To coincide with its Step into the NHS schools’ competition, NHS Careers recently polled 1,000 young people aged 11-16 to discover what they know about healthcare job roles, other than the nurses, doctors and paramedics shown on popular TV programmes.
Just over half (56 per cent) of 11-16s said they had considered the NHS as a future career option, however 75 per cent felt that it was essential to be able to handle the sight of blood, when in reality this is not a daily task for many NHS staff. 60per cent were also convinced that it was important to be good at science to work in the NHS. Although around 55,000 healthcare scientists are employed by the NHS, the workforce of 1.3 million also includes roles such as librarian and play coordinators, which don’t require science qualifications.
Alan Simmons, careers consultant at NHS Careers, said:
“With over 350 job roles, working in the NHS can mean a lot more than being a doctor or nurse. The NHS needs a whole team of staff, from paramedics to speech and language therapists, secretaries to cooks, to make sure that patients receive the best care possible.
“The Step into the NHS competition offers students a fantastic opportunity to both learn more about job roles in the health services and to think creatively about how to encourage people to work in the NHS.”
For more information on Step into the NHS and the schools' competition, see our NHS Careers pages or visit www.stepintothenhs.nhs.uk