Name: Abdul-Haseeb Usman
Job role: Medical Engineering Apprentice
Area of Work: Clinical Engineering
What apprenticeship are you doing/have you done?
I am currently five months into the level 4 Healthcare Science apprenticeship. In my first placement, I was placed into the mechanical team within Radiotherapy Technical Services where we helped to perform services on the Linear Accelerators. We were also shown how to use machinery, such as milling machines and lathes, as well as how to use AutoCad and a 3D printer to give us some experience on each piece of equipment.
I am in my second placement in the Clinical Engineering department where we perform planned preventative maintenance as well as repairs and acceptance testing on equipment used all around the hospital and even for some external healthcare centres.
I came here after completing three A levels at Sixth form in Sheffield.
Why did you choose to do an apprenticeship at Leeds Teaching Hospitals?
I actually found an old leaflet for an apprenticeship with Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and, when trying to find more information, I reached the apprenticeship leads for both Sheffield and Leeds, with Omran Darr from Leeds teaching hospitals replying to my email. Omran then sent me the application link and I submitted my application.
I then received an invitation to an assessment day where we were tasked with some Maths, English and IT assessments as well a task to demonstrate how we worked in a team.
Next was the interview stage where I was asked questions about my application among other aspects.
The final aspect was returning for a DBS check where I had to attend an appointment at the Trust HQ.
We then had catch up meetings with Omran every other Friday until the end of August which is when we began our induction.
I also applied for apprenticeships in other fields of engineering that I was interested in and received offers from some, such as Schneider Electric and invitations for assessments for Mercedes Benz, however I found myself more interested in this apprenticeship and wanted to pursue it.
What are the benefits of doing an apprenticeship and why would you recommend it to others?
- I would say that the first benefit is that you learn and apply your knowledge while you work.
- You get hands on experience in the field.
- Gain qualifications
- It allows you to get an understanding of the work environment and see if that is somewhere you wish to work.
- Gain understanding of the company and how it works which can help in interviews for jobs should you stay with them
- There’s also the obvious advantage of gaining a wage and finishing education without debt
I would recommend an apprenticeship because I feel that it gives me a better opportunity than university would have, especially as the placements give me the chance to understand the day-to-day activities in the different areas of Medical Physics and Engineering and give me an idea of which team I would like to go into upon completion of the apprenticeship.
What difference does this apprenticeship make?
This apprenticeship has exposed me to a very different environment of work, as well as providing me with new skills and experiences which I would never have expected to have received before. It is also giving me a better understanding of how the NHS functions as well as the sheer size of the Healthcare Science workforce in just one department in one NHS trust.
It also gives me the opportunity to be someone that works to help those in ill health, even if I only work behind the scenes.
Do you have any advice for anyone interested in this apprenticeship?
If you are interested in this apprenticeship, my first piece of advice would be that you shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions, especially before you apply as this will give you the opportunity to get a feel for the environment.
Remember, if you are accepted onto the apprenticeship, you are then an employee and are, to a certain extent, representing the NHS, both online and in public.
If you need something for the college work, just ask and all the staff on your placements who will be happy to help you.
Name: Abi
Job role: Medical Engineering Apprentice
Department: Medical Physics & Engineering
What apprenticeship are you doing/have you done?
I am doing a Level 4 Healthcare Science Associate Diploma. This involves rotations in Medical Physics and Engineering (MPE) departments, including renal and rehabilitation, learning how each team functions, what their roles and responsibilities are, as well as the equipment they manage and maintain and how this is done.
Why did you choose to do an apprenticeship at Leeds Teaching Hospitals?
The apprenticeship’s uniqueness stood out to me. All the staff are friendly and passionate about what they do and are keen to train junior staff. There is also plenty of support during the course, not just from team leaders and course providers but from older apprentices that have already completed the course.
What are the benefits of doing an apprenticeship and why would you recommend it to others?
Learning on the job is more effective as you’re actively practising and obtaining practical skills and knowledge, not just theory-based. I think doing an apprenticeship over a university course leaves you at a better end point as you gain valuable, in-depth work experience which makes you more employable to employers and more likely to perform better in interviews. Especially in this course as you gain a working knowledge of how the NHS operates, which I think is difficult to obtain and fully understand without working in the NHS, and as it’s an engineering course being able to be hands-on is important.
