Nine eager new Mammography Associate apprentices have taken part in an induction day provided by the National Breast Imaging Academy (NBIA) at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) in partnership with Health Education England (HEE).
The event was held at the Nightingale Centre at Wythenshawe Hospital, part of MFT. The apprentices and their mentors were welcomed by Lyndsay Kinnear, Training and Education Lead for Mammography at the Nightingale Centre, and Rachel Chalk from HEE.
The apprentices will undertake study sessions at the Nightingale Centre and on the job training in their host NHS Trusts, leading to a final exam and clinical practice observation. The apprenticeship programme covers clinical mammography, mammography science, professional practice, quality assurance, communication and team working, and health and safety.
After qualifying, the apprentices will work in the NHS Breast Screening Programme and symptomatic breast units, undertaking routine mammography.
Three of the new apprentices are based at MFT, while the remaining six come from Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.
Manchester is the latest location to offer the Level 4 mammography associate apprenticeship, alongside centres in London and Epsom. Two additional centres, in London and Nottingham, will offer the apprenticeship from 2020.
Lyndsay Kinnear chaired the Mammography Associate Trailblazer group of NHS and academic experts who developed the Apprenticeship Standard.
She explained: “The apprenticeship is part of a comprehensive programme of training, recruitment and career development aimed at tackling the national workforce shortages in NHS breast imaging.
“As demand for breast imaging services increases, the NBIA is co-ordinating efforts to reduce job vacancies across the multi-professional breast imaging workforce, improve screening targets and help deliver the NHS Long Term Plan goal of increased early diagnosis of cancer. Our enthusiastic apprentices will play a key role in achieving this.”
For more information about the Mammography Associate Level 4 qualification, please go to https://nationalbreastimagingacademy.org/radiography/mammography-associate-apprenticeship/