Graduate Case Studies - Roshan Patel - Financial Management Trainee - The NHS
THE NHS
"I think some people perceive finance managers in the public sector as sitting in a box room, telling the people that work in the organisation not to spend any more money. But that couldn't be further from the truth," says Roshan Patel, 27, financial management trainee at the NHS.
"I get to advise managers in the trust about how to develop and streamline the service, with the knowledge that ultimately I'll be helping to make hospitals run more smoothly. That is very rewarding," he says. Having gained a 2:1 in Chemical Engineering from the University of Bath in 2001, Roshan decided he wanted to go on a fast-track graduate scheme that would expose him to management and finance, as well as gain a professional qualification. The recruitment process is renowned for being so tough that even to get through to the interview stage is an achievement.
"Recently, I was involved in the assessment of new graduates and, given the number of applications we got, I realised what a feat it is to get past the first stage," he says. Roshan was shocked when he was accepted. "I felt I'd done well on some assessments and not so well on others," he admits. Having joined the scheme in 2002 after travelling for a few months he gained experience in different roles and departments such as financial management accounting, internal audit and capital accounting.
Now in his penultimate month of the scheme, he works at Hillingdon Hospital Trust, where he is divisional accountant for ambulatory care, diagnostics and therapy. "I am responsible for providing finance management to all the managers in the division, and I have line management responsibility for a management accountant who works for me. With a budget of just under £25m, which is almost one-fifth of the trust's entire expenditure, it is a considerable amount of responsibility."
What he most enjoys is communicating with these individuals to develop proposals for the future of the trust, as well as talking to frontline staff so he can relate their work back to his. "One of the main reasons I chose the NHS is because it's not about making profit but improving people's lives," he says.
Add to
Send to a friend
Post a comment
Comments
No comments....
Graduate Employers
| nucleargraduates | The UK’s nuclear industry is facing its biggest challenge in... | more |
| Cambridge City Council | Cambridge is a vibrant city and is a great place to live, work and... | more |
| NHS | Employing 1.3 million people and responsible for an annual budget ... | more |
| RAF | You’re in your final year at university. So what do you want... | more |
| Army | 85% of officer cadets at Sandhurst have graduated from university.... | more |
| DSTL | Graduate opportunities with profiles can be found at Graduate Vaca... | more |
| Cipfa | CIPFA is one of the leading professional accountancy bodies in the... | more |
| MI5 | We are responsible for protecting the country against covertly org... | more |
| Essex County Council | Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock Local Authorities working toge... | more |
| Rochdale County Council | As the largest employer in the Borough, we have hundreds of vacanc... | more |
Latest Graduate Jobs
| Title | Organisation | Apply by |
|---|---|---|
| Just graduated? Looking for the best way into banking and fi... | Quartic Training | 31 Jan 2010 |
Graduate Case Studies
|
Rebecca Major - Senior BarristerI defend the Home Office when people bring legal challenges against immigration decisions. My work consists mostly of defending applications for judicial review in the High Court ... more |
|
Helen Lesowiec - management trainee - local governmentI am based at Reading Borough Council and am currently on my fourth placement - I have previously worked in Business Transformation, Environmental Health and Culture, and I am now working in the School Improvement Team, looking at ways of raising attainment at Key Stage 2. ... more |
|
Frieza Mahmood - HR Manager, Walsall Hospitals NHS TrustThe NHS takes a broad view of diversity and is working in partnership with Rare and EmployAbility, aiming to increase the diversity of its graduate programme intake.. The Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) recognise this, awarding the NHS the ‘Best Of The Best’ and the ‘Graduate Selection and Assessment’ awards in 2007, competing against the 700-strong membership of graduate recruiters and employers from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. ... more |
|
Sachin Shah - Civil Service Fast Stream ProgrammeI am based in the Home Office. As part of the programme I undertake a series of posts of around a year in length each. I am currently on my second post, which is as Team Leader and Workflow Manager for a team working on clearing the backlog of asylum cases. I line manage 11 caseworkers and plan their work so that they can meet some very challenging team performance targets. ... more |
Graduate Advice
|
Your guide to who has jobs, who wants interns and who needs trainees.... more |
|
Think Before You Click - The Negative Side of Facebook The next time you’re about to upload pictures of your birthday party/night... more |
|
Nailing That Position- Top Tips for Getting Picked For Graduate Training Schemes If you’re currently stressing over applying for and going for interview... more |
|
... more |
Comments