Nurses and healthcare scientists from NHS Forth Valley feature in a new NHS Scotland recruitment campaign which is being shown on TV and in cinemas across the country. The campaign aims to encourage young people to consider a career in healthcare and find out more about the wide range of opportunities that exist.

The new Careers in Healthcare “What Did You Do Today” campaign shines a light on real healthcare professionals working in a variety of roles and stars two NHS Forth Valley paediatric nurses (Annabel Burns and Grant Brown who work in the Children’s Ward at Forth Valley Royal Hospital) and Natalie Kerr, a Healthcare Scientist with NHS Forth Valley who works in Pathology Services at Forth Valley Royal Hospital, where filming for new advert took place.

Commissioned by the Scottish Government, the campaign highlights a wide range of healthcare professions within the NHS including midwifery, healthcare science and allied health professionals such as radiographers, dietitians and paramedics. It also shows that nurses can work in GP practices, community clinics, people’s homes, schools, hospitals and operating theatre as new research showed that, although that nearly two thirds of adults in Scotland (65%) view nursing as a positive career choice, 30% were not aware of the many different career paths available.

The national drive aims to reach as many people as possible and, as well as TV, cinema and radio, the campaign will run across newspapers, radio, online and social media. It will also be supported by a new healthcare careers website https://careersinhealthcare.scot/

Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “Trying to decide what career you will follow is both exciting and, at times, a bit daunting. A career in healthcare is one of the most diverse and rewarding jobs a young person can pursue – and we want to support them.
“As well as an undergraduate bursary of £10,000 available for those choosing to study nursing or midwifery in 2020, a nursing, midwifery, allied health profession or healthcare science degree is highly valued, both here in Scotland and all over the world.

“Our dedicated NHS staff are the beating heart of our health service and it is vital that we help support the nurses, midwives and healthcare professionals of the future.”