NHS Trusts To Ringfence Posts For Local Graduates?

This may be good news for Health graduates who have so far not found jobs.

We have had sight of a recent email sent to North West NHS Trusts encouraging them to make the NHS Jobs Newly Qualified Profile Pool the 'first port of call' when undertaking major recruitment exercises.

In other words, it may give you a head start to register on the pool if you have not already done so.

According to a more detailed advisory document, employers can contact registered candidates to advise them of a particular advert that is about to be placed on the system or ask them for more information.

The Profile Pool system requires candidates to answer the following:

• Have you received notification from the Exam Board that you have
  qualified as a nurse, midwife, allied healthcare professional or as a
  healthcare scientist? (Yes/No)

• Have you qualified from an English Higher Education Institution in the UK?
  (Yes/No)

• When did you qualify? ( 2010, 2011, 2012, Other)

• Do you have the right, under UK immigration rules, to live and work in the
  UK and without restriction? (Yes/No)

• Please select your profession? (from identified list but includes all nursing disciplines, midwifery, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, radiography)

• Please select your area of specialty? (from identified list)

• Please specify which Higher Education Institution you completed your professional qualification? (Lists those Higher Education Institutions that the SHA commissioned and funded)

N.b. however that providing incorrect information will prevent the candidate from re-registering within the pool for a period of 12 weeks.

Also, candidates will still be expected to submit individual applications to specific vacancies.

A Career in E-Health?

The increasing use of new technology in the provision of healthcare is starting to lead to some new career opportunities.

Key agencies are NHS Direct  which recruits staff into ICT-related roles as well as qualified nurses and  NHS Connecting for Health  whose remit includes developing systems of health provision such as e-prescribing and the "choose and book" system for patients.

Similar opportunities are staring to occur on the NHS Jobs website but as job titles are not yet well-established, they are best found by trying search terms such as "telehealth", "remote", "mobile device", etc*. on the advanced search ('search by skills') section of the site. Precise qualifications required are likely to vary.

There are also likely to be commercial software companies who are developing health-related programmes and applications.

Source: Abridged from a message received from via AGCAS ServiceLink

* Other search expressions that I have tried and work are "electronic", "choose and book", "e-prescribing" and "informatics".

Get Sick At Home? Fascinating Facts About Childhood Illnesses

Many present and future University of Cumbria students express an interest in eventually working with children, but a recent article in the Scottish Daily Mail (01/12/12) suggests some alarming trends in childhood habits they might want to heed.

Based on an NHS Scotland report by Frank Furedi, the author of the book Paranoid Parenting, it shows big differences in the numbers of hospital referrals of children as a result of incidents in the home as opposed to outdoors.

Seemingly, there has been a big slump in numbers of children falling out of trees or off skateboards, while they are twice as likely to end up in casualty with repetitive strain injury after excessive computer gaming sessions.  Other injuries on the increase included falling out of bed, falling downstairs and injuries from using electrical appliances - mainly hair straighteners.

Meanwhile the number injured by fireworks has fallen by 41%, with further drops in injuries caused by ice skates, skis, roller skates and car accidents. The Mail also reports a survey showing that a third of children had never climbed a tree and one in ten cannot ride a bike, while the majority said they would rather play on a computer or watch TV than go outside.

This would seem to be vital information for our Health students, so that they know what injuries they are likely to be treating as well as for Trainee Teachers considering what new risk assessments they need to introduce. And perhaps the University of Cumbria can congratulate itself on its success in tempting so many away from the couch and the computer screen for long enough to sign up for our Sport and PE related courses!

I wonder though how the career choices of this "indoor generation" are being affected...

Which Company Is The Biggest Recruiter of Graduates?

According to work done by The Complete University Guide based on the national graduate destination survey, the answer is a little surprising.

You might not have guessed that the biggest recruiter of 2011 graduates was Boots Pharmaceuticals of Nottingham who took on 520 across their various divisions. In second place was the NHS Graduate Management Scheme, accounting for just under 500 graduates.

