Education

[Val G]

I agree with what has been said previously, after working in labs, in the NHS and industry, for MANY years and seeing people come in with no practical skills. But what is really annoying me at the moment is the people who have got many years of practical experience in the same outdated environment and refuse to move forward, especially with regard to using IT. I'm not a whizz, but should senior professional people in this day and age really need to be told, 'to close, click the little black cross at the top right hand corner of the window'(some wouldn't even know what you meant by a 'window' - scary eh?). Or another favourite - leaving little notes, to convey important messages to the entire department (not everyone is email literate!)
(NHS) Labs need to be efficient to survive and need to use all available technology to achieve that!
Sorry for the frustrated rant.

[Andrew MacLean]

Val

Never apologize for ranting!

Actually, I think thatyou hve identified an important training need. Maybe a couple of weeks at the head of a new appointment to make sure that the appointee has the necessary skills would be a good idea. this would also identify training needs, and special equipment needs.

Andrew

[GarethB]

My main problem is I am not allowe to work on certain projects as my hourly rate is higher than everyone elses in the lab because of my experience.

I thought I was employed for my experience, instead someone 10 years my junior with 1 years lab experience is running a project with four people, 2 6 months post grad, 2 industrial placements.

Where's the skill base?

[Andrew MacLean]

Gareth

The same thing happens in the NHS. I have a condition called Obstructive Sleep Apnoea. this necessitates the use of a little air pump called a CPAP all the time I am asleep.

Without the machine I'd stop breathing and wake up in the Kingdom of glory, leaving my wife and children with my study to tidy.

Every so often I have to go into hospital for an overnight check to make sure that my CPAP is properly callibrated. Now the NHS emnploys technicians with many years experience, who know about apnoea and what to do.

The NHS also emloyes trainee technicians whom they pay a pittance. But the experienced people get paid a lot and so their overtime payments for a sleep study would be very expensive. The result is that the least experienced members of staff are left alone to conduct the study.

There is no training value in their being there, since there is no trainer on site. It just saves the NHS a bit of cash.

Andrew

[GarethB]

Billy Conolly has the same problem, a fellow countryman of yours.

[Andrew MacLean]

Yes, I know. Spooky isn't it.

[Lynn White]

Now this sounds like the old philsophical bantering whereby one says Paddy has red hair.. and he also is an Irishman. Now Ted also has red hair... ergo he is an Irishman!

Mind you, am I missing something here? Are there other connections to the Big Yin?

Lynn

[Andrew MacLean]

No, it is just that both BC and I happen to be from Scotland and we both happen to have the same sleep disorder.

Andrew is a Scot and he has Keratoconus and Apnoea
Billy is a Scot but he does not have Keratoconus
therefore Billy has Apnoea

Non sequator, I know but hey, its Saturday!

[John Smith]

But how do we know that Billy does not have KC.

Just because he's made the sleep disorder public...

[Lynn White]