Gaining new experiences through the NHSCB

“It really helped me develop new connections and different relationships with people across the healthcare sector.”

Dr Ahmad Radwan, an ST6 anaesthetist currently on placement at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester champions the need for more resident doctors to join the NHS Collaborative Bank (NHSCB) and earn while they learn.

Originally from Cairo in Egypt, Ahmad joined the NHSCB shortly after he started as an ST3 in 2021, following many years of training in his home country. Ahmad explains the benefits of using the NHSCB and the advantages it has brought him while he trains.

He explained: “It’s really important to adapt to different cultures and operations across the different hospital trusts. I realised quite early on that people work in very different ways and it was helpful to gain an understanding of that while working bank shifts. It has really helped me develop new connections and different relationships with people across the healthcare sector.”

NHSCB works through one payslip and doesn’t require doctors to go through pre-employment checks each time they pick up shifts at a different trust hospital. Ahmad predominantly books bank shifts across the north west, explaining that “the NHSCB has a wide range of shifts available which can be worked around your training”. He continues: “Joining the NHSCB offers a much broader experience in terms of the different settings and areas you can work in. Locum shifts within a trust are good but there is not as much flexibility to be able to pick up shifts as and when you need them, something I’ve benefitted from with NHSCB. Using the Wagestream app, which has a really simple interface and is easy to you, has given me access to my bank shift pay at any time during the month, so I don’t have to wait for my monthly payday.”

Speaking about Ahmad’s passion for medicine, he explains that he is following in his family’s footsteps. He said: “This was always going to be my career, as my father and sister are doctors and my brother is a dentist, so I’m definitely following my family’s area of expertise. I really enjoy anaesthetics and I gain that adrenaline rush when it comes to emergency medicine. You must think quickly, pulling all your clinical, medical and surgical skills into your decisions. What I have learnt is that anaesthetists are needed by everyone in a hospital setting and it’s a very well-respected role. It offers such a huge variation and contrast day to day and has given me the opportunity to progress medically while also gaining experience in management and leadership.”

Join Ahmad and other resident doctors by joining the largest collaborative bank in the UK, please email nhs.collaborativebank@MerseyWestLancs.nhs.uk