In my previous position as quality manager at Medreich, I regularly interacted with QPs so had first-hand experience of what the role entailed. It made me want to take on the additional responsibilities so that I could have more of a direct impact on safeguarding safety and quality standards for patients.
I’ve found I’m less busy with all the day-to-day activities and able to dedicate much more of my time to higher level, quality issues, such as dealing with critical quality failure in different activities, rather than focusing on routine maintenance of systems. And it also gives me more time to work on continuous improvements.
Working with RSSL to prepare for my VIVA examination was particularly useful. My trainer tailored the content for me and made it an extremely time-efficient process; we focused closely on what I needed to do to meet the expectations of the assessment board on the day.
Having said that, the small group sizes meant that it was very easy to ask questions during the module sessions, which helped build a strong understanding and made revision much easier.
Juggling work life, training demands and “having a life” - because at some points, one of those things had to give so that I could fully focus my energies on passing the QP qualification. I was lucky enough to have the support of my family and colleagues, which made all the difference.
It’s important to have the right motivation because going through the qualification process and juggling your other responsibilities is a challenge. So make sure you have a strong support network around you and strong time management skills.
Absolutely! I love the interaction with other departments within our organisation, as well as building good relationships with wider stakeholders, such as inspectors and the DMRC. I think the fact that I have stayed in a familiar environment at Medreich, who partly sponsored me through the process, has helped make it a particularly smooth transition.
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