Job summary
University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) is pleased to offer two fulltime training posts in Echocardiography within our Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull (HGS) hospital sites. These posts form part of the National School of Healthcare Science (NSHCS) Echocardiography Training Programme, funded by Health Education England.
This is an excellent opportunity to begin a career in echocardiography within one of the largest, busiest, and most forwardthinking NHS Trusts in the country. Trainees will gain experience in a modern, wellsupported environment, working alongside highly skilled echocardiographers and clinicians.
Successful candidates will rotate across all three HGS sites to gain comprehensive clinical exposure:
Good Hope Hospital
Heartlands Hospital
Solihull Hospital
Additional rotations to other sites may be arranged to support specialist skill development.
Across the HGS sites, we offer:
*14 dedicated echocardiography rooms equipped with the latest imaging technology
*A knowledgeable and supportive team of over 30 echocardiographers
*Access to a broad range of Echocardiographerled services, including:
Bubble contrast studies
Left ventricular contrast imaging
Specialist valve clinics
Transoesophageal echocardiography
Stress echocardiography
We are committed to supporting a healthy work--life balance and offer a 4day working week, with services delivered between 08:00 and 18:00.
Both posts are 18 month fixed term contracts.
Main duties of the job
As a trainee on this programme, you will develop the full range of skills required to perform and independently report adult transthoracic echocardiograms to BSE Level 2 adult accreditation standard -- the recognised benchmark for advanced clinical competence in echocardiography.
On successful completion, you will be awarded a Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Echocardiography, giving you a strong academic foundation alongside your handson clinical training.
For full details about the national curriculum and structure of the programme, please visit the National School of Healthcare Science (NSHCS) website:
https://nshcs.hee.nhs.uk/programmes/echocardiography-training-programme
Your learning will blend structured academic teaching with immersive clinical experience:
Two university block weeks -- an opportunity to learn with your national cohort and consolidate theoretical knowledge.
75% practical, hands-on training -- scanning real patients under the guidance of highly skilled echocardiographers.
25% protected study time -- dedicated to completing academic coursework, reflective practice, and preparation for assessments.
Developing strong technical skills, sound clinical reasoning, and confidence in independent practice.
About us
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust strives to have an inclusive culture where everyone feels like they belong, can thrive, knows that they add value and feels valued. We do this by developing compassionate and culturally competent leaders, being values driven in all that we do and by creating a welcoming and inclusive workplace that thrives on the diversity of our people. As such we want to attract and recruit talented individuals from all backgrounds, and for each of you to feel supported for the diversity you bring, to achieve your full potential. For those staff with a disability, including physical disability, long term health condition, mental health or neurodiverse condition, this also means being committed to making reasonable adjustments needed for you to carry out your role.
Job description
Job responsibilities
*Please Note : For a detailed job description for this vacancy, please see attached Job Description*
Job description
Job responsibilities
*Please Note : For a detailed job description for this vacancy, please see attached Job Description*
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- A 1st or 2:1 in Cardiac Physiology (PTP) or a relevant scientific subject (examples include Pure or Applied Physics, Engineering, Biology or Human Biology, or Sports Science (if significant scientific content)
- OR
- Equivalent experience and appropriate underpinning knowledge and skills in cardiology. As evidenced for example by appropriate voluntary registration with the Registration Council for Clinical Physiologists or Academy for Healthcare Science.
Experience
Essential
- Has an understanding of the role of an Echocardiographer in healthcare and disease and its application in a healthcare setting.
- A committed, in depth interest in Echocardiography and its application to direct clinical care of patients in a clinical environment.
- Knowledge acquired through study and experience to formulate appropriate advice and judgements, including clinical judgements involving facts or situations that impact on patients.
- Patient confidentiality
Desirable
- Working knowledge of the NHS
Additional Criteria
Essential
- Ability to develop proficiency in the performance of routine and complex techniques currently in use where they are training (ability to follow Standard Operating Procedures accurately)
- Able to identify problems associated with scientific equipment, inappropriate testing, incompatible results and to investigate these, plan corrective action confirming appropriateness with senior colleagues and follow up.
- Ability to analyse and assess scientific, technical and medical literature.
