Oh dear billy, taking into account Geoff's previous comments on the title of clinical technologist I'm sure we're going to get a response on your post from Geoff. (Probably on the grounds were Engineering technicians and don't need to concern ourselves with that clinical aspect) Personally I couldn't agree more, often the problem with equipment is the interoperation of the equipment with the patient and you need to know when it's a equipment problem or it needs to be kicked back to the medical staff.

Yes Chris we are all on the same team be it clinical or technical, gone are the dark ages when equipment was fixed on the bench. It is our duty to interact and with clinical staff and pass on our knowledge with regards to application of equipment. Times have changed we need to move with them or risk the consequences

@Chris:- I have often suspected that you don't actually read my posts!


@Billy:- "teaching Granny to suck eggs" comes to mind.

No Geoff, simply offering advise when our knowldge is greater as in my example of incorrectly sized BP cuffs, most ward staff do not have a clue this can imact reading. Anyway i thought sucking eggs went out in the 1950s.

Actually I wasn't thinking of the ward staff, but rather more of us here on the forum!

You know ... knowing where our duty lies, getting off our butts and leaving the workshop to visit the wards, advising the users ... and all that other stuff that many of us have been doing for donkey's years!

Hi Geoff cheers mate, yeh I like it this way, with work/college/training courses to learn from every angle, I tried the full time further education at college before starting this apprenticeship, but this is far better, the HNC is in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, after I'm employed on my five or six, I'll probably be paid for to go on and do the Eastwood Park foundation degree in biomedical engineering.

Its all go I suppose!

Yeah Huw, seems like a quite a popular site, too - maybe I'm just thick? who knows! :S

True Geoff, the real answers lie out there in the wards.

I am sure Ben will love the banter here.

I'm sure he will. "Banter" (in the workshop) has always been part of the biomed tradition.

You're right about getting out and about around the hospital ... unfortunately, in many places yet another biomed tradition has been the "stool pigeon"!

Oh we all know about stool pidgeons, and people who sit with BP cuffs and finger probes on themselves for a full day/week whilst playing on the computer! ha!

haven't read it all, but I know that different techs have different views on what they do/should be doing - different job titles, work on different equipment, different sectors of employment, I've learned this over the past two odd years - its a big thing to get your head round.

Glad I chose to do it to be honest, its going to be a good thing to know plenty of you in different areas around the country (countries?) as there may not be a job guarenteed for me at the end of this apprenticeship, I've got about 15-16 months left, and if nobody has left/retired or whatever, I may be looking elsewhere, which is why I'm doing so many specialist courses and such like.

we'll see!

(Hello Andrew)