After more than 12 years working in the NHS, Julie Grundill already had a wealth of experience as an administrator. But despite years of developing skills on the job, she wanted something that would formally recognise her expertise while helping her continue to grow.
Completing the medical pathway of the business administrator apprenticeship with Damar Training gave Julie exactly that.
Building on experience
Julie had been interested in apprenticeships for years but, like many people, she assumed they were only aimed at school leavers. She shared, “I’d heard about apprenticeships from former colleagues, but I didn’t realise they could sit alongside your existing job.”
It wasn’t until an NHS academy presentation highlighted that apprenticeships were available to employees of all ages and experience levels that Julie decided to apply. Having recently moved into an administrator role within the hospital palliative care team, the timing felt right.
Turning experience into recognised skills
Although much of the apprenticeship related directly to Julie’s day-to-day role, she quickly discovered it wasn’t simply confirming what she already knew. Instead, it helped her identify and name the skills she’d been using for years without realising it.
Julie credited her Damar coach, Sarah Barnes, with helping her see the value of the work she was already doing. “I’d say, ‘I haven’t got any evidence,’ and she’d say, ‘Yes, you have. This is exactly what you’re doing here.’ That really helped me realise the skills I already had, I just wasn’t putting a name to them.”
The apprenticeship also introduced practical new skills, particularly across Microsoft Office applications. While Julie considered herself confident with Word and PowerPoint before starting, she soon found there was much more to learn and embraced the opportunity to push herself further. Not only has this impacted her directly by enabling her to maximise personal use of these programmes, she’s also able to support her team more effectively by sharing best practice approaches and tips.
A project with lasting impact
One of the highlights of Julie’s apprenticeship was completing a workplace improvement project that has since been adopted across the hospital.
Drawing on her previous experience in community nursing, Julie developed a new bereavement card process to ensure families received a more consistent and compassionate experience following the death of a loved one.
Using the project management tools she learned throughout the apprenticeship, she planned, piloted and evaluated the process before refining it based on feedback from ward teams. During her end-point assessment, Julie’s project was described by her assessor as being “of the very highest standard” which “clearly resulted in a process improvement”.
Julie added, “Because of Damar and the modules, I was able to set it out correctly, step by step and deliver it as a pilot. It’s now being rolled out across the hospital.”
The experience also reinforced the importance of communication and stakeholder engagement, helping Julie adapt her approach as the project expanded.
Adding Mediterm knowledge
As part of the medical pathway, Julie completed a Mediterm medical terminology qualification which introduces administrators, secretaries and receptionists working in healthcare to the basics of medical terminology.
Initially, she expected it to be familiar territory, having previously completed some in-house medical terminology training, through working directly with doctors and specialist nurses, and reading patient notes to support discussions about patient care plans.
Far from being a repeat of previous learning, Mediterm deepened Julie’s understanding of clinical terminology and improved her confidence in her role; “I honestly went into it thinking this was going to be a breeze. This was not what it was at all – it was a whole different language! I now have a much better understanding of what’s going on with the patient. It also helps when the team are discussing things with me. It makes it much easier to empathise because I understand more of what they’re talking about, and I see this as a significant part of my role – to be there and be able to support my colleagues.”
Learning with support
Balancing an apprenticeship alongside a busy NHS role required commitment, organisation and support from both her manager and Damar.
Julie shared that the combination of committing time to her off-the-job training and having an encouraging line manager made a huge difference: “My manager was completely on board with it. You do have to be disciplined and protect your time and having that support really helps.”
She also found the online coaching sessions and group workshops far more engaging than she expected: “The group sessions were amazing. They made learning fun with quizzes and games, but you always came away with something useful. I initially had some concerns about being fully online, but it was a fantastic experience and actually quite seamless.”
Her relationship with her coach Sarah also gave her the confidence to push herself further: “She was always there believing in me and trying to get me to believe in myself. It was great to build that relationship and I could see other coaches and apprentices building similar rapport, which is amazing considering you don’t actually meet in person! My Mediterm coach was also very positive, and it was lovely to have the support from both parties. I’ve never felt alone at any point in the process; there’s always been someone I could reach out to.”
Advice for others
Looking back, Julie says completing the apprenticeship has strengthened both her confidence and her career prospects, proving that learning doesn’t stop once you’ve built experience.
Her advice for anyone considering an apprenticeship is simple: “The more you put into it, the more you get out of it. The wealth of information I’ve gained has been phenomenal.”
For Julie, the apprenticeship wasn’t about starting a new career; it was about recognising years of experience, gaining new skills and giving herself even more opportunities for the future.