Hi from a very tired PM Polly! Sorry it’s been a long time since I put pen to paper – or should that be fingers to keyboard?

I felt compelled to do so when I read something that made me laugh out loud yesterday; I just had to share it with you! One of the forums I read regularly had a post on it that said something along the lines of: ‘I’m thinking of a change of career. There’s an advertisement near where I live for a practice manager. I’m thinking of trying for it; I think it could be fun.’

Fun?!

Now before you start commenting, we all know there are some aspects of practice management that can be fun, but many of them escape me at this precise moment as I’ve spent most of Sunday trying to catch up on 349 emails and 122 outstanding Outlook tasks! But, yes, fun… There are definitely some fun elements of the job – for example, being part of an effective team, enjoying the company of my colleagues, helping our many lovely patients – but, overall, FUN is not the word I’d use to describe the day-to-day responsibility of practice management.

Let me explain further. Last Thursday, a patient was punched outside the surgery by his estranged wife and I had to deal with the police even though it was 8.00pm. Then I had to discuss the complexities of data protection with the rookie police officer. I re-read our Access to Records Policy, to be on the safe side, trying to work out what I should or shouldn’t do; should third-party data be provided in this situation? Anyway, it wasn’t a ‘fun’ experience.

Last week, a male nurse stood up and raised his voice at me over the desk and waved his notebook in my face, telling me he would sue me because I’d dared to speak to him about the seven instances of absence he’s had in the last ten months. That wasn’t ‘fun’ either.

The week before, an elderly patient sadly suffered a heart attack in the waiting room and I had to put into place our Emergency Incident Policy, ringing their family and calming down the tears of the distressed staff before writing up a significant event. That was far from ‘fun’.

And, of course, there are the long hours I work every day, dealing with complaints, significant events, health and safety, governance, safeguarding, HR accountability, financial oversight, being a counsellor to everyone on the team, and being responsible for staff wellbeing while usually forgetting all about my own.

One of the least ‘fun’ elements of the PM role is waiting to receive that CQC phone call, warning us of an imminent inspection. Strangely, I don’t enjoy spending two weeks eating only sausage rolls, drinking bad take-out Americanos and getting home at 2.00am because I’m making sure everything from the visitor book to the COSSH sheet for the fairy liquid is in place.

Please, job seeker, if you do go for the role, can I give you one piece of advice? Make sure you’re sitting down when they tell you what you’re going to get paid for all that ‘fun’!

Good luck,

Polly X