Medical Scientists On-Call

Tind777

Hey just wondering what the trend around the country is in this in terms of medical scientists(lab techs) making huge bucks in bio and haematology labs doing on-call? and also whats the story with radiographers, etc

Thanks

Tree

wouldn't say huge bucks, it depends on the lab you end up in, how many of ye are there and how busy the on-call actually is. with the way the hse is consolidating it's lab services into as few hospitals as possible, you'll find less oncall in teh future i'd say. It's still a fascinating career and well worth looking in to.

microgirl

Hah, I *wish* I was making mega-bucks on call! Ok, so I don't work in one of the major hospitals, and I do believe (purely from anecdotal stories from colleagues who have worked there, or currently have friends/other halves working there) that in the bigger hopsitals certainly you can earn pretty good money on-call - but you're earning it! Yes, in Biochem it can be a bit cushy, as an awful lot of it is stick a sample in a machine, press a button and away you go, but in the more labour-intensive labs not so much.

And it's per sample, so if you're say, working in Mount Carmel, or Cavan General, you're not going to earn what someone in Tallaght or Beaumount earn.

Also, it's extremely likely that in the next 5 years the "historical" payment structure is going to be re-vamped and bring the more ridiculous levels of payment into normal ranges.

It's a great job, and certainly the pay isn't approaching anything bad, but you work for it on-call (as in, you've done your full day, and then you just stick around for another 12 hours on-call, or maybe you get a couple of hours off for dinner, and then you're back. And in one of the busy hospitals, where you'll make more money, you're awake for all that time, not sleeping somewhere waiting for a call)

Tind777

well its just im hearing stories of labs not in dublin, with people making 35k+ per year in on-call and of some bio labs gettin sample numbers up to 100 per night, hitting the 2k mark for 9 hours work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Stepherunie

I'm a radiographer.

We run a 24 hour service so year you can earn a lot of on call. Can earn up to 15K in your first year depending on how much you work.

Because we have so many modalities you need a lot of people on call every night, 3/4 in the hospital and then up to 8 on call from home.


There was a thing in the press that you could earn a grand in a night. Rare but it has happened - if you're a clinical specialist and really busy all night with constant patients then it could feasibly happen but I wouldn't expect it!

Jeapy

OP, your text is really hard to read! Ya, as said before, the amount you make depends on what lab and how busy it is.
Eg in micro labs it's not v busy at night but you could get an urgent CSF or blood culture to put up. They get paid more per call than they do in busy haem or bio labs. Same with small labs that are pretty quiet. The more calls you do, the less money you make per call.
Call work makes up most of the working hours and is done at a fraction of the cost of the regular working hours, hence scientists are very hesitant to agree to be paid less.
And to answer the original question, ya, it's not unheard of to make up to 30k extra per year on call in a big hospital. Being on call has great perks but it is not easy work. You start work at 9/9.30am and finish 24hours later, usually with few breaks. You have to be as alert at 5am as you were 18 hours before. You can't make mistakes!
Med Lab is brilliant though! Its a hard enough course so don't dream of it if you're not willing to put in a decent bit of effort. If you've any other qs you can pm me anytime.
Jeapy

lab tests 33

no official breaks

paying back more in tax than take home pay

grief from those outside the on call system who have no idea the amount of work we do

the lack of sleep.....

zzzzzzzzz.............im bored with everyones amazement at our overtime bill. i wish they would find a better system THAT WORKS so i could get some sleep!

sarahbrennan

i studying science at the minute, specializing in biochem, micro and physiology, hoping to get a job in a hospital lab but i dont really know anything about it, is it difficult to get a job ? is experience necessary and do labs ever take on students for unpaid work experience?

Tree

with a degree in biochemistry, you might have opportunity to become a clinical biochemist, im not entirely certain on what other qualifcations you will require.

in order to become a general medical scientist in a hospital lab you will need to be eligble to join or a member of the AMLS. For this you will need at least one year's experience, a degree from cork/dublin/galway (the BSC in biomedical science) or equivalent degree (which is judged on a one by one basis). Id suggest contacting the amls or checking their website at the very least.

as regards jobs in teh lab, it's not especially hard to do, but it's very hard to get. I know a few ppl suffering from the hse hiring freeze

liberal

Tind777 wrote: »

Hey just wondering what the trend around the country is in this in terms of medical scientists(lab techs) making huge bucks in bio and haematology labs doing on-call? and also whats the story with radiographers, etc

Thanks

hi

the money is supposed to be good, in fact i've heard it's amazing, but one must not believe all that one hears

i think if the "big bucks biomed" stories are true the points will be high this year in UCC when it becomes CAO entry for the first time

liberal

you could be approaching the end of a 20 hr day when 5 group and cross matches come into mallow general from an rta...... then you could be under pressure...and you be thinking, why didnt i do medicine :rolleyes:

EORaghallaigh

as a basic grade medical scientist you have potential to earn about 12-15K p/a on top of you basic salary by doing on call