What difference does this apprenticeship make?
This apprenticeship has great opportunity for continued learning and progression within the trust. It also provides valuable experience and skills for a career in MPE that can be applied in in many situations.
Do you have any advice for anyone interested in this apprenticeship?
Go for it!
You don’t require any prior knowledge in MPE or physics/engineering as they teach you all skills and knowledge you need, and don’t expect that you know.
Try to practice basic Maths, English, IT and Physics (electronics/electricity) knowledge and skills. These skills are assessed on a different day before an interview, an “assessment day.” Be prepared to bring in a small project to discuss during the interview and show your skills.
Worst case scenario is you don’t get a place, but you haven’t lost anything by trying and have gained experience in completing applications and attending interviews.
Name: Sam Holmes
Job role: Medical Engineering Apprentice
CSU: Oncology
What apprenticeship are you doing/have you done?
I am currently a few months into a level 4 medical engineering apprenticeship. During this apprenticeship I will be rotating around various different departments such as clinical, radiotherapy, rehabilitation, imaging, and renal engineering. Within these placements you will accompany other technicians who will pass on all their knowledge and experience. As well as this you will be completing a BTEC level 4 diploma in healthcare science. During your apprenticeship you will be given 20% of your time for off the job learning, the equivalent of one day a week. In this time, you will attend webinars from college and complete the work that follows this.
Why did you choose to do an apprenticeship at Leeds Teaching Hospitals?
I choose to do an apprenticeship program at Leeds Teaching hospitals for a number of reasons. The main one being the vast array of skills that you can learn during the apprenticeship and the potential career progression that they offer. Upon completion of the level 4 apprenticeship, you are able to complete a level 6 healthcare science degree in either clinical engineering or medical physics technology. All the members of staff are very friendly and welcoming and are more than happy to pass on all their experience to help you learn. Working within a healthcare environment allows you to see the direct impact of the work that you do and the benefit that it has towards patients within the hospital.
What are the benefits of doing an apprenticeship and why would you recommend it to others?
Doing an apprenticeship is an excellent way to start a career in medical engineering. They allow you to get hands on experience whilst still getting all the knowledge and qualifications you’d get if you went to college or university. You also gain experience working in an industry that will benefit you in the future when applying for other roles. If you choose to complete a level 6 in healthcare science, all your fees are paid for by Leeds Teaching Hospitals, meaning you’ll get a degree without getting in any debt. Another benefit is that you get paid a salary whilst completing an apprenticeship.
What difference does this apprenticeship make?
This apprenticeship makes a huge difference to the whole healthcare system, as the role supports nurses and doctors enabling them to carry out their job. It also makes a huge difference to patients as well, by reducing the downtime of equipment which reduces patient waiting times. By servicing medical equipment you are making sure that it is functioning at it peak performance which improves the care that patients get.
Do you have any advice for anyone interested in this apprenticeship?
The main piece of advice to anyone interested in completing this apprenticeship is to not be afraid to ask questions to other members of staff no matter how stupid they may be. By asking questions you will fill any gaps of knowledge you may have and deepen your understanding in that area. Another piece of advice is to make sure you keep on top of your course work that is given and make sure to write up jobs that you have carried out. This is because job write ups can be used towards your course work and tick off lots of different learning criteria.
Name: Sam Waddington
Job role: Medical Engineering Apprentice
CSU: Oncology
What apprenticeship are you doing/have you done?
I’m currently in my first year of the level 4 Medical Engineering Apprenticeship with Leeds Teaching Hospitals and am getting exposure to all sorts of different pieces of equipment and skills. Before this apprenticeship I was at college and studied a BTEC in manufacturing engineering and found out about medical engineering through a talk done by my local NHS trust, which really inspired me. From then on, I was set on doing an apprenticeship in medical engineering.
Why did you choose to do an apprenticeship at Leeds Teaching Hospitals?
