Induction number 3

Cardiff, May 2013

I've been enduring a third episode of workplace induction, to celebrate the start of my third year as an employed Dietitian. It has been uninspiring and tedious, but has also highlighted some important differences between the two Trusts that have employed me.

I'm back at NHS Trust #1, and induction has changed considerably in the two years since I last went through it here. It is much better - I did not have to sit through the wholly irrelevant and inappropriate session about how to order and collect blood for transfusion, for example. We had a practical handwashing session including UV lighting to highlight deficits in technique. There is a whole lot of e-learning to support topics like manual handling, infection control and 'Health and Safety Awareness' where previously these were all live presentations.

In terms of IT, I got my Smart card and ID card within the first two days; my email account and network access were working almost immediately, and as an added bonus my email address is the same as it was a year ago. During induction, the emails I failed to delete before leaving were still there, as were 470 emails received in the 12 months since I last used the account. I even received my own email thanking me for my leaving presents. Unfortunately, on Thursday when I tried to log in, the system told me my account had been disabled, and when IT support got it back, all my emails and files had disappeared, together with all the messages I had been sent that week about where and how to retrieve various documents and details of meetings.

We still had to sit through quite a lot of Powerpoint, though. Welcome from the Executive Managers, the fire officer's lecture stating the bleedin' obvious, Information Governance (which mostly means confidentiality and data protection), an introduction to the Library, a slightly too-graphic presentation about Safeguarding Children, and Conflict Resolution. Oh, how bored I am of hearing about Conflict Resolution. It gets a lot of time in the programme, probably because of national guidelines, but has not changed in two years. Of course we must try to provide respect and dignity to colleagues, patients and the public, and must try to prevent and mitigate conflict, but oh! the endless acronyms and six stages of this or that and don't forget how we are allowed to defend ourselves and use reasonable force to prevent a crime, and what exactly is the definition of Assault, and should it be reported as clinical or non-clinical?

The highlight of the induction two years ago was a presentation on Equality and Diversity, which has now sadly been changed to an e-learning module - the only one in which I scored 100%. I have learned a great deal more about the incidence, prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism than any Dietitian needs to know. The latest defibrillation machine is pretty snazzy, and it can even tell you whether you are doing your chest compressions correctly.

All in all, having three compulsory days at the very beginning of a new job is a comprehensive, timely and efficient method of ensuring that statutory and mandatory training is done, especially compared with NHS Trust #2. In that Trust, despite my best efforts, I didn't manage to complete my induction and mandatory training in the 11 months I worked there. And the relief of having modern computers with up-to-date software again is only slightly dented by the loss of all those emails and files.

Other good news: parking at the hospital was arranged swiftly and effectively, and I have been given extra hours on a permanent basis, making 27 hours a week over 4 days. Still ten and a half hours short of full time, but much nearer, and I think the end result will be very similar to what I was getting paid in the last job, if you take account of not needing so much fuel or accommodation costs.