Abbie Blake is a Senior Medical Secretary at the Department of Oral Medicine & Special Care at The University of Bristol Dental Hospital, where she plays a vital role in supporting clinical operations. Her responsibilities include managing consultant diaries, arranging meetings, handling patient correspondence and maintaining smooth administrative processes across the department.
When Abbie was working as a Medical Secretary, the level 3 business administration apprenticeship opportunity was offered internally as a way to develop her skills and progress towards her eventual goal of becoming a performance and operations manager. She saw the apprenticeship as the perfect opportunity to gain a formal qualification while continuing to work, allowing her to build on her existing experience whilst developing the strategic and operational knowledge she would need for future leadership roles.
The apprenticeship offered Abbie the ideal combination of practical learning alongside theory, enabling her to apply new concepts directly to her daily work supporting the clinical team and contributing to efficient patient care within the Trust. “At the start, I was confident in basic admin tasks but lacked deeper knowledge of business processes,” Abbie explains. Through the programme, she developed a broader understanding of organisational systems and NHS structures, which transformed how she approached her role. Her time management and prioritisation skills improved significantly, and she became more confident in problem-solving, decision-making and communicating with senior staff.
The apprenticeship also included a Mediterm qualification, which proved particularly valuable in her healthcare setting. “Studying with Mediterm has helped me understand medical terminology, which makes correspondence and record-keeping more accurate,” she notes. This deeper understanding of medical language enhanced her ability to produce high-quality documentation and communicate effectively with clinical colleagues.
The Impact
The apprenticeship enabled Abbie to take on additional responsibilities, including supporting new staff and contributing to process improvements that enhanced department efficiency. “I now have a broader understanding of organisational systems and NHS structures,” she reflects.
As part of her apprenticeship, Abbie also undertook a process improvement project that would have lasting impact on her department and beyond. She identified significant inefficiencies in the image filing system for oral photographs. The existing system made it challenging for staff to retrieve patient images quickly and reliably, which could cause delays in clinical care.
Abbie created a new, more effective system that reduced the risk of loss of records and made retrieval far more straightforward. The results of this project were impressive: the new system she implemented not only solved the immediate problems in her own department but proved so effective that the project concept has now been rolled out and implemented across other NHS departments. This wider adoption shows how apprentices can drive meaningful change that extends far beyond their immediate teams.
“I am now able to manage a higher workload with greater confidence and effectiveness, which benefits both my team and the Trust as a whole,” Abbie says. The apprenticeship has fundamentally transformed her approach to her role, equipping her with the strategic thinking, operational knowledge and leadership skills she needs to progress in her career. She is now well-prepared to take on greater responsibilities and move closer to her goal of becoming a performance and operations manager.
Abbie’s journey demonstrates how apprenticeships can unlock potential, drive innovation and create pathways to career progression, whilst delivering tangible benefits to organisations and the people they serve.