First Steps
Well done for reading this far! So, now that you understand what joining Radio Sunderland entails and you've notified us of your interest, you're probably wondering what happens after that...
You, along with up to five other people that have expressed an interest in joining us, will be invited to our studios in the Monkwearmouth Hospital to have have a look around and to find our more about what we do. If you're still interested in volunteering after this informal meeting then you can complete an application form.
The first part of your training proper begins when you meet the Request Co-ordinator for request collection training at the Sunderland Royal Hospital. You will be taken around the wards and shown how to follow hospital procedures when on the wards, how the bedside equipment works, how to liaise with the hospital staff and how to introduce yourself (and in effect Radio Sunderland) to the patients and collect requests. Usually, only one or two of these ward visiting sessions are required.
After you have been approved as a request collector your name will be added to the Request Collection Rota (so you should check it regularly) and you will also be assigned to a suitable evening as a trainee. Although you won't be able to do any presentation or technical work immediately, you can help in other studio tasks and you will begin to learn our operating methods.
At this time the Training Officer will be informed that you are now ready to start the studio based training, either Presentation and/or Technical Operation - we always encourage people to try both disciplines as in a staff shortage being able to do everything is very handy!
From the date that you attend your first training session at the studio, you become a Probationary Member and from this first session, you will have to pay a subscription fee of £2 per week. From this date you are also expected to show a commitment to any fundraising activities which have been organised. Presentation and/or Technical Operation training is expected to be complete in under 13 weeks.
Once you reach a certain standard, the Training Officer will arrange for you to do some supervised live training during your regular evening. Once your training is complete, the Programme Controller will arrange with you a suitable night for you to join the permanent staff - this may or may not be the night you are attending as a trainee. Staff are normally expected to be available from the start of an evening until the end of broadcasting for every week of the 13 week schedule.
The first programme you will work on will be ‘Ward Call’, the patients request programme. However, after a short time working on ‘Ward Call’, you may may wish to develop a programme of your own. You will have to submit a written programme proposal and a demo recording to the Programme Controller and, if it's suitable for broadcast, they will help you develop your idea.
If you have an interest in sport then you should also enquire about joining the sports team.
After a minimum of 13 weeks as a Probationary Member and if you have at least completed your training as either a Presenter or Technical Operator, then you can apply for full membership of the organisation. To do this, it is necessary to attend one of the monthly Committee Meetings so that your probationary performance can be evaluated. On becoming a full member your subscription fee then drops to £1 per week.
