Example Operating Practitioner Personal Statement
After close to fifteen years of professional life, I have learnt that I work to the best of my abilities when I am part of a team. I find that I derive a much greater feeling of accomplishment when I am working with others towards a common goal, in which all my efforts are dedicated to the wider work of the team. I have never been particularly attracted to the idea of seeking personal plaudits for my efforts, and instead have valued much more highly the fact that colleagues have come to regard me as a dependable team member whom they can trust fully. At the same time, I like my work to carry meaning and a wider significance. In the past I have worked in jobs which, whilst challenging, did not provide me with a true sense of having accomplished something that has helped people.
I have always been interested in working in healthcare, but for many years was unable to identify an exact role within the health profession that would suit my outlook and working style. However, I have come to realise that a career as an operating department practitioner perfectly synthesizes my wish to help people with my love of working as part of a team. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the work of operating departments inspires me. Often working under intense pressure in situations in which lives can be at stake, they are an essential component of the healthcare system. I would be honoured to be part of such a team.
Having obtained various post-secondary professional qualifications since leaving school, such as the Association of Accounting Technicians’ Accounting Qualification, I am comfortable with the demands of classroom-based and home study. Reading about the work of operating department practitioners in preparation for my application has served to strengthen my eagerness for the study element of the diploma. However, I am every bit as motivated for the clinical practice element of the course. Acquiring experience in clinical practice is a very important pre-requisite for all front-line healthcare work, but it strikes me that for operating department practitioners, who must be able to perform their functions flawlessly one hundred per cent of the time whilst working in extremely pressured circumstances, it is absolutely essential. I anticipate that the clinical practice element of the course will be highly challenging, but I am eager to put all of my efforts into rising to these challenges.
Over the last year I have been working in the sectors of social housing and care work.The daily challenges of this area have served, I feel, as useful preparation for the demands of working in an operations department. I work on a regular basis with people who are suffering variously from mental health problems and substance addictions. The work requires patience, compassion, determination and, above all, a resolution never to take short cuts to avoid the challenges of the work.During the course of my working day I help individuals with matters such as housing benefits, job-seekers allowance and gaining access to the mental and physical health services they need to improve their lives, and as a result the job gives me a sense that I am making a positive difference to the lives of the individuals with whom I work.
Before working in this sector I held a range of office-based posts within government agencies. Although these positions did not provide me with the opportunity to work with individuals in need, they did nevertheless help me to develop a range of key professional skills. For instance, my role as Finance Officer at the Food Standards Agency required me to work closely with other team members, and also required very high levels of attention to detail to ensure that no financial mistakes were made. I have enjoyed being able to make use of my financial background to help the community, in the form of preparing the Gift Aid returns of my local Methodist church.
We hope this example Operating Practitioner personal statement will be useful to you in the writing of your own personal statement.