Interview with a partner trainer

We work with a number of partners to deliver our training courses. One of our partners,Yvonne at Astara Consulting, talked to us about her experience:

1. What attracted you to the role of a trainer?

I became a trainer in 2013 after leaving my job in a PCT heading up the GP Contracts team. In my previous job I had a lot of contact with practices and so developed a good understanding of the issues they faced, including that Practice Managers, in particular were thrown into the role with little support. I had always enjoyed the management aspects of my job, especially coaching and training my team and helping them become the best version of themselves so when I had the opportunity to become and Coach and Trainer full time, it felt like a logical step to combine my skills and become a Coach and Trainer, specialising in primary care.

2. Why would you recommend someone attending one of your courses? What are the benefits?

Since a lot of my work is with GP practices, I have a really good understanding of how practices work and what’s current in terms of issues and challenges. I always try and embed these issues and challenges into the training so delegates go away with not just the knowledge but practical tips on how to make positive changes in their work environment. This has certainly given me lots of credibility with the people I train, and I find that once someone has been on one course with me, they attend many of the others I offer.

3. What do you enjoy about teaching/training people?

There’s nothing more powerful than seeing the shift in my trainees, when I explain something and suddenly it’s like all the pieces of the jigsaw coming together. I also love receiving feedback after the training when someone has implementing something they have learned and it’s either helped them, or resulted in them increasing the practice income or profit. These aspects of my job are so rewarding and make my hours of studying the GP contract worthwhile!

4. What are  your thoughts on the training programme we offer at Avon LMC?

It’s been fantastic working with Avon LMC on their training programmes and it’s great to see such a wide range of programmes on offer, which are absolutely relevant to the strategic context. I hope to work with the LMC more over the next few years, and adapt the training programmes to meet the new needs of practices and their teams as they form Primary Care Networks.

For more details on the courses we offer at Avon LMC take a look at our training calendar here.