8 NEWS SYNERGY NEWS DECEMBER 2013 www.sor.org


A day in the life of... a regional officer


Marie Bullough kicks off a new series focusing on different roles within the organisation. (Please note that this is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental!)


Monday


7am: Set off on two hour drive to represent a member in a disciplinary hearing beginning at 10.30am. Meeting member at 9.45am but need to leave time for parking and allow for any hold ups on the motorway.


9.45am: Meet member at the main entrance – you


have to get used to going up to people and asking them if they are the person you are looking for. This can lead to some strange encounters. We go off to the hospital canteen to sit


down and go through the paperwork and make last minute plans. Most of the preparation is done over the phone.


1pm: Disciplinary hearing breaks for lunch. Find


myself in the canteen again with the member who is very upset at the allegations made against her, what the witnesses have said and the general stress of the situation. I get out the tissues.


3pm: Disciplinary hearing ends. The member is given


a first written warning which is reasonable but she isn’t happy. She wants to discuss an appeal. We go back to the canteen.


4pm: Leave for home.


7pm: Arrive home having hit the rush hour traffic. Check for urgent emails.


Tueday


A day in the office today so a chance to catch up on the routine emails from yesterday and the weekend and to make phone calls. I spend around three hours


preparing for a grievance hearing next week as the paperwork has to be submitted by Friday of this week.


Calling all advanced practitioners imaging in radiotherapy!


• Feeling lonely? • Want to share your ideas? • Want to share your research? • Want to pick someone else’s brain? Are you aware there is a special interest group for our advanced radiotherapy imaging practitioners?! Find more details at


bit.ly/1bNshQy


Join the Google group In order for you to take part in discussions, you will need to join


the Google group. You can do this by emailing jenny.poole@uhs.nhs.uk and requesting to be a member by outlining your role and responsibilities and what you aim to obtain from being a member. Once your request has been accepted (and please do this in a timely manner otherwise your invitation will expire), you will need to create a Google account in order to log into the group.


Wedneday


The day starts in the office as I have an evening meeting with a group of members who are in dispute with their management. They work across a large area and so meeting at 6pm allows as many as possible to come along. I spend the day


answering emails, making phone calls and preparing for tonight’s meeting as well as for a student talk tomorrow.


4pm: Set out to meeting. I have arranged


to meet the local SoR representatives half an hour before the members’ meeting. We meet in the hospital canteen (a theme is developing here) and agree a strategy to take to the members.


6pm: Members meeting. A very good


meeting, all members agreed that the next step is industrial action so we discuss and agree the format of that action. I talk the members through what it means to take industrial action and the importance of sticking together.


I spend a couple of hours in the office preparing for the industrial action ballot to ensure that we comply with the law.


on ‘Radiographers and the law’ at 2pm.


3.30pm: I finish a very stimulating session. All


7.30pm: I drive home. Tursday


the cohort were ready and willing to interact and discuss the issues which always makes the session more interesting and the time fly.


5pm: I arrive home and check for urgent emails.


Friday


10am: Arranged to meet with the SoR reps in a local trust only a short drive away to discuss some problems they are having in their department and look at possible ways forward.


1pm: Home in time for lunch!


12pm: I set out to do a second year student talk


I return phone calls, answer emails and do any preparation required for Monday.


2pm -5pm


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40