Patient Care Coordinator, Rush Hill and Weston Surgery

My name is Tasha and I am a patient care coordinator for Rush Hill and Weston Surgery. I was previously a medical receptionist at another GP surgery and saw the role of care coordinator advertised, so read a bit more about it. Upon reading the job description, I found out that it was a new job role being introduced to the practice and thought I would apply, as it sounded like a very interesting and rewarding job. I have had to coordinate my own health care and I know how stressful this can be for patients especially if you have an ongoing health condition. This made me realise how beneficial the job role could be and felt I could make a difference to those patients in need of this help.

I came into the job without having any care coordinator training, but since joining the practice I have done a lot of training to gain the skills and knowledge that I need. The three main courses I did within my induction with the practice were, care coordinator core skills, personalised care and support planning and shared decision making training. Since doing these and as my role has grown and developed, I have also done a lot of courses on cancer care and patients with learning disabilities, as these are two of the cohorts I care and coordinate for.

I really enjoy my job but you will always get those challenging times. I think the most challenging thing about being a care coordinator is workload and deciding which patients and jobs need to be prioritised first. Even though this is a challenge, I think if you are an organised person and can use your own initiative, these challenges can be overcome. Another thing that can be challenging about the job is sometimes having to have conversations with patients that are of a sensitive subject. This can be hard and challenging for anyone but if you have a good team around you, that you can talk to, this definitely helps.

One of the things I like about my job is how rewarding it can be. To have a patient thank you and tell you how much you have helped them is the loveliest feeling, knowing how much they appreciate all the work you have done for them. I also like how you get to work with and give ongoing help to certain patients and certain cohorts of patients, I feel this really builds up a good relationship between you, the patient, and the practice. I feel very lucky to be in such an amazing job role.