I chose to work at Leeds mainly because my local NHS trust didn’t offer apprenticeships for people who already had a level 3 qualification (which I have). I then found the apprenticeship at Leeds and because it was the closest one to me, I applied, and am very glad I did.
When I came for the assessment day, I was amazed at all the different sections of medical engineering and how as an apprentice, I would be able to go around and learn about all these areas and at that point, I knew that this apprenticeship would be an amazing opportunity for me. Another reason I chose this apprenticeship because of the the opportunity of also being able to progress onto a level 6 (degree) apprenticeship after my level 4 apprenticeship finished because this means that I will be able to continue learning and progressing in this field.
What are the benefits of doing an apprenticeship and why would you recommend it to others?
Doing an apprenticeship is a brilliant opportunity to learn and gain qualifications whilst working and earning a wage. I think that the best part of apprenticeships is taking what you learn at college and putting that into practice when you’re at work, cementing your knowledge and giving you both the practical and background understanding of why you do certain things in certain ways.
I would recommend an apprenticeship to everyone because of the opportunity they give to work, earn a wage, and continue your education, putting what you learn into practice and giving you a head start in the field of work you want to be in.
What difference does this apprenticeship make?
This apprenticeship, so far, has exposed me to new ideas and skills that I will be able to use both inside and outside of work, and is giving me the opportunity to work with some brilliant pieces of equipment that I wouldn’t have even dreamed of working with before starting this apprenticeship. It has also given me a greater appreciation of the work that happens behind the scenes that people don’t see both in the NHS and healthcare, as well as in the rest of society.
Do you have any advice for anyone interested in this apprenticeship?
I would suggest that those wanting to do this apprenticeship should
- Firstly, research the apprenticeship through job adverts (on NHS Jobs), apprenticeship fairs, talking to the employer or anything else that might give some information about what the apprenticeship is and what you would be doing.
- Secondly, find out about Leeds Teaching Hospitals to get some background and additional information on where you could be working.
- Finally, apply!
Name: Tahrimul Islam
Job role: Medical Engineering Apprentice
Area of Work: Medical Physics & Engineering
What apprenticeship are you doing/have you done?
The apprenticeship I am currently enrolled in is the Medical Engineering apprenticeship at Leeds teaching hospital, based in St James, Bexley wing. A two-year apprenticeship programme at level 4 which can later be progressed onto level 6 and onwards.
Why did you choose to do an apprenticeship at Leeds Teaching Hospitals?
Being raised in Leeds, I naturally felt more pride in working for the Leeds teaching hospital as it is the organisation that supplies healthcare within my city. I live locally to trust HQ as well making the placement of not just St James, but other hospitals within the trust very accessible for me. My reason behind doing this engineering apprenticeship is because I always told my self that I’d become an engineer one day, from a young age I’ve generally been a curious person, always tinkering with technology whenever the opportunity would arise. I enjoy problem solving and learning all the physics behind the equipment we work on, especially bigger and more expensive machines such the Linear accelerator, which fires high energy ‘x-rays’ to treat cancer by killing cancer cells.
What are the benefits of doing an apprenticeship and why would you recommend it to others?
The biggest advantage of doing an apprenticeship is without a doubt the experience gained whilst working. Something which you won’t be able to gain by purely studying at university. Along side this you will also be studying towards a qualification, so not only are you gaining the necessary experience and skills to thrive in your chosen field of expertise, but also gaining the relevant qualifications. For a lot of people, a deciding factor will be the pay, as an apprentice you will find that the pay is very good for someone young, for many it will be enough to begin gaining independence and learn valuable money management skills, potentially saving towards a big investment such as a car or house. One crucial thing to remember is that the scheme is paid for the employer/organisation, so you’re gaining all these benefits without going into debt.
What difference does this apprenticeship make?
