You are wearing a tall hat. Looking at your responsibilities, it fits into the role of a divisional head but you shouldn't be doing it alone. Delegation of work is necessary if you want to see productivity. I do not know if your institution has constraint over manpower or you are just doing everybody's job with one single salary. Worth thinking how to get this around.

Regards

Interesting stuff, Quinny (if you don't mind me chipping in). But from what you say, two points jump out immediately:-

1) You say that your technicians were "taken off us".
2) Your are obviously seriously overloaded yourself.

... from which I can only conclude that there's something seriously wrong with the equipment management where you are! Sounds to me like you (and your managers) need some advice (as in, help)!

Dont mind you chipping in at all Geoff, good to see you.
Just clarify for me, what you mean by advice/help?

Do you have any useful suggestions for me? I am open to your experienced eye and would welcome help (please).
At a bit of a loss, (woods & trees spring to mind!)

Quinny, as I have recently indicated in another thread, I do not believe that a biomed engineering technician is the right person to conduct user (nurses etc.) training on medical equipment, and never have. The role of the biomed is fixing the kit, and providing technical support to the (clinical) users.

During my years as a hospital biomed, I never "taught" users myself (beyond the "this is how you switch it on" stage), but have often stood in the background to give (moral) support to nurse tutors and the like. I have related elsewhere about connecting up baby ventilators in the middle of the night, but this was more on humanitarian grounds (as in, needs must) than as a matter of policy. I have also been present on a few occasions when there was blood spurting about, and voices had been raised, but even then it was just a matter of my pointing (plus a few choice words of clear "guidance"). Frankly, I regard any "clinical input", and certainly any patient contact, by a biomed tech as unethical, and something to be avoided.

So, that’s where I’m coming from. Nurses get equipment training from Device Trainers, Nurse Tutors et al (and not biomeds). Meanwhile, biomeds fix the kit, and support the users (and the Trainer) (being more than enough to keep them busy). And (again as I have said previously) these days, I believe that the Device Trainer (and, by the way, the Equipment Librarian) should come under the Medical Engineering umbrella (if only to restrict reversion to nursing roles in time of nursing staff shortages ... as you have already mentioned).

... and I would say that I would expect that nurses or ex-nurses are most likely to make the best Device Trainers (on the grounds of their knowledge of the clinical applications, plus the fact that they must have empathy with their students), whilst successful Equipment Librarians have been known to come from a variety of backgrounds (nurses, biomed techs ... and hospital porters)!

You make it pretty me that you have been over-loaded. A three-page job description (even if stuffed with AfC Baboon Speak) sounds a bit excessive, I must say. It sounds like you’re filling two or three roles, in actual fact (why did they get rid of those "techs" that you mentioned ... to "save" money?). Your role needs to be restricted to what any a single person can reasonably manage. What is your manager saying about all this? Is s/he happy about the fact that you’re so heavily burdened?

My personal advice to you would be to decide what it is you actually want to do (within your present remit), and then concentrate on that. Meanwhile (having now been in post long enough to comment), I would document your concerns, and aspirations, to your boss ... with emphasis on points like "how do they manage if you’re off sick" (or, indeed, on well-deserved holiday)? Perhaps you need to make a case for assistance (as in, having more than one of you)!

And don’t forget Hannis’ Two Golden Rule Rules on user equipment training:-

Monkey see ... monkey do!
and...
Tekra ya 'alam khumar!

Thanks Geoff, you make interesting and valid points.
I especially like the suggestion that you make re the device trainer coming under the biomed umbrella rather than intra departmental to stop me from getting dragged into the nursing side of things. Although this is in my JD to do a clinical shift a week. (not 2 or 3 which can happen)
As far as i can gather, the techs were dispensed with because of cost. They were redeployed back to theatres.
Thinking about your advice, i am kind of half way there, however what i need to do is create a paper trail as it were to ensure that my concerns are documented. I havent had a day off sick for years, and do have a backlog of work when i have been on A/L.
I know what comment i will get though from my manager...."delegate more". This i aim to do in the near future.
(there is not a chance in hell of getting more staff)
Actually, i absolutely love my job, it is by far the most challenging and rewarding job that i have ever done so i am not moaning at all!
There are just aspects that i could improve, i need a point of reference though and that i havent got. Common sense dictates that i am taking on too much.
Think this is more a band 7 job though,not 6.

