Name: Wendy Blumenow
Job Title: Professional Lead for Acute Speech & Language Therapy Team and Clinical Innovation Consultant.
What job(s) did you do before this?
I have worked at Alder Hey for 28 years; before that, I was a speech therapist in Manchester.
Briefly describe a typical day in your job role (tasks carried out)
Every day is different for me, which is why I enjoy my job. But typically, a Monday would look like this:
First thing is a big Microsoft Teams meeting with the craniofacial team to discuss patients and the week ahead. Following this, I usually have some time to do admin related to my clinical leadership role. Over lunch time, I drive into work, and then in the afternoon I have a clinic. This is mostly for CYP with feeding difficulties and is a mixture of face-to-face patients and a few reviews over the phone.
Often, I have an informal governor meeting at 5.00 which only lasts for about half an hour.
Have you had any special training/completed any qualifications?
I did a BSc Hons to become a speech therapist. It was a 3-year degree, which I did in Leeds.
What would you say your key skills are? What type of person are you?
I think I am a good people person and a good leader. I am a problem solver and like to think out of the box. I have a good sense of humour and can be relied upon.