Andrew Bussey's experience
Head of Nuclear Medicine, South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
EGA Senior Leader Apprenticeship
The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (EGA) Programme is an award-winning leadership development programme. It is designed for senior leaders and managers who are working in health and social care.
Since 2013, over 2,509 leaders have participated in the EGA standard pathway.
The newly developed Senior Leader Apprenticeship Elizabeth Garrett Anderson provides an alternative pathway - building on the success of the existing programme and incorporating the knowledge, skills and behaviours required for a senior leader apprenticeship award.
The two-year part-time Level 7 Apprenticeship is funded by the Apprenticeship Levy. The programme leads to a Masters (MSc) in Healthcare Leadership from The University of Manchester and NHS Leadership Academy Award in Senior Healthcare Leadership.
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I was promoted to the head of my relevant service and feedback in that process was that the programme and the learning on it played a significant part in me meeting that standard.
Andrew's experience on the programme
A member of the Trust Apprenticeship Team suggested the programme to me. I was looking for some leadership development training and there were a couple of options open to me, but a couple of things stood out to me about the EGA Senior Leader Apprenticeship.
I was interested in the programme being across all disciplines of healthcare, so people on the programme were not just from my specialist area. The apprenticeship element of the programme was interesting to me as well - that I would be able to pursue it as part of my work, but also as part of an academic qualification.
The extent to which the programme has enhanced my career and working practice is significant.
I changed roles while I was on the programme and was promoted to head of my relevant service. Feedback was that the programme and learning significantly helped me meet the standard to be able to do the role.
In my day-to-day work, I take the lessons the programme taught quite a lot, particularly when I think about teamwork and team development. There have been some things the programme has taught and afforded me that have really helped me to develop my practice in that area.
The EGA Senior Leader Apprenticeship has afforded me a lot of opportunities to look at areas that I wouldn’t normally, particularly corporate governance.
The programme has given me an excuse (for want of a better word) to get involved in different areas and see how they work, and lets our service engage better across the system. The programme has also equipped me with some great skills for team development, and helped me to embed some of my learning into the team, enabling us to perform better.
If you are thinking about it, the first piece of advice I would give is, just do it. It's been a challenge, and I think anyone thinking about joining the programme should be ready for this, but it delivers some real positive outcomes. I would recommend it to anyone.