Seven of the other top ten places were occupied by banking and financial concerns.  The exception was Tesco who came in sixth as the largest UK retail employer.

Incidentally, a recent survey of 2,000 employers by REED suggested that many did not feel that the 2.1 degree stipulation enforced by many top firms was a good criterion for successful recruitment.  96% said that they would prefer applicants who had the right skills and mindset than those with a 2.1.

Careers Advisers have often felt that the rigid insistence on an Upper Second by many companies was an artificial barrier that meant companies were indirectly favouring applicants from more privileged backgrounds. But whether many companies will abandon the 2.1 requirement in favour of more objective criteria in the foreseeable future remains to be seen.

Preparing for Band 5 Nursing Interviews

The NHS is currently placing a big stress on patient safety issues and it was suggested that applicants for Band 5 Nursing posts would do well to familiarise themselves with a number of resulting national initiatives.  These are:

• Safety Express - concerning the reduction of possible "occurrences of harm" (e.g. falls, embolisms, bedsores, urinary tract infections) as audited through the monthly "Safety Thermometer"
• Productive Services - about improving efficiency to find time for caring, e.g. by standardising ward layouts and equipment locations
• Leading Improvements in Patient Safety - reviewing case notes to check for possible risks of harm.
• Energising for Excellence (E4E) - reviewing appropriateness of staffing levels related to patients' levels of dependency

If you are being interviewed for a Band 5 vacancy shortly, it might also be worth familiarising yourself with any additional local initiatives on patient safety and avoidance of harm.

Accountancy Training with Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

In a previous post on the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme it was noted that Cumbria Partnership NHSFT will also accept CV applications from qualified Accounting Technicians who wish to apply for Accountancy traineeships with them.

If you come into the above category or similar, you can submit your CV and covering letter to our University of Cumbria email address careers@cumbria.ac.uk and we will forward your details to the Trust.  Just remember to say that you read about this opportunity on "Col's Blog".

We would also be keen to hear from any local students or graduates who would be interested in applying for the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme next year i.e. for entry in 2013.   Just use the same email address and we will endeavour to keep you informed of any local events to promote this scheme when they arise.

NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme in Cumbria

The deadline for this year's applications closed last Friday but, for future applicants, some useful information was provided by reps from Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust at last week's Mini Careers Convention.

The Trust is keen to support future Management Trainee placements for all four streams of the programme - General Management, Financial Management, Health Informatics (ICT) and HR.

Management Accountant Simon Norbury tells me that Financial Trainees can chose to qualify with the following Accountancy professional bodies: CIMA, CIPFA or ACCA. I also gather that, separate from the Graduate Scheme, Simon is willing to receive CVs from applicants who hold the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) qualification and wish to become fully qualified accountants.

MINI Careers Convention in Carlisle

There will be a Mini Careers Convention at Fusehill St Campus on Thursday 8th December 12 noon - 2.00 pm, Ground Floor, Learning Gateway, to help students find out about possible career opportunities. Available at the event will be:

* Simon Norbury of Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust on the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme, which covers opportunities in General Management, Finance Management, Human Resources and Health Informatics (ICT). The scheme is open to potential gaduates (including Nursing and Health Diploma students) who are expecting a 2.2. For more information see www.nhsgraduates.co.uk

* Linda Danielis (representing the Chartered Institute of Marketing) who will cover opportunities in marketing – one of the career areas most often sought after by graduate employers.

* A selection of careers materials to take away

Note: The deadline for application for the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme is 10.00 a.m. on Friday 9th December so it would be well worth while to start planning your application before Thursday.

NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme - 2012 Intake

Final numbers are yet confirmed, but the NHS will be recruiting up to 150 posts covering all four specialisms (Finance, General Management, HR and Health Informatics).

The Scheme will open for applications on 31st Oct and close on 9th December at 10 a.m. Competition is likely to be very keen.

