In the NHS GMTS, I can give back to the system that helped me so much by working to improve the quality of care and experience of people like me, people with disabilities. I want to make more opportunities available for others, and I’ve requested that as part of my development, I am able to give disability training to others in the NHS network so I can continue to improve the services and support given to employees with disabilities too.

There is also a misconception that the NHS is one big entity but it’s not! It’s thousands of areas and organisations. I have been working to help move a renal unit from one region to another. This involved surveying patients, doctors and key stakeholders to tweak the project and improve the service. I have also investigated the experience of patients with learning disabilities in hospitals, to find out what services exist for them and how they are funded so we can improve the service.

It’s important to know that even if you don’t have a medical degree you can help. I use the skills I learnt in my English Literature degree to directly support doctors and nurses – just because I don’t have a medical degree doesn’t mean I can’t make a difference

About me

I trained as a ballet dancer from the ages of 11 to 18 before sustaining a severe injury and undergoing subsequent surgery which resulted in a life-changing disability, and have been a wheelchair user ever since. I then received a transformative spinal treatment which enabled me to go to university and look forward to a career. I studied English Literature at Cambridge and wanted to find a way to use my skills to help people. My passion for care drove me to apply for the NHS GMTS. I love working in an organisation which cares deeply about its patients and allows me to use my critical thinking and problem-solving every day, for good.

I knew that I didn’t have the skills that would make me a great clinician, but I always wanted to work in the NHS.

I remember watching the BBC programme ‘Hospital’ and seeing non-clinical managers at work making important and challenging decisions.

Seeing them in action, I realised that this was a job that I could do. When I found out about the GMTS I knew it was for me.

Before I applied for the GMTS I shadowed a trainee which was great. I was surprised by the substantial educational component and how it fits into my role every day. The Leadership Academy, the Experiential and Action Learning Sets modules are thorough and bring out the best leader and collaborator in you, in the context of healthcare. We role-play scenarios and submit written assessments throughout the two years. It’s an amazing opportunity to simultaneously gain substantial work experience while obtaining new qualifications.

My current role is Assistant Service Manager with the Children and Families Care Group. It has been incredibly rewarding working with this team. The positive impact that child-focused community services can have on families and young people in their physical health is astounding. And even on a day where things don’t feel like they’ve gone right, you can honestly say the work you’ve done has had a positive impact on patients and staff.

About me

I come from a family of NHS workers. My parents and sisters are nurses, my grandma was a midwife and I have a cousin and an uncle who are doctors. I also have relatives working in broader NHS support roles. There is a strong clinical thread in my family, but I pursued humanities at university with a degree in history.