Anneliese specifically tailored this workshop to the needs of her audience, drawing on literature that was profession specific as well as from a broad field of references and her vast experience. My aim was to open a window onto the topic and get people thinking and talking to each other about these issues. Delegates cited increased awareness of subtle but important gaps in their knowledge of how cultural differences shape attitudes/expectations of learning. Others commented how easy it can be to ‘discount’ apparently small differences which can have potentially a huge negative impact in the long term. I would recommend this workshop and Anneliese to your colleagues for their teams – in fact we have since asked Anneliese to deliver two further programmes – ‘Changing Culture in the Modern NHS and ‘Difficult Conversations’ to multi-professional groups. These are very well received and have waiting lists.

The feedback from this workshop has been overwhelmingly positive – and reading their comments and hearing their feedback has opened my eyes to the massive culture shift they have to deal with when taking up their first hospital post in the UK. This workshop met all my expectations. The participants all clearly gained so much practical help and insight from the day. The open, interactive and engaging way the day was run gave them a safe and accepting environment. They were able to share their experiences, talk about the challenges of working in a foreign culture, and learn from and support each other. The expertise of Anneliese’s facilitation as well as her impressive knowledge and experience of the subject matter were hugely appreciated by the group. I would wholeheartedly recommend this training workshop – and Anneliese – to my colleagues for their teams. I believe this should be part of the induction process for IMGs in all trusts, both from a risk-management perspective, and as a vital support for the individual international doctor arriving in the UK for the first time. Thank you Anneliese – I’m so glad we did this for our trainees, and they are so glad they came!

Anneliese and I worked closely on the background and requirements for these sessions so that our training needs and development opportunities were explored and accounted for. Anneliese also prepared a Resource Handbook which included practical suggestions and strategies for participants by way of follow-up with their teams. We were successful in obtaining funding for these study days from the NHS Improvement Safety fund. As the programme advanced it became clear that a follow-up ‘Ambassador’ programme would be helpful in order to plan how the ideas emerging from the sessions could be taken forward and embedded in departmental practice. Anneliese also developed and delivered this additional follow-up programme and was flexible in re-scheduling the dates to accommodate it. The feedback from all the sessions was consistently very positive, both in terms of content and delivery, and colleagues found them enjoyable and energising. Anneliese also collated and fed back to us some very constructive comments which we were then able to use to improve aspects of service, culture and behaviours seen in the workplace. I attended the first session and also the first follow-up session. The change in energy and positivity of the group was tangible between the two sessions and it became clear how much had been achieved during those 8 months. The group took on an “ambassadors” role and set up a group to continue the good work further, including building on work put together for a ‘team contract’. We are now part of the NHSI safety collaborative for 2018, and we are running QI projects throughout the department to continue our work continuous improvement focussing on aspects of safety and team culture. I would highly recommend Anneliese Guerin Le Tendre as a coach and team facilitator. Her courses were professionally delivered, fulfilled our specification and met our training needs. She is delightful to work with and I always felt listened to and a partner in the course’s development. I have personally learned more about my team, how the culture of the organization can develop and how to empower teams to do great work. I hope to continue this work within the department. Thank you Anneliese.

The School had previously contracted Anneliese for several workshops for educators, focussed on embracing diversity and facilitating student learning. These had been very well received and appreciated by all involved, notwithstanding the varied backgrounds and experience of the educators. The School therefore decided to contract Anneliese to develop and deliver a number of student programmes, starting with a team-building workshop during Induction week, with follow-up programmes – Effective Teams: creating cultures that workand Managing Conflict. Later on in the course, by way of preparation for work placements in hospital, Anneliese runs a workshop on Culture and Communications in a Professional Context. For each programme Anneliese provides an accompanying Resource Handbook. Personal Tutors are also given additional support materials for each workshop as appropriate – for use in follow-up one-to-one or group tutorial sessions. Again, all the programmes have been well-received and feedback from students is extremely positive regarding both the interactive style, the content of the programmes, and their effectiveness in preparing the students for the requirements of the university programme. From my own perspective as Student Support Lead I have first-hand experience of supporting students that struggle to adapt to the situated learning environment. It is thanks to Anneliese’s ability to successfully engage with the students and make them aware of the issues involved in collaborative learning that this number is lower that I would otherwise anticipate – an opinion shared by the educators, tutors and facilitators. From the beginning we have worked as a collaborative partnership, reviewing and adapting as the student numbers have grown and the needs evolved. I would heartily recommend Anneliese and her services to other Medical Faculties seeking to offer similar support to students as they establish their own professional identity.