PMA Excellence in Primary Care HR Certificate

Module 1 – Welcome to Human Resources

This module introduces the professional specialism of Human Resource Management and how it has evolved from a largely administrative function to a strategic role. The way HRM can contribute to the business goals and success of an organisation is explored as is the role of HRM in developing and supporting the organisation’s vision and values.

This module consists of 3 units

Unit 1: What is Human Resource Management (HRM)?

Explains how this business specialism had evolved over the years into a strategic function and discusses some of the key tasks and competencies of this role.

Unit 2: Human Resource Vision and Values

Explores the role HR plays in developing, encouraging and upholding an organisation’s values and ensuring the vision statement reflects them.

Unit 3: Human Resource and Business Performance

Provides a brief introduction to the much broader topic of how HRM can make a visible and measurable contribution to the wider business goals and success of the organisation.

Module 2 – Employee protection

The 6 units of this large module begin to discuss in detail the key areas of the transactional side of HR – the policies, legal obligations and wider responsibilities of any manager accountable for a workforce. Core topics such as Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI); Information Governance and Bullying are explored from the HR perspective. So too are the fundamentals of managing processes such as Payroll, Pensions and issuing Contracts, handbooks and policies. In line with the recent digital development in healthcare, there is also a unit describing some of the key aspects of the digital transformation of service delivery in primary care and its impact on the workforce.

Module 3 – Employee behaviour

Continuing with the transactional responsibilities of HR – this module considers the key areas which have a direct influence on the behaviour and experiences of the workforce. How the HR function manages such issues as attendance, discipline, performance redundancy, TUPE and parental rights is crucial. This module includes a range of resources, templates and scenarios in addition to detailed explanations of best practices.

Module 4 – Tools of the trade

An accomplished HR Manager requires a range of support, tools and resources and this module discusses the variety of options available for outsourcing part or all the HR functions and if that would be appropriate for the organisation. The second unit explores some of the business data intelligence and analytics which are available in primary care and the NHS to support reporting and decision making in areas such as workforce planning.

Module 6 – Workforce wellbeing

An integral part of maintaining the right people at the right time is ensuring that the workforce is healthy and feels supported and valued. Now, more than ever, HR has a pivotal role to ensure staff wellbeing, resilience and mental health are all high on the business agenda. This module looks at the ongoing impact of, and recovery from, the effects on the healthcare workforce of the COVID pandemic and explores some of the national recommendations and strategies to provide support. It contains a range of resources including handouts, questionnaires, guides and checklists from key healthcare and people management sources.

It consists of 3 units:

1. Employee stress and wellbeing
2. Workforce mental wellbeing
3. Employee resilience

This module is an ideal first step for any manager wishing to extend their knowledge of the impact of stress and burnout on their employees and learn how to recognise the signals. They are then provided with suggested approaches and interventions to manage stress and promote wellbeing and resilience at work.

Module 7 – Change and leadership

The last two units of the programme are all about change! We consider the range of changes the health and care sectors have experienced recently, including Brexit and living through the COVID pandemic. We discuss the immense structural changes brought about by the introduction of Integrated Care Systems and cross-agency partnerships and the new service delivery models and the implications of personalised care. The emphasis is on the key role HR and People Managers play in supporting their organisations through change.

Finally, the programme completes with an overview of various leadership styles and those most appropriate for our sectors including a review of compassionate and collaborative leadership. We finish with a discussion of what HR can do to support and enable their leaders.