We are working with a number of Deaneries, Health Trusts, Strategic Health Authorities to support a variety of people within the NHS with their career and personal development:

• Doctors
• Nurses
• Management
• Administration teams
• Medical Educationalists

Our support has enabled individuals and teams in professions at all levels throughout the NHS to effectively manage the many changes and challenges they currently face within the health service.

Our approach, which is matrix accredited, is an example of a best practice model that equips doctors, nurses and other NHS employees with essential career management, personal development and team skills in a practical and innovative way. This 'ready-to-use', proven process has helped medical professionals and non-clinical staff to take a proactive approach to their careers, work projects and work/life issues, by developing a work-life blend that is right for them.

Our clients include:

• East Midlands Healthcare Workforce Deanery
• North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust
• South West Peninsula Institute
• North Western Deanery
• Liverpool PCT
• Blackpool Victoria Hospital
• St. Catherine's Hospice, Preston
• Cheshire & Merseyside Strategic Health Authority
• Southampton University NHS Trust
• West Midlands NHS SHA
• NHS Academy (NN)

Programmes to date have included generic career management training for Doctors (at all levels), Deanery staff and multidisciplinary teams; specific interview & selection skills training for consultants and registrars to use with doctors attending interviews under the new MMC system; team development, communication and project planning skills for NHS teams along with train the trainer programmes to licence learning reps to deliver Windmills exercises.

Support has involved a combination of training design & delivery of programmes (which vary in length from ½ day sessions to 3 full days, delivered over a period of months), access to experienced facilitators to design programmes to meet specific objectives, internet based activities and a range of innovative Windmills career management training tools, books and resources.

Training can be delivered by Windmills as bespoke programmes or, alternatively, through a Partnership Licence where in-house professionals can be equipped to deliver training and support for their staff internally. This cost-effective option allows licensees to become an independent and sustainable part of the thriving and dynamic Windmills Community.

• time to reflect to think about how they would really like their career to progress
• the opportunity to develop a clear vision for moving forward
• techniques to ensure individuals manage change positively
• encourages individuals to be proactive and take responsibility for their careers
• provides participants with a proven, clearly structured framework for taking control of their future
• assists individuals to make vital decisions earlier in their careers
• explores innovative ways to achieve a successful work-life blend
• licence agreements equip Health organisations with the internal capacity to deliver Windmills programmes that complement existing provision and enhance sustainability

Our programmes and resources can help doctors at every stage of their career; whether still at medical school, GPs or consultants. It has been of particularly useful on Foundation Programmes when incorporated into F1 and F2 training. More specifically it helps doctors to make informed career decisions – all the more relevant as recent MMC changes necessitate doctors making choices at an earlier stage.

We work closely with Associate Deans, Medical Careers Advisors and Foundation Programme Directors to ensure that our programmes complement and enhance existing training plans within Deaneries and comply with PMETB guidelines.

Click to view video Deaneries

Hear what three Deaneries have to say about using Windmills with doctors to support career management provision.

If you would like to hear the interviews in full, please click on the links below.

'An excellent opportunity for reflection and looking to the future – helped to identify what is really important to me'

'I now feel happier in my career aspirations – more confident that my chosen speciality is right for me as it suits my personality'.

'Informative – provides doctors with useful tools to develop your own personal career development. A creative way to discover your inner interests and absolutes'

'The session exceeded my expectations. Got me thinking. Gave me new skills.'

'The session has woken me up from my laziness!'

'Yes - at last a workable structure that we can use and adapt to start to provide careers advice to our trainees'

'This is an excellent exercise for any doctor, any professional; any person'

'This was an interesting and thought provoking session – made me more positive about my job. Some answers surprised me. This could be delivered at intervals for F1 and F2 and throughout doctor's careers'.

'Very beneficial 9 out of 10. An opportunity to objectively review ones own career- found a new way of appraising myself. Inspirational and deliverable'.

"Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) has brought about an unprecedented change to the structure of medical training. One of the fundamental pillars to MMC being successful is the integration of a more robust and visible career management approach, which along with other educational infrastructures contributes to supporting doctors to make more well informed career decisions.

The Windmills approach has enabled East Midlands Healthcare Workforce Deanery to offer an inspiring step in this development area, which has already received excellent feedback from foundation doctors and educators supporting them in their career development. We see Windmills as a model of best practice; offering a flexible, sustainable and cost-effective approach that we can continue to adapt, tailor and integrate in the region.

We trust our comments will inform others about Windmills and provide a chance to stimulate increased debate on potential future collaboration of this exciting development in medical training."

David Sowden Postgraduate Dean Director
Charlene Binding Career Management Advisor
East Midlands Healthcare Workforce Deanery

"Career Management in medicine is starting from a low baseline. Doctors are expected to deliver career advice to their trainees when few of them have received more than well intentioned opinions on career guidance themselves. The challenges facing medical career management are huge but the only way to go is up.

The Windmills package offers a useful way to raise the profile of careers management and address some of the career issues relevant to medicine at the moment. Its basic structure is simple but this simplicity is deceptive. The materials available in the package are creative and engaging and can be used to address issues from personal attributes to applying for a job. They promote career reflection and are useful for all levels of multidisciplinary educational and clinical teams.

The package is ready made, tried and tested. We have used it to encourage medical educators to reflect on their own careers, a revelation to those who have not done this before. At the same time, they understand better how to facilitate their trainees to do the same. Modelling career management is more effective than telling already busy doctors to do even more. We have found the Windmills package a valuable tool and would recommend it as part of a Deanery careers strategy."

Maire Shelly Associate Postgraduate Dean
Jacky Hayden Postgraduate Dean

Windmills has addressed the MMC's recommendation that 'a more proactive approach to career management is needed and should be positioned as part of medical training so doctors have the opportunity to acquire the skills they need to manage their careers'.

	Helen Crombie is the Head of Governance and Quality at North Cheshire Hospitals. She went through a Windmills Programme, which focused on workforce development, together with 2 members of her team.
video links Windows (2.5 Mb, wmv) Mac (4.4b Mb, mov) Read text-only version of Helen video	"The programme has made a real difference about how my team works. Its made us more effective, and improved our aspirations."

Support for Staff working within hospitals has been crucial in order to help medical and administrative staff to maintain motivation and momentum when faced with many challenges over the last few years.

Windmills has been used successfully with NHS Teams to help people explore work/life issues and also to strengthen teams

• Thanks for the past 2 days. I found it really useful and very rewarding – I didn't think I would being honest. But, I found it a positive experience and got an awful lot out of it. Makes me feel more inspired to take the team forward
• I realise that I am fortunate to be in a job that has 90% of the qualities I love and value.
• It's given me a renewed enthusiasm to take my life and career by the horns, a good kick up the bum.
• Windmills makes you take a long hard look at yourself and what you have achieved and what you can achieve
• I will approach people in a more positive manner now with an understanding that they may have a different perspective to me.
• Learned new skills and new understanding of people's characteristics and how to get the best out of them.
• I found it very useful. It was time out of the workplace to actually look at me, something I don't do very often.
• I found the session very useful, not only for me, but as a team. I feel bridges have been built and barriers broken down.

Our programmes, resources and licences have received excellent feedback from a variety of organisations & employees across the health sector: From those who have completed an extensive programme, to those who have attended taster sessions at events throughout the UK.

Our support enables participants to look at the whole of their lives and take responsibility for their career and personal development whilst getting a sensible work/life balance.

If you would like to find out more about Windmills, contact us.