When I first started blood testing (all those years ago)
we would only do blood tests on seriously urgent cases in the night. Being
called in from home for each case it was rare to have more than half a dozen
samples all night long. Last night I did over fifty blood counts and over
thirty haemostatic (clotting) investigations.
And (in all honesty) by today's standards it was a
rather quiet night.
I spent much of last night's shift thinking about an email
my professional body sent me yesterday. They are launching a new initiative:
"Become a biomedical
scientist” and are trying to
get current biomedical scientists involved. Part of their email said: "While
it is every individual’s own responsibility to inform themselves and make their
own decisions when embarking on their career, as a professional body we have a
greater responsibility to enable our future members to make the right choices
at the right moments in their lives".
With that in mind I really can't get involved with this
initiative.
Have a look at this table which
compares the average pay rates for different careers (the data comes from
official UK big data sources). What I do isn't listed (no surprise there)
but the average pay for someone in my job is not much different to that listed
for rail travel operatives, road construction operatives and office managers.
But the average pay rate of what I do is after several years in post following
a minimum of four years at university and includes (frankly rather poor)
enhancements for working outside of "routine" hours.
I don't want to appear negative, but anyone considering the
"right choices at the right moments in their lives" must
consider money and work-life balance.
On the one hand people can choose to go to university for
years and run up massive debts to then take on a job which involves being
contracted to work at any time of night or day on any day of the year.
On the other hand people can choose not go to university
and have a job which gives them evenings and weekends either free, or paid at
sensible overtime rates.
There are those who might claim "there is more to
life than money". But in my experience they are either rather naïve
and impressionable youngsters with no experience of life, or those with far too
much money.
Knowing what I know now, I would never work anywhere that
doesn't periodically put up a "closed" sign.
As always I was pleased to see the early shift arrive. Just
as they arrived so my phone beeped. A new geocache had gone live just down the
road from work. Having got a First to Find on the way in to work last night I
got another on a little diversion on my way home this morning.
I then set off homewards feeling suitably smug.
As I drove home through a clearly utterly unnecessary
"Operation Brock" the pundits on the radio spouted their usual
brand of nonsense. One bit made me sit up and take notice though. As India
looks set to become the fourth country to land a space probe on the Moon it turns
out that the UK has sent them over two billion quid in foreign
aid over the last few years.
I got home, and went to bed for a few hours. After a late
brekkie I took the dogs for a little walk. We went to Pets at Home to collect
the tick collars I’d ordered. What with one thing and another I’d not sorted
those early enough this year, but when we pulled a tick from each dog
yesterday, something had to be done.
Pets at Home was hard work. The dogs were very
over-excited, and having everyone wanting to fuss them was just a nuisance I
could have done without. Usually I’m only too happy to have them fussed, but
I’m never on top form after a night shift.
I spent the afternoon ironing then sleeping whilst watching
episodes of “Shameless”. “er indoors TM” is sorting
dinner. That and a bottle of plonk after last night’s night shift hopefully
should be good for a decent night’s kip.
Here’s hoping.
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