60 seconds with Annie Knowles, Education and Training Lead Sonographer
Tell us about your role. What do you do?
I’m the Education and Training Lead Sonographer for our hospitals and have responsibility for the co-ordination of training across the Trust for all ultrasound trainees including those who are new to ultrasound gaining their first qualification and postgraduate sonographers wishing to upskill or advance their practice.
How does your work benefit staff?
As the first line co-ordinator of trainees and their course providers, I take the stress off site leads having to cope with paperwork, meetings and conversations with institutions they have no time to deal with. I work one-to-one with all trainees periodically and their supervisors to offer guidance and support for improvement and progress providing ongoing formative practice feedback reports.
I am also involved in final summative sign off for competency of ultrasound imaging practice. I work closely with all Trust ultrasound site leads to ensure smooth clinical running of the service and that policies and protocols affecting practice are optimal. I help to identify and rectify any practice issues affecting our service to promote better quality patient experience. A main part of my job is to improve CPD opportunities for my staff both internally and externally to the Trust to promote advanced practice opportunities and improve clinical pathways.
What are some simple things staff can do to improve their wellbeing?
Sonographers are at high risk of RSI due to the nature of repetitive scanning and body positioning at the time of scanning. We try and provide a varied rota for staff to ensure staff can alternate between types of scan lists and allows use of different muscle groups to operate the machinery - all help to reduce RSI. Mandatory breaks are built into the lists to allow rest and rehabilitation and staff are encouraged to move around between lists and to Datix or provide risk assessments for any areas of concern.
What are the most impressive initiatives you've seen to improve wellbeing?
We have had good input and advice from our moving and handling team who have visited our department (Valerie Phillips). I know some of our staff have attended some of the fitness and yoga classes advertised on the intranet - I have had great feedback, they all enjoyed these. I myself have been lucky enough to gain free tickets to see some fantastic West End shows over the last few years. Sometimes the tickets are only available at short notice or within working hours for most. I am lucky I only work part time at the moment so have managed to get to see some fabulous shows with great seats! The freebie wellbeing products are always a big hit with the whole team!
What’s the highlight of your job?
I get great satisfaction from seeing all of our trainees successfully qualify on time and am very proud of our ultrasound supervisors for getting them there. We take many more trainees on than any other UK hospital site I know of. Many hospitals take just 2 students max per year and we attempt to train anything up to eight per year. Barts Health Ultrasound is at the forefront of providing sonographers for the country not just for BH! – Sonography is deemed an at-risk job by DOH and we are making a huge significant impact on the qualifying sonography workforce.
What's the biggest challenge?
I am only 0.4 whole time equivalent and I think I speak for my whole team that my hours are not nearly enough to cope with such an enormous workload of teaching, training and progressing our workforce. We are trying to increase the training lead establishment to fit with best hospital need & practice. There is a hope of creating an ultrasound training academy in the not too distant future to increase further training opportunities to wider London areas and improve early cancer diagnosis. This can’t happen with 0.4wte but fingers crossed. Watch this space…
What could be improved?
I have worked at BH since 1997 (in a radiographer/ sonographer/ site lead/ manager role) and have seen many radical changes over the decades. We can always improve! In my own job role which started in 2016 I have reflected on each year to focus on areas of improvement needed which could not have occurred without some significant and difficult experiences. HEE education funding could be utilised more efficiently if funding allocations and decisions are made earlier in the calendar year.
I find it very hard to manage study requests that come to me earlier in the year. I know that the education academy are now including AHPs in their clinical/ academic plans annually however I feel this is still in its early stages and there needs to be more focus placed on the importance of AHPs to this trust in future. Better focus from senior management to support AHP day this year may help to aid recruitment nationally from school leavers and generate external interest in these fields.
Other things I am proud of not mentioned here are: I gained an associate fellow of the higher education academy qualification October last year and this year a Society of Radiographers Accreditation as a Practice Educator May 2019.