For more details and to apply, visit: http://www.isthenhsforme.co.uk/

You can also follow the Scheme's Twitter account: http://twitter.com/NHSGradScheme
and sign up to its Facebook page

New NHS Nursing Careers Website

NHS Careers have just launched a new website on Nursing careers - www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/nursing

NHS Careers say they wish to promote the wide range of nursing careers available as nurse training shifts from a mixture of diploma and degree courses to an all-graduate entry profession by 2013. In the next three years, they think the nursing profession needs to attract enough applicants to fill thousands more degree places.

The new website includes an interactive personality quiz to help people explore their suitability to different areas of nursing, real life stories and video interviews with nurses talking about their jobs.

Without having had the time to take more than a superficial look, it does appear to be a very impressive resource. Whether there will be a major increase in nursing opportunities in the Cumbria area by 2013 is a different matter altogether.

Ever heard of a Support Time and Recovery Worker?

Talking of opportunities that are not well-covered on standard careers websites, etc., have you any idea what a Support Time and Recovery Worker does?

Basically, it is an NHS role involved with mental health patients in a support and advocacy role.

You can find more details on the appropriate section of the NHS Careers website.

More News from the Health Sector

Health NVQs coming soon

Skills for Health is urging healthcare employers to prepare for the introduction of new vocational qualifications from January 2011.

The new health and health-related qualifications to be published to the QCF include Awards, Certificates and Diplomas at both Level 2 (equivalent to GCSE at grades A-C or BTEC First Certificate) and Level 3 (equivalent to A Level or BTEC National Certificate/Diploma).

Source: Health Workforce Bulletin

New dawn for NHS Clinical Scientists

From 2011, the new graduate entry Scientist Training Programme (STP) will replace the former Clinical Scientist Training Scheme. Recruitment into healthcare scientist training posts in England will start in January 2011 for the September 2011 intake. However, the closing date for applications remains unknown.

Details of all training posts will be available from mid-January on the NHS Jobs website. Further details of the scheme and a list of all the posts will be found on the NHS Careers website

NHS Graduate Management Programme

This year's programme is currently open but the closing deadline is 6th January 2011. Further details and how to apply are on the Scheme's website www.nhsgraduates.co.uk

Source: AGCAS

More Health News - NVQs Ride On

Skills Sector Council Skills for Health is promoting the introduction of new health and health-related vocational qualifications from January 2011.

More than 25 new vocational qualifications will be launched in the New Year via the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF), and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

Is this a sign that more stress will in future be placed on on-the-job training routes for Associate Practitioners and other support roles as opposed to professional qualifications?

Health Visitors - Changes in Role as well as Increase in Numbers

Further to a previous post, here is some background on the initiative to recruit more health visitors.

It appears that Heath Visitors are to have a key role as a result of the “Liberating The NHS” document, which plans to devolve the budget for public health onto Local Authorities, some of whom have already taken over responsibility for Health Visiting.

There is a government commitment to recruit 2,400 new Health Visitors (including return to practice initiatives) but many are leaving the profession because the expansion is tied to a responsibility for safeguarding vulnerable children.

Interestingly the numbers studying for the Health Visitor specialism at one university in the North are falling because of lack of available placements.

To some extent Public Health specialisms overlap, notably school nursing, sexual health nursing, and Health Visitor.

However it looks as if the lead professional for the 0 – 19 age range will be the Health Visitor. Notably, school nurse training places are not being commissioned in the same numbers as previously.

NHS Vacancies falling - except midwives

"Long-term vacancy rates have fallen slightly for most major NHS staff groups in England except for midwives and GPs, survey findings from The NHS Information Centre revealed last week."

One NHS commentator pointed out that unfilled midwifery vacancies could be a cause of concern in the light of a sharp increase in the birth rate and that the Government could be facing a shortage of 3,000 midwives*

Meanwhile, a Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme (MARS) has been agreed to help NHS employers meet current challenges (i.e. shed staff?)

* Note: little sign of this happening in Lancashire and Cumbria however - CT

Source: Health Workforce Bulletin