By George, it’s George!
George Gouveia, Senior IT Trainer, has worked at St George’s for more than 20 years. He joined the Trust as a hospital porter in the 90s.
What brought you to St George’s?
My dad was a night porter here for 30 years and I followed in his footsteps. I worked as a porter for six years and it was one of the most enjoyable jobs I’ve ever had. It gave me great satisfaction to help people that were unwell. It can’t be overstated how important it is to be friendly and kind to patients and visitors, and the impact a smile or a kind word can have on someone’s day.
How did you move into IT?
As a porter I met so many members of staff and got to hear about a course administrator post in the Postgraduate Education Centre. I applied and got the job! In this role I gained many new skills – it gave me a great introduction into using computers. Then in 2009, when the IT department were recruiting trainers for the iCLIP implementation, my manager suggested I apply for a six-month secondment to see if it was a career that I’d be interested in. The secondment was ideal as it gave me an opportunity to experience a new role with the option to return to my previous role if I decided it wasn’t for me. As it turned out, I loved being a trainer and was delighted when the role was made permanent.
You were recently promoted to Senior IT Trainer – congratulations!
Thank you! I really enjoy working with staff from across the Trust, teaching them how to use our hospital systems. When I started working in the Postgraduate Education Centre I missed interacting with different people each day, so it’s nice to be able to walk through the Trust and bump into new friends that I’ve made through training.
How can we book on to future training sessions?
All our training dates are available on Totara, which you can access via the Intranet. To speak to the training administrator for more information, email ITTrainers@stgeorges.nhs.uk or call ext 3248.
