My Career: It's such rewarding work

Name: Fern Higgins Atkinson

Age: 48

Lives: Rosscarbery

Job title: Programme Manager, Relationships in Practice

Salary bracket: My salary is in line with the current rate for similar roles in the not-for-profit sector.

Education background: I am a great believer in life-long learning, so I’m currently undertaking doctoral research into youth mental health policy at UCC for my PhD. This follows on from a Master’s degree in public health and, before that, a BSocSc Youth and Community Work.

Hobbies: Mountain biking (beginner!), puzzles, reading, making costumes and accessories, street theatre, crocheting, dancing, gym.

Describe your job in five words: Busy, challenging, stimulating, rewarding, and enjoyable.

Describe yourself in five words: Open, positive, supportive, interested and empathetic.

Personality needed for this kind of work? Our work is all about supporting frontline practitioners to take a relationship- and person-centred approach in their work so it’s important to have the skills to be able to relate and engage with people.

This really goes far beyond communications skills to treating people with dignity and respect, listening actively and reflectively, and giving people time, attention and respect.

Having empathy and understanding are important personality traits for this job because, at the end of the day, we are supporting professionals who are in turn supporting clients/patients/service users – often in complex and challenging circumstances and systems.

How long are you doing this job? I joined the Relationships in Practice programme under SHEP (Social and Health Education Project) in May 2022.

Moving into this role has been very exciting for me. Relationships have always been at the heart of my work; they are fundamental to who we are as human beings. But to see this being recognised and nurtured in such a way by Relationships in Practice is ground-breaking and I feel privileged to continue the tremendous work that Dr Maeve Hurley and her team have committed to over the last two decades.

How did you get this job? When I saw this job advertised, I was struck by how it brought together all of my experience and elements of my career to date. I am an experienced trainer/facilitator, a registered health promotion practitioner and a Youth Mental Health First Aid associate instructor. I am also a part-time lecturer at UCC in BSocSc Youth & Community Work.

Having started my early studies with a City & Guilds in early childcare and a FETAC in youthwork, social studies and disabilities before going to UCC to study Social Sciences, I haven’t really deviated from my career path, and it is affirming to know that I am still passionate and interested.

Before joining Relationships in Practice, I worked with the West Cork Development Partnership and was initially youth health promotion and development officer before moving to coordinator with Ability West Cork.

I also hold several voluntary positions including chairperson of Clonakilty Brass Band and previous chair of Bród, a charity supporting and promoting LGBTQI+ people and issues in West Cork. I have also recently joined the Heart of Frontline Practice alliance, an initiative offering supportive, reflective spaces to frontline practitioners. I also sit on the steering groups of both PSYCHED and Cork Child Friendly Cities.

What is lovely is there is such a cross-over between my current job, previous work and my voluntary roles. 

This really helps with networking and collaborative initiatives as I encounter so many familiar names and faces, people with a shared ethos and interest in improving health and wellbeing outcomes and making a difference in people’s lives.

Do you need particular qualifications or experience? Being a practitioner myself is important as I know the challenges faced by healthcare and social care professionals, school staff and other frontline practitioners in the justice, community, voluntary and allied healthcare sectors. Understanding the science behind our evidence-based programmes helps in this role and having the training/teaching experience is vital also.

Describe a day at work: As programme manager of Relationships in Practice, I am responsible for the management and development of the programme which supports quality relationships in frontline practice through the four strands of our work: training, advocacy, collaboration and evaluation.

In a typical day, I might be reaching out to organisations or contacts to tell them about our heavily subsidised ABLE brief intervention training programmes or responding to requests for commissioned courses. I work closely with my colleague, Robyn Pinkham, our training & development coordinator, on this.

Then I might have a meeting with our trainers regarding course development or liaise with members of the Heart of Practice alliance about our upcoming annual conference for frontline practitioners on May 30 in Nano Nagle Place as we are providing administrative and marketing support for this on a voluntary basis.

Our advocacy work is also ongoing, so I work closely with Norma Roche, our advocacy & training manager, who manages our free and facilitated screenings of the award-winning documentary, Resilience: The Biology of Stress & the Science of Hope to raise practitioners’ awareness of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and the buffering impact that quality relationships have. We were awarded the overall ‘Grand Prix’ award and Gold in the ‘Best Community Health Initiative’ at the All-Ireland Community and Council Awards last year for this work.

A typical day will include meetings with the Social and Health Education Project (SHEP) team or with practitioner organisations regarding a collaborative initiative, or I might be working on an abstract for a conference or a journal to support our mission and vision.

How many hours do you work a week? I average about 45 hours a week. A typical day starts at 7am. I work from home in Rosscarbery 2-3 days a week and come into the SHEP offices in Ballintemple at least twice a week, but often more often if there is a meeting. If I am in the car, I make good use of that time to make phone calls or voice notes.

As mother to six young adults, I do my best to maintain a good work/life balance. There are often not enough hours in the working day, but having said that, it is great to have flexible hours, a caring and understanding boss, and supportive colleagues.

What do you wear to work? I’m happy to report that I don’t have to dress up for work. Whether it’s jeans, a dress or a skirt, as long as I am presentable, professional looking and above all, comfortable, that’s all that matters.

Is your industry male or female dominated? The caring professions like social care, nursing, teaching, etc, tend to be female-dominated and we are an all-female team to date at Relationships in Practice. This is certainly not intentional, but I think the nature of the work, particularly in the not-for-profit sector, tends to attract more females than males.

Does this affect you in any particular way? Not at all. Time, attention and respect stand at the heart of our work, regardless of gender, creed, race or sexual orientation.

Is your job stressful? How? Rate it on a scale of 1-10: There are times when it can be stressful so I will rate it at 5, but I think it is a good stress. The knowledge that the work is making a difference to people’s lives in terms of improved health and wellbeing outcomes is a powerful incentive to push through challenges. I tend to have a positive outlook anyway and always believe things happen for a reason.

Do you work with others or on your own? I am part of a very supportive, caring and creative team who truly believe in the Relationships in Practice programme. It’s a warm and welcoming working environment under the same roof as SHEP so we are fortunate to count the SHEP team as colleagues too.

When do you plan to retire or give up working? I’m not sure I ever will as there is always good work to be supported and championed.

Best bits: The feedback we receive from participants on our training programmes or Resilience screenings attendees, telling us how the experience has impacted positively on their work and the difference this has made to their clients, service users or patients.

Worst bits: At times, it has been a struggle to fill our training courses due to the work pressures practitioners face. We now offer a mix of online and in-person training to facilitate practitioners to take time out of their routine daily practice to understand more about how the relationships they make have positive impact on health and wellbeing outcomes.

Advice to those who want your job? I would say to take every opportunity to upskill and take on voluntary roles, if possible, as this experience can be rewarding and useful ahead. We learn so much from others and it is in these roles where we can develop and clarify what path is for us. I would also advise people to take notice of the process; there will always be an outcome, but the process is where the valuable work lies.

For more see https://relationshipsinpractice.ie/