New NHS admin job!

[HCM2021]

Hello,

Started a new admin role in the NHS this week, I’ve worked in a different part of the NHS but this is completely different. I have a few weeks training, I don’t have any logins or anything, I am winging it! Some staff are helpful but feel completely overwhelmed. It’s only a short, fixed term contract. Should I still it out and then have a look for some other jobs?! Help! (I’ve cried every evening this week and feel really low 😞)

What is your manager doing about your log-ins?

My DH felt the same in his new role. A month or so in and he is loving it.

Give yourself some time x

Congratulations on the new role. Was it one you were looking forward to? Do you come from an admin background? Was it something that was more of a side step for you?

I started in a new admin role last year and for the first 3 months really hated it. I had moved away from education for my mental health and while I was delighted to escape the classroom I feared I had made a massive mistake. I’ve settled now, work with some really great people and am just really proactive for asking for help when I need it. Spent the first 6 weeks sat like an absolute lemon and feeling so stupid for not knowing anything. Actually still feel on many days that I’m getting nowhere with anything but looking back I’m a lot further forward than I was.

Stick it out, it really took me longer than I thought to settle in and feel like I wasn’t a fraud in my now job. And I still have days when I feel like I am but they don’t last long. And I know I made the right move for me.

It's early days so don't worry. Where is your manager? You should have an induction, training, givens passes, logins etc.

Definitely not worth crying over, this is all down to your line manager

Thank you. They just said to ring IT, don’t feel like I’m going to get much more unfortunately. Manager isn’t always on site so makes it harder.
I did come from admin ! I’m dipping my toe in to see which area suits in, I know I wanted to work in the NHS but not sure where yet so thought short, fixed term would be good to get some more contemporary experience.
Not been given logins for programmes, being working with another colleague who has been amazing but just feel so unsettled.

I work for the nhs. We are not able to get logs on to the systems until we complete online training. We then have to log a call with IT, who then request authorisation from an authorised manager to release your log on. We do the training online via a training portal so IT can see we have completed it. Your line manager will need to request your computer log on and email address.

You can ring IT but they will need the authorisation of your line manager to proceed. What a horrible thing to do to a new employee.

Not all NHS admin jobs are like this. We look after staff. And as a PP said, many of the systems you won't get a login until training is completed.

Hope things improve

NHS admin here. It can sometimes take a while to get up and running on all the different NHS systems when you first start. My line manager is very proactive but a new employee took a couple of weeks before all the technical difficulties were sorted out.

I hated my admin job in the NHS at first, cried a lot, thought I was useless even though I had 25 years strong admin and secretarial background. It's hideous when you first start. I found after three months I started to feel like I was getting somewhere and after six months I started to enjoy it a little bit 😂.

I wouldn't for this reason go for a short term contract in the NHS though as I'd feel like I was just getting into it before I had to start looking round again. Too stressful.

Turns out they have put in the wrong email and my email was a duplicate so im back to the start with no email at all! 😞 IT might be able to sort it out by next week they said

Hello there,
Another NHS admin sec here. I would say give it time but also you will know when enough is enough.Sometimes when working in the nhs we find the culture of a team or department is not aligned with our values or work ethics. That said 'admin' in the nhs can encompass a variety of roles from PA, secretary, booking clerk, receptionist, team administrative assistant etc. and each one will require different approaches and skills. If one nhs admin job doesn't suit it doesn't mean to say the next nhs admin job won't.Please PM if you are struggling.

Hello, I started an nhs admin job in January. Brand new to the NHS.
i found it all a pain in the first couple of weeks - I wasn’t allowed log ins until I done training and officially started, I did do some online training and inductions but I was limited initially. Took about a week for one of my also newbie colleagues to get a login, they were a little quicker for mine. All requests needed to be approved and/or requested by my manager so they were unable to do anything about me ringing when I tried to chase things up.