NHS Western Isles attend P7-S1 Transition Event at the Nicolson Institute 

Teams from NHS Western Isles recently supported the P7-S1 Transition with the Nicolson Institute and the Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) team. 

Each table had opportunities for pupils to understand what is involved in the respective roles, as well as sampling some of the hands-on experiences our workforce encounters each day. 

The event was attended by staff from Information Technology (IT); the Laboratory; Medical & Nursing Teams; Surgical Ward; Theatre; Primary Care and Human Resources (HR).  

Pupils were encouraged to interview members of staff to establish why they chose careers in the NHS. There were competitions for the pupils to continue their interactions with winners receiving vouchers. 

Health and wellbeing was the theme selected for this year’s transition, and aimed to support the development of Healthcare Employability Skills in the Broad General Education (BGE), with a specific emphasis on the primary to secondary transition point of the learner journey. The programme sought to introduce learners to career pathways in the NHS through the transition curriculum. 

The programme was designed with primary lessons delivered prior to the scheduled transition days, followed by a series of lessons in secondary school with a focus on health and the NHS. This was then complemented by NHS Western Isles offering information and experiential learning opportunities to provide pupils with a holistic educational experience which will support this educational pathway. 

The lessons were designed to enable pupils to identify skills and match these to their own career aspirations. 

As part of this event, NHS Western Isles supported with the development of these primary school lessons linked to NHS Western Isles and the wider healthcare profession. These lessons were delivered across the different primary schools and had a particular focus on: 

• The history of the NHS 
• Working in the NHS 
• You and the NHS 
• Technology in the NHS 

Stuart King, Organisational Development & Learning Manager, NHS Western Isles has said “We would like to thank the schools, the DYW team and all the attendees at this transition event for making it an immensely engaging and interactive session for the pupils. We hope these efforts, and understanding the benefits of working in Healthcare, will be the start of some pupils thinking about careers within NHS Western Isles in the future.”