The event will feature a simulated corridor that shows a patient’s journey, from the community to the emergency department, through to the operating theatres, a hospital ward and back into community care. Using actual teams of staff involved in healthcare, the simulations give attendees an insight into the real world of health and social care work. From there, the young people will be able to access approximately 45 stands highlighting over 100 careers.
The stands will also be facilitated by health and social care staff from across the Bassetlaw area, who will together challenge the perceptions of available roles within health care and raise the aspirations of our young people. The students will also have the opportunity to interact with a range of education providers who will advise and guide them on the range of vocational and academic pathways available. The event will be a highly interactive experience.
The event organisers approached all secondary schools within Bassetlaw to invite their year 8 students to the day. This is the first time the We Care into the Future careers event is being held in the Bassetlaw area, having been successfully hosted within Doncaster since 2019. It is expected to become an annual event for Bassetlaw, so that each year, students poised to select their options for key stage four education, can do so armed with the knowledge around local job opportunities within a healthcare setting.
Dr Sam Debbage, Director of Education and Research at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals (DBTH) said: “We are pleased that we can now offer this exciting careers event to the young people of Bassetlaw. The We Care into the Future event was firstly held at Doncaster and is returning once again this year to a wider audience. Past events have been really well received by all who attended, with very positive feedback from the students and their tutors. Our colleagues who facilitate the event also thoroughly enjoy the chance to meet our next generation of healthcare workers, and volunteer to represent their specialism on the day. We are keen to have our young people from the Bassetlaw area get the chance to meet our colleagues and be inspired by their energy and enthusiasm.
“Health and social care offers a wide range of career prospects, from patient-facing roles to accountants, IT experts and tradespeople, many of which are not usually associated with careers in health and social care but are just as essential in ensuring a hospital like ours can function. We Care into the Future is a fantastic opportunity to kick-start those conversations with young people, encouraging them to begin thinking about what comes after their education.”
Luke Dickinson, Principle for Retford Oaks Academy – A Foundation School in Health, said: “This is an exciting day for the students within Bassetlaw, they will be able to get a comprehensive feel for the options they can consider when thinking about the next steps in their education. Many children are not aware of the breadth of roles on offer within healthcare, this event will help to support our children in making decisions about their Keystage 4 pathways and beyond. It will also ensure that students can feel confident about their career journey into healthcare, therefore ensuring we have a workforce capable of supporting healthcare services into the future. Retford Oaks Academy is proud that our pupils who, as part of our partnership with DBTH as a Foundation School in Health, are getting actively involved as Healthcare Ambassadors, and will be on standby to help in the running of the day’s events.”
At Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals alone there are over 250 different career pathways, from patient-facing roles to those in non-patient facing roles, all working together to deliver high quality patient care and treatment.
During the event, representatives will be available from Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals, Sheffield Hallam University, The University of Sheffield, BPP University, RNN Group, Bassetlaw Community and Voluntary Service (BCVS), Barnsley Premium Leisure, Home Instead, Nottinghamshire County Council and Bassetlaw District Council.
This event is part of a new partnership between Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals and Retford Oaks Academy, having become a Foundation School in Health last year. The event has also generated interest from organisations across the country who wish to hold similar career events for their locality. Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals are hoping that with their support, We Care into the Future will become a nationally recognised Health and Social Care careers event.
