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It’s December 2024 and about 2 years ago I handed in my notice and headed off to a new employer. I wanted a new challenge and I certainly got it!

I left my job as Head of IPC and joined a new Trust in a new, but linked shpere of work…vaccines. As in discovered on starting, the team was still forming with lots of people having joined in the previous few months. I was to be one part of a triumvirate leadership team, reporting into regional, local and internal groups all focussed on different aspects of vaccination.

This was a great team, was being the operative word but I’ll get back to that in a second. There was me plus an experienced pharmacist and another manager with a background in coaching, HR and sectors outside of the NHS. A really good mix of strategic, profession based and operational skills. We also had 3 matrons leading teams who worked all over the county vaccinating in schools, clinics, care homes and houses. We reported to a great leader with buckets of NHS experience and ideas, a real inspiration for me.

Lots changed over the next 18 months. Most notably the changes in the cohort sizes we could vaccinate as the epidemiology and impact of the virus changed. The difference between our clinics in Spring 23 and Spring 24 was huge. With a reduced cohort size and there being more places available for people to get vaccinated, the number of people attending our clinics to get their vaccine dropped. With each vaccine attributed to an item of service, this reduction drastically impacted upon our income.

We needed to make a change and so the organisation that I work for started a process of consultation. The triumvirate that I joined became two people. My line manager, who was in the role via a bank contract, was given her notice.

I can’t say it felt good at the time but I didn’t feel like I’d made a mistake, moving from one organization to another for it to then go through a massive period of change. I’d learnt a great deal, started working with some fantastic people, made some good friends and felt good. All positive factors in making a difference to my day. However, as I started to see the changes coming that would reduce our income,  I new I needed to make plans for the future that would help me transition into the next phase of my career.

I didn’t know what I wanted to do, as you’ve seen I’ve not really planned a career, it’s kind of happened to me. And so it did again.

I saw on the intranet pages an advert to become a professional  apprentice coach. As I had some really good experiences of coaching both in terms of attending training and being coached, the opportunity to become a coach myself seemed like too much of a good opportunity to let go by.

So as the reduction in patients we vaccinated started to become real, I was starting my training to become a coach.