Hi all
I was really interested to see what the replies to this were. I am a band 5 who retrained in librarianship fairly recently and wanted to share my thoughts on some of them.
• Geographic variations in cost-of-living are a major issue. So moving north & west is OK but to the south-east is costly and often unaffordable - I agree this is probably one of the major issuers. relocating when you have a family/commitments is a major undertaking. And band 5 jobs often don't pay enough to take on the risk of relocating, particularly for a limited contract role.
• Recruiting to Band 5s is easier than Band 6s. Is this because the 5s have settled down are less able/willing to move ? - I also agree with this. Band 5 covers such a wide variety of roles that it is entirely possible that band 5s will be at a stage in life where relocation is very difficult to consider. I personally think we should have bands 5 a and b to reflect the wise range of roles and experience in this band.
• It seems essential to advertise outside NHS Jobs - I agree with this, if you want to attract a wider pool of potential candidates.
• Does health librarianship scare people? Are we too cutting-edge? Does the clinical involvement (and responsibility) frighten people off? Are there enough people of the right calibre in the profession? - As a recent (re)trainer I agree that the responsibility involves scares some people off. Working in the NHS can be a complete mystery to those with no family background or connections in the sector and health librarianship is often still a mystery to many. (When I started my role for example, some friends thought I would be pushing a books trolley round the wards).
• Are library schools pushing health as an option or are they still public/academic focussed? - I can only speak for Man Met but there was a big drive towards health librarianship when I was there; HEE came into career days and in 2020 they introduced health librarianship as an optional module on the course.
Best wishes
Emma
Emma Dent BA (Hons), PGDip
Assistant Librarian, Wrightington Hospital
Wrightington Library is staffed 12.30-5, Mondays to Fridays. If you require assistance at other times please email [log in to unmask]
T: 01257 256352
E: [log in to unmask]
W: www.wwl.nhs.uk
########################################################################
To unsubscribe from the LIS-MEDICAL list, click the following link:
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=LIS-MEDICAL&A=1
This message was issued to members of www.jiscmail.ac.uk/LIS-MEDICAL, a mailing list hosted by www.jiscmail.ac.uk, terms & conditions are available at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/
|