Clare loves being a radiographer. She enjoys being on the frontline, caring for her patients and providing her clinical expertise. But after 18 years working for the NHS, Clare was finding she didn’t like the bits of the job that took her away from direct patient care. She also had other ambitions for her career – and no time to fulfil them.
So Clare became a temp.
As a locum radiographer, Clare can put her hard-earned qualifications and experience to use, in places where her clinical skillset is needed most. Clare has the experience to go in and be effective straight away. She’s doing what she loves – caring for people – and she’s helping overstretched teams in hospitals.
The flexibility of being a temp has allowed her to develop a training business so when she isn't on assignment she now helps others with their own professional development, and loves that, ultimately, this is contributing to patient care.
Through temping, Clare can be a radiographer, a trainer, and a student. Clare gives back further by being a member of her professional body and a member of a medical committee. All that wealth of knowledge accumulated through so much varied experience is put to good use.
But she knows that temping isn’t for everyone. Clare took the time to explain to us that being a temp isn’t a gold mine – she has to factor in that she doesn’t have a guaranteed annual salary. Equally, Clare believes you need many years of experience before becoming a locum. You are often placed into hospitals that are short-staffed and overburdened. You need to move from assignment to assignment, which involves travel and planning your time effectively. But the buzz Clare gets – from her work and by working in a way where she can fit in all her other commitments - makes it worthwhile.
Clare is someone you call when you need help. When a hospital suffered an arson attack that impacted the radiology department, Clare travelled overnight to get there, programme a scanner and deliver training to radiographers over the weekend, so that patients could still be provided appointments. During Covid, Clare worked wherever she was needed, including Nightingale hospitals, often at very short notice.
The thing about being a temp, with all her years of experience and qualifications behind her, is Clare can hit the ground running and help those communities that need her most. The strain the NHS is under has never been more apparent than now, and Clare feels grateful that she can help relieve some of that pressure. She learns from every locum position she has – and then shares this learning with colleagues and students. She sees this as her way of supporting the next generation of workers too.
Like all jobs, Clare sees things she would like to change. From IR35 to the health & safety and training requirements that are the bugbears of many NHS workers, she can see how the system could be improved.
But Clare always wants to be a radiographer. Just like her substantive colleagues, she is a state registered radiographer. Her contract type makes no difference.
For Clare, temp work works.
