A Day In The Life Of A Functional Assessor

"My role at the assessment centre would not be possible without the help of all of my lovely colleagues."

Functional Assessor, Emilie, gives a quick overview of her role, explaining the daily responsibilities and how she is supported by the rest of her team.

About The Role Of A Functional Assessor

As a Functional Assessor, my role is to gather information about a customer's medical conditions and how these are impacting on their day-to-day lives. In each telephone assessment, I juggle my thinking cap with approaching each customer with sensitivity and empathy.

This is to ensure that the client feels heard and acknowledged, whilst also deciding the appropriate outcome for their journey.

Daily Responsibilities As A Functional Assessor

We start the day with a short briefing and team-building quiz, which we take it in turns to prepare for a bit of fun before the day begins. I then get started on my morning telephone assessments.

For each case, I prepare by looking over all the information they've submitted and then start the phone call with the customer, asking questions about their medical conditions and their typical day.

Once I’m off the phone, I write a report, making sure to address all the functional descriptors that apply to each individual customer. Rinse and repeat until lunchtime!

I have more telephone assessments in the afternoon, followed by a clinical call with the other practitioners on the team. This may be run by the Clinical Standards Leads or by another member of the team, to discuss anything from a difficult scenario we've encountered, teaching on common conditions or going through important updates.

Overcoming Challenges

Each customer is unique and will be different to the one before.

This can be challenging when deciding the appropriate outcome is not clear cut.

Thankfully, the experienced practitioners on the Customer Service Desk are always on hand to guide you and talk through any uncertainties.

Sometimes, we may even be the first person to realise that a customer is very unwell. In these cases, it's our responsibility to make sure that they are safe and to contact their GP so that they can access the right support.

Support From My Team

My role at the assessment centre would not be possible without the help of all of my lovely colleagues: the Customer Service Representatives that facilitate the smooth running of the day; the practitioners on the Customer Service Desk that are on call to help with questions about cases you're not sure about; the Clinical Standards Leads that coach you and support you every step of the way; as well as everyone else behind the scenes that makes this all possible.