1) How can you delegate if you don't have staff?

2) Any manager should know that delegation without monitoring is little more than wishful thinking (ie, delegation takes time too).

3) Are you sure that you're not really just making a case for promotion to a higher band (sorry, but it had to be said)?

4) Intra-departmental? You can only work (efficiently) for one boss!

5) You can only do a day's work in a day!

6) If the techs were taken away to save money ... where was that money spent?

7) Do you really want to drive yourself into the deck just because of the shortcomings of the organization you work for (do "they" work that hard themselves)?

Like many other biomeds I have known, I used to enjoy it all too (and still do to a certain extent). Once, the vice-president of the company I was working for, having noticed the hours and the effort I was putting in (and without any prompting from me), approached the owner of the company about some sort of recognition. Through a third party (the secretary) I heard that the response was "If Geoff wants to work, then let him work". That's how much they really value you (I have a few more "stories" like that, but will spare you).

Are you "doing your best to do the right thing"? If the answer is yes, then there's your point of reference right there.

The bottom line is:- do it for yourself! If you enjoy what you do, apart from the bare necessities of life, that is sufficient reward in and of itself! Don't expect any sort of special recognition - "they" won't even notice (and, more than likely, couldn't care less)!

I can delegate areas of work back to the people who delegated the areas of work over to me.....eg procurement, once a decent ordering system is in place i can let this go to the person employed to order and maintain stock levels.
There is more and upon reflection this is long overdue.
What i mean by intra departmental is that i am employed within critical care dept alone, my base is in one dept. If i did the job i do within the biomed area within the trust, training alone would be my remit, not the other stuff that i have to do because i am available to them within my working day.
And defo NO not making a case for promotion because whats the point...all they would say would be NO and if by any small miracle they said yes, that would then give them validation for squeezing out of me what they do because they would be paying me for it!
By the way, reading the opening post on this thread has provoked my thinking about banding, it struck me that i do tons in comparrison to others with the same job title. Too much.
Dont want special recognition, sorry if that how i came across, What i do, i do for my own piece of mind and in the secure knowledge that what i do makes for a much safer environment for the patients.
Do you know, all i can think that the money that was saved from the 4 techs went on was creating 2 new posts,mine and one other (not in devices) and i have no idea what else it went on.
Thats an interesting question...will have to ask around a bit.

Forgive me Geoff, i know i come across as very naive, i am i know it, but your wisdom is invaluable to me. This is because you are an independent voice of reason which is something that i do not have in my work. What you say makes perfect sense.
So thanks for your continued patience and for humouring me with my moronic droning!
I appreciate it chuck.

meant "peace of mind" obviously!!!

... it's something that many of the unenlightened ones never achieve, busy as they are, rushing off to who-knows-what.

It's a bit difficult to delegate upwards, though (or even sideways). "Reject" might be a more appropriate word, I would have thought.

No, not naïve, passionate I would say. But don't mind me (as I've said more than once before), patience is my primary weapon!

Allow me to comment.

I am not sure how many Operating Theatres do you have and what is the reason leading to the decision of sending back the 4 technicians (yes of course you mentioned cost).
4 Techs may be too many I supposed as I am supporting 24 theatres with just 2 biomed techs and ours a multi-discipline hospital. They also cover day surgery wards and the post surgery recovery wards within the same floor as well.

But the plus side is it allows the creation of two new posts and this is where you landed up today.

Geoff has correctly made a point of being passionate in our job. People like us have really no time to consider sick leave and each time when you are on annual leave you come back only to see backlogs as you have correctly said. As a consolation to what you are doing, try giving yourself a pat on the back each time you feel great in making a significant change or contribution in your work. In my last eight years, I have eight different bosses and you just have to accept they have not been able to see the real contribution or rather are not being themselves - not understand what you are doing (they are not biomeds). Ha! ha! I read these topic being discussed in the forum sometime ago.