Our X-Ray team are investing in our future workforce by continuing with their newly introduced Apprenticeship Programme to train new Radiographers.
This follows the success of the first James Paget staff member to complete the three-year degree apprenticeship – Gavin Bedford - and comes as the team are also encouraging staff to further their skills by completing postgraduate certificates after qualification.
In early 2020 Gavin was one of the first people in the country to start a Diagnostic Radiography Degree Apprenticeship after he was selected for a new programme at the University of Exeter.
Gavin had started working at the James Paget soon after leaving school, joining the Radiology Department in an administration and portering role via an agency. When the agency contract ended, he decided he wanted to stay and successfully applied for an Imaging Assistant position in our Radiology Department X-Ray team.
Just before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, he decided to take a new step to develop his career and successfully applied for the apprenticeship honours degree in Radiography at the University of Exeter – the first time the degree course had been provided as an Apprenticeship.
This meant Gavin was able to continue to work at the James Paget while on placement during his degree. Now he has completed the course, graduating with a BSc 2:1, and has been employed at the hospital as a full-time qualified Radiographer.
Specialist Radiographer and Head of X-Ray Jill Girling said the apprenticeship programme has benefits for everyone.
“Our apprentices spend three weeks at Exeter and do the rest of their training on-site. It has been a great opportunity for our staff to build their careers through a different route towards becoming a Radiographer. This is not restricted to clinical support staff within Radiology, this can include any member of staff within the Trust. They are able to continue working while they study, which means they still get paid while they are learning, and the department, and our patients, continue to benefit from their skills.”
Following in Gavin’s footsteps are five more apprentices, who have all come from different background positions including Radiology Assistants and administration staff.
Samantha Sutton is due to complete the apprenticeship this year and has already been offered a Band 5 Radiographer position which she will be able to take up on qualification. She said that the course had allowed her to progress her career.
“While it is often difficult to fit studying in when you’re working shifts, we do have, on a weekly basis, one ‘off the job’ study day, two days working clinically alongside Radiographers and two ‘on the job’ learning days, which includes working with Radiographers but in a teaching capacity. I’ve been able to work throughout the course and progress from a Band 2 Imaging Assistant. You start as a Band 3 apprentice, moving up to Band 4 in your final year and become Band 5 when qualifying.”
In addition to Gavin and Samantha, there are also four more apprentices currently on the course - two in their first year and two in their second year, including Jordan Harvey - pictured here with Jill, Gavin, Samantha and Erin Price. They work through different modalities within Radiology at the James Paget including Breast Imaging, CT and MRI as well as experiencing different departments - such as wards, Endoscopy and Theatres - to gain experience across different areas.
Jill says; “We’re hopeful that we can continue to fund apprenticeship places, with a plan for two more next year at least. It means that, at a time when there’s a national shortage of Radiographers, we can ‘grow our own’ by supporting our existing Trust staff to progress. With enough funding we may be able to open up more apprenticeship places and continue this training process.”
Erin Price is a Radiographer who qualified in 2021, who demonstrates another of the pathways that the X-Ray team are using to develop staff. She and another colleague, Megan Goodman-Dye, recently completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Paediatric Imaging. This was a one-year course designed to support Radiographers to advance their practice, giving a more detailed insight into taking X-Ray images of children and young people, and developing new skills and knowledge.