How I became a PSS Assessor. This came up over on Instagram and it felt worthy of further discussion and the restart of the blog. The RCVS Practice standards scheme (PSS) assessment for me was a really enjoyable experience. I loved the structure and the clear goals to work towards. It’s always hard to work towards an undefined end point with nothing to measure yourself against so the standards made it actually fairly easy for us.
Emma our PSS assessor was so helpful, and I spent a lot of time with her on the day. Her parting words to me was I should write a book- well that’s still on hold at the moment but her words really stuck with me. The practice I was in gave me the time to fully commit to PSS and so I truly believe I got loads out of it.
It set me on my quality improvement path and inspired me to carry out QI projects within the hospital. Instagram started to go wild for the vet med community, and I felt confident enough to enter the RCVS Knowledge awards. I mention this because I whole heartedly believe that all these ‘little’ projects paved the way for me getting not only the PSS position but also my role within Linnaeus. So, if you are doing any of these tasks and are feeling unseen or don’t see the point of them keep in mind the long game. The bigger picture, sometimes it isn’t always clear what the plan is.
Walking the QI Road
Anyways I carried on for 4 years post our PSS assessment carving myself the role of clinical services manager. I think this may be one of my favourite roles to date. So much QI, people management, development of protocols and introducing training programmes. Just before COVID hit I took the position of PRP Manager. Fast forward 2 years, post pandemic and a baby with a sleep disorder I then had a little crisis which left me barely functioning let alone working.
Months passed and things started coming right. I then one day scrolling on Linked-In I saw the role of a PSS assessor advertised. The job description spoke to my heart, and I hastily applied. This was something that I appealed to every aspect of my personality and skill set. When I found out I got an interview I was so excited and nervous. I have never prepped so hard for any role, ever. Even the language used on the website was something I immersed myself into. Just to get me in the right frame of mind I listened to the most epic podcast featuring Chris Voss . Look him up, he’s a genius!
I made notes, checked the person specification, and desired skills. Notes surrounded me, full of buzz words. I even placed my RCVS Knowledge Award Certificate just behind me so it could be seen on the call, still not sure if they even saw it.
I told you I went all in, and it paid off. A job offer came and I was thrilled to accept.
Just keep going
Now the training is complete, and Thursday sees me heading to do my first solo visit. I cannot wait to get that under my belt. For anyone else plugging away feeling unseen, wondering what the point is and feeling unsure of the plan hang on in there.