EBME Forums Forums Management Recruitment Medical Engineering Technician - B5 - Furness

I agree to a certain extent but if a vending machine fails, I doubt it would harm anyone. Although the coffee and tea those machines dispense is more likley to cause you harm!

Kit is kit, but when it's attached to a patient it carries far greater risks and consequences if it goes wrong.Therfore a far greater level of responsibility, with that should come greater renumeration.
After all thats why we pay our Docs and Diretors large salaries, becuase of the responsibility thats comes with the position.

Would you be happy to have the 'vending machine guy' without any formal electronic/technical qualification popping in to ICU to service the Vents?


Dom

If an engineer has been properly trained on the equipment he has to service, it makes no matter whether it is a vending machine or a ventilator in the ICU. Or, for that matter, a gas boiler, motorcycle ... etc., etc.

Take it from me, biomed techs do not hold the monopoly on nous (far from it, in fact)!

Here is a cracking wee job if anyone is interested? I really fancy this one myself but i don't think i would like living there!

DW - Cafe latte - nice!

My experience with the NHS was a bit strange - I was looking for a work placement as part of my resettlement package, the amount of crap paperwork involved was a bit much and trying to find a hospital that was willing to take me was a joke as they were only worried about the legality aspect, however i found the private sector much better, they were quite happy to have someone working for them for free.

DW - The darkside is the way ahead!

Darkside copyright of GH

"Knowledge of the coffee or coffee brewing industry would be an advantage ..."

I'm more into brewing tea myself ... think that would hold me back?

Thanks for that post, Darth (the one above). I didn't want people to start thinking it was only me who'd had experiences like that. Private sector hospital ... or company? But I won't continue, as we're getting a bit far from Joe's original post!

May the Force of the Dark Side be with you!

I think the answer here is responsibility and the way jobs are handled in the NHS. The private sector seems more interested in responsibility and cost whereas in the NHS it seems to be more knowledge. The difference between two posts in the private sector and two bands in the NHS is that the private sector posts will require extra responsibility and the NHS bands will require to specialise. It's one of the major complaint's in the private sector that often if you want to progress you have drink from the cup of management. (usually joke is "and all your technical knowledge will vanish"!)

Another thing that happens in the NHS is trying to bring people in on lower bands. In the private sector that doesn't happen that much, basically the job being advertised is the job you either get or don't if they think your not suitable. One good thing about the NHS is that there's a clear career progression and increments. If you discount inflation increases, it's possible that the coffee equipment field service engineer will probably be on the same salary in a few years time as they are now. No yearly increments for them and if they do get a rise, every year is a KSF gateway!

Also if anything the coffee equipment field service engineer's salary is probably related to responsibility. It's possible that technically it could be done by a school leaver but since the position holder will be promoting the company they probably want someone more experienced in the ways of the world.

Qualifications mean nothing in my opinion if they are not underpinned with proper training and development (ah, apprenticeships). I used to install, service and repair equipment on the oil rigs and the standards you had to work to were exacting. I was shocked at first when I started working in the medical field at the the average standard people think is acceptable.

If your foundations are not sound, chances are you will take poor working practices with you throughout your career.

Bring back apprenticeships I say. Lets get this country back on track and stop trying to do things on the cheap...

Although the idea of apprenticeships may seem a good idea with a layed down format of training and development, I don't think that's the way to go.

There's a tendancy with employers who employ apprentices to keep investing in the apprentice even if they turn out to be not up to the job and once they have invested it's very hard to sack them. In my previous employment if someone wanted to know what was the borderline of unexceptable behaviour they just had to see what the apprentices were doing. It was also known for them to be given posts that were completely unsuitable for just because the company wouldn't lay them off. I know of only one former apprentice that was sacked and that was only when his house was full of the company's tv's!

Thinking about it further, the best example of poor working practices probably came from the apprentices. The less accountable you are for your actions the poorer the working practices become.

There were apprenticeships ... and then there were Apprenticeships!

I was an Army Apprentice myself (one of many thousands who passed through Arborfield back then), and I reckon it was a pretty solid foundation to working life. We were still just kids really (not like today's youngsters who hardly seem to have any sort of proper childhood, the poor devils). We were taught a trade by old sweats, and beasted around the drill square until we learned the value of discipline. It was a good technique ... catch 'em young, and mould them into what you want! We certainly had plenty of role models to choose from. Damned good blokes, by and large. Frankly, I pity the young people of today, who generally don't get those sort of opportunities! What mentors do they ever get to meet (especially those who need them the most)?

Never mind apprenticeships ... bring back National Service! That will sort the men from the boys (literally)!

I was an apprentice many years ago (in Geoffs time). The company took on about 30 annually and the first 12 to 18 months was spent in their own purpose built training school, one day a week was spent in the local tech getting the paper qualifications. There were 3 instructors at the training school and you got away with nothing. even to the point all work ceased at 4pm and the benches, lathes and floor were swept and inspected! all tools had to be returned to the store or you didn't go home until it was found (usually a 0-1 micrometer in somebody's overalls).
Work was taught and carried out to a high standard. What did it teach me - Respect, discipline and get the job right first time to a high standard! Yes they did sack people in those days, unlike today where we have become a pc society where respect and discipline no longer count.