From my experience, I’ve come to realise the crucial role technical staff play within the NHS. Med physics is the corner stone to almost everything within national healthcare service. Unfortunately, in recent years the area has seen a decline in workforce which has led to the need and development of apprentices. The role apprentices continue to become ever more important as more responsibility is passed on to us. This is done with future development in mind. This apprenticeship introduces you to the wide variety of disciplines within med physics, throughout the two years, we will move across 6 different department (clinical engineering, RTS, imagining, renal, rehabilitation and non-operational) encouraging development in numerous disciplines, not just one. It is also important to realise that a well-trained Apprentice can be very effective for a team. By allowing apprentices to take care of more smaller scale tasks, pressure will be taken off more experienced members of staff. This allows them to focus more crucial aspects of repairs/services, relaxing the team and increasing efficiency. Within LTHT, we have countless apprentices that are now in high dependable roles, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the scheme to develop apprentices to a high standards with many in managerial/leadership roles.
Do you have any advice for anyone interested in this apprenticeship?
My advice for anyone thinking of doing an apprenticeship is to first do your research, is it related to a field where you hold an interest? What future opportunities are available to you? What other pathways can this apprenticeship lead to etc. properly ensure that you’re making the right decision and that you hold an interest for the job you’re applying for. One thing that you’ll come to realise pretty early on that apprenticeship are very different from college/school/uni. You will most likely be working full time, with standard work hour (7.5 hours). This is something that may take time for many to adjust to, by best advice would be to get into the rhythm of making a routine, and just generally becoming more organised, for example, getting to bed on time, waking up early etc. work experience is very good, most jobs have the same principle regarding discipline, understanding, organisation etc. showing that you have previous work experience demonstrates to the employer that you already hold skills that can be applied to the job. Make sure when applying that your cover letter is unique and stands out as apprenticeship are becoming ever more competitive as they continue to grow in popularity, you need to be able to differentiate yourself from the rest of the crowd.
Name: Hannah Leach
Job role: Medical Engineering Apprentice
I started this apprenticeship in September 2022 but I originally went to university to study medical engineering. The level of practical work in university made me rethink my choices. I studied maths, physics and chemistry at A-level in college, which has really helped me. The hands on problem solving of engineering was something I was really interested in and I have a few family members that work in the NHS. When I found this apprenticeship, I knew it was the right path for me to become an engineer. I had found the apprenticeship through the NHS jobs website because I wanted to find a more practical based way of getting my degree.
Submitting my application was really simple and I was later invited for an assessment with 2 other applicants. When I arrived on site, I was greeted by 2 current apprentices and then Omran and Chris, who is another team leader. We were given a short presentation about why the apprenticeship was set, its success in the previous years and a basic view of what it entailed. There was a maths and literacy competency test that we completed online for Dudley college, who run the course side of the apprenticeship. I then completed a trade test both by myself and with the other applicants.
The next stage of the process was an individual interview with 3 team leaders. Liz, Omran and Dan. They all made me feel really welcome and at ease during my interview but I was really nervous before hand. They asked me questions about my background in engineering and why I wanted to work in the post. It was made easier by them tailoring some of the questions more to me. When asked about my hobbies, I said I rode a motorcycle and therefore the asked have I ever fixed something or how do I maintain it. I was offered the role quite soon after my final interview. After an induction period, I was ready to start in my first team in clinical engineering.
I’ve been in my post for around 4 and a half months now and in that time I have been in three different teams in three different departments. In each team, I felt really welcome and included in the work. Even though these departments are really busy they always find time to train us and make sure we understand what is going on. My first team was clinical engineering and they deal with a mixture of medical devices, like anaesthetic machines and obs machines. I got to go to wards, the operating theatres and out to Seacroft hospital. I then moved to the wheelchair services in rehabilitation engineering at Seacroft hospital. There I worked with engineers and occupational therapists to ensure patients were receiving the best wheelchair for them and their needs. It’s one of the few chances we get to be directly involved in patients care and it made that placement so much better. You also see the difference you’re making to patients first-hand rather than knowing that piece of equipment will be used at some point. I am now in radiotherapy services, which deal with the linear accelerators and ct scanners that help treat patients with cancer. It has been really interesting learning some of the intricate details that allow us to treat people with various cancers and some of the behind the scenes of how such a large service works.
Since starting here, I have learnt things and improved skills that can help me away from work. I have learnt to improve my time organising skills because you are working a full time job as well as studying. I have also really improved my communication skills because I’m always asking questions about new pieces of equipment I’m working on.
