EBME Forums Forums Management Professional Issues Agenda For Change Degree level

Andy,
The point I am trying to make is that the difference between band 5 and band 6 according to the Job Evaluation Handbook is that you need "a distinct addition of knowledge to what was acquired during basic training and required for professional practice".
I understand this to mean that a technician working on electro-medical equipment will be on band 5 but a technician working on electro-medical equipment and who has additional knowledge to be able to also service anaesthetic machines will be on band 6.
This is my understanding of the situation and is also the informatomation given to me by my union.
The important statement is 'additional knowledge'.

I understand the qualifications/knowledge need to be matched, but so does the freedom to act. If you anaylsis the Med Techs profile you will see that a specialist(grade 6) also needs to impliment policy. This is not always the case with the traditonal specialist tech.

If you ask around you will find Renal technicians are not automaticaly being graded 6, as some might expect.

Being one of those "lucky" people to have been AFCed, (which I know I have mentioned before, sorry for being sooo boring). You might however expect specialist Engineers to be band matched to the profile I was matched to, Physiological Measuremnent Practioner. This profile requires HNC for a band 6, but contact with patients.


Tracy

(soon to be departing the world of Med Eng to be a Medical devices training co-ordinator)

Stew,
As I understand it 2 & 12 have to be matched (knowledge & skills with freedom to act) if they dont match a profile you cant be put on that profile. Even if these do match if you have a variance on 5 or more of the others you cant be matched.
Where it appears a lot of us could be failing is on the knowledge and skills. It appers that if you list HNC in your quals they will use that even if you list it as HNC, DEGREE OR EQUIVALENT.
I hink we need to be pushing not only the IPEM VRCT qualification status but also that the DOH profiles say that a degree is needed. Remember its the quals for the post not yours. Your management within the department also need to highlight just how far up the tree they are, are they the expert with nobody else in the organisation to turn to on professional matters, if they are I think they need to stipulate this. Dont assume whoever is reading the data will know that you answer to a senior general manager who hasnt got a clue what a ventilator looks like let alone how it works. They may just assume the general manager is the expert in which case Med Manager is lower down the tree an so are all below them.
THESE ARE JUST MY FINDINGS SO FAR.

Tracey,
"Needs to impiment policy".
If a senior specialist technician uses their extensive amounts of developed "in post" knowledge and skills correctly they do implement.
Surely when they work on their own taking full responsibilty for calibrating a life support system they take policy and procedure that they have learned and personally developed and implement those using their owm judgement and analysis in ways that have direct consequences to the clinical therapy that a patient receives.