- Ability to use, maintain and troubleshoot scientific equipment.
- Good IT skills and knowledge of common computing packages for word processing, spreadsheets, presentation packages and databases.
- Ability to analyse complex information.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both writing and speaking in English language in order to:
- *Explain analytical, scientific and clinical aspects of the work to a variety of people including scientific colleagues, clinical professionals, service managers and patients and to listen to their needs.
- *Make formal presentations to groups of colleagues.
- Good active listening skills to build rapport with the listener to encourage an open discussion.
- Self-aware and flexible enough to adopt a range of evaluative or empathising listening styles according to the needs of the listener and the situation.
- Ability to work autonomously in the planning and execution of their own work and under the guidance of their Departmental Supervisors.
- Ability to work under pressure (emotional resilience and ability to prioritise and plan work)
- Good personal organisational skills.
- Effective team worker, willing to adopt a role working in collaboration with others.
- Good understanding of ethics and professional practice, the NHS constitution and the importance of patient-centred care
- Flexible and reliable
- Possible 7 day working
Desirable
- Have an understanding of quality control and management assurance in a science or work based context
- Flexibility to acquire the skills to organise, plan and monitor the workload of others.
- Under guidance develops good interpretative skills in the formulation of advice to multi-disciplinary team members on diagnosis and appropriate treatment of patients.
- Ability to support patients (or their carers) including those with a range of acute or chronic clinical conditions and disabilities in a variety of healthcare settings
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- A 1st or 2:1 in Cardiac Physiology (PTP) or a relevant scientific subject (examples include Pure or Applied Physics, Engineering, Biology or Human Biology, or Sports Science (if significant scientific content)
- OR
- Equivalent experience and appropriate underpinning knowledge and skills in cardiology. As evidenced for example by appropriate voluntary registration with the Registration Council for Clinical Physiologists or Academy for Healthcare Science.
Experience
Essential
- Has an understanding of the role of an Echocardiographer in healthcare and disease and its application in a healthcare setting.
- A committed, in depth interest in Echocardiography and its application to direct clinical care of patients in a clinical environment.
- Knowledge acquired through study and experience to formulate appropriate advice and judgements, including clinical judgements involving facts or situations that impact on patients.
- Patient confidentiality
Desirable
- Working knowledge of the NHS
Additional Criteria
Essential
- Ability to develop proficiency in the performance of routine and complex techniques currently in use where they are training (ability to follow Standard Operating Procedures accurately)
- Able to identify problems associated with scientific equipment, inappropriate testing, incompatible results and to investigate these, plan corrective action confirming appropriateness with senior colleagues and follow up.
- Ability to analyse and assess scientific, technical and medical literature.
- Ability to use, maintain and troubleshoot scientific equipment.
- Good IT skills and knowledge of common computing packages for word processing, spreadsheets, presentation packages and databases.
- Ability to analyse complex information.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both writing and speaking in English language in order to:
- *Explain analytical, scientific and clinical aspects of the work to a variety of people including scientific colleagues, clinical professionals, service managers and patients and to listen to their needs.
- *Make formal presentations to groups of colleagues.
- Good active listening skills to build rapport with the listener to encourage an open discussion.
- Self-aware and flexible enough to adopt a range of evaluative or empathising listening styles according to the needs of the listener and the situation.
- Ability to work autonomously in the planning and execution of their own work and under the guidance of their Departmental Supervisors.
- Ability to work under pressure (emotional resilience and ability to prioritise and plan work)
- Good personal organisational skills.
- Effective team worker, willing to adopt a role working in collaboration with others.
- Good understanding of ethics and professional practice, the NHS constitution and the importance of patient-centred care
- Flexible and reliable
- Possible 7 day working
Desirable
- Have an understanding of quality control and management assurance in a science or work based context
- Flexibility to acquire the skills to organise, plan and monitor the workload of others.
- Under guidance develops good interpretative skills in the formulation of advice to multi-disciplinary team members on diagnosis and appropriate treatment of patients.
- Ability to support patients (or their carers) including those with a range of acute or chronic clinical conditions and disabilities in a variety of healthcare settings
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
