With her team at the Freeman Hospital looking to recruit, speech and language therapist Jen Butler wanted to make sure potential new colleagues knew all about the "extra benefits" of working in the North East. That includes our beautiful scenery at the coast and the way NHS colleagues care for each other here.
So Jen, who works in the ear, nose and throat team at the Freeman, decided to share some stunning photographs on Twitter alongside the job advert. She hopes she might have persuaded some brave applicants about the merits of our beautiful city as a place to live and work.
She highlighted how "collectively, we have some very cute dogs" and that one of her colleagues is an "an EXCEPTIONAL (and very thoughtful) baker", while also singing the praises of the Jesmond Dene House wine cellar. Jen's stunning photography of places like the Quayside, the coast by Tynemouth and Sycamore Gap in Northumberland is also a persuasive addendum to the job advert.
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She told ChronicleLive she had been surprised that her thread had "blown up", but explained she felt showing off the extra-curricular benefits to working in Newcastle might encourage people to apply if they'd previously been hesitant about moving cities. "I just really wanted to show that there's so much to consider," Jen said.
"It's more than just a job and we are not just healthcare workers, we are people too. It's things like this that keep us sane. It's been a very difficult time to work in healthcare. but it's the environment, the place, the visits from other members of staff, that keep people happy."
Explaining how places like Jesmond Dene - adjacent to the Freeman - has a tangible impact on NHS staff who work at the hospital - she said: "If you go to the park it is a wonderful space to just wind down. Sometimes I will walk home through Jesmond Dene and Armstrong Park - it's a beautiful way to decompress. I also love the coast. It's so easy to get to."
She explained Jesmond Dene was a perfect place for "supervisions" - which are when staff members check in with their colleagues, and added that she wanted to highlight the camaraderie at the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust. She also included pictures showing how members of staff work together to test out equipment - and cake and cards from senior leadership like the Trust's chief exec Dame Jackie Daniel.
Jen, who has now been in the city more than nine years, added: "I wanted to show there's lots for people here, not just workers. It's the real life stuff that can help bridge the gap between us and everyone else. We often rightly focus on patients but it's also important to think about each other as healthcare staff. We're all colleagues and put each other first.
"When I first started working here, after a year and a half I thought I'd stay a year and a half or so. But really, now years later I couldn't imagine leaving this area."
The job advert is still live - here - and visit Jen's twitter page to see the thread in it's original form.
