About the author
Vince Smith
Operating Department Practitioner. Mentor. Owner of a very demanding springerpoo. And the author of Experiments in Murder.
Before and after
Two halves of a working life
Vince has always thought of his life in two parts: before he joined the NHS, and after.
Before, he worked as a security guard, a produce manager, a factory worker and a carpet salesman. Those years shaped him more than any qualification. They are where he learned the communication skills and the respect for others that he relies on every day when caring for patients.
After came a career he could never have predicted when he left school with a few O Levels.
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Before the NHS
Learning people
Security guard, produce manager, factory worker and carpet salesman.
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2001
Theatre orderly
Vince joins the NHS, beginning a career in the operating theatre.
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Opening the door
Creating a pathway
To win a place on his training course, he helps devise and structure an NVQ Level 3 course in perioperative practice, opening a development route for himself and fellow support staff at his Trust.
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Aged 43
Distinction
He qualifies as an Operating Department Practitioner with a distinction at diploma level, despite never having written an essay before his training.
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Today
Practitioner & mentor
Vince practises at Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal. His favourite part of the job is mentoring: training colleagues and helping to shape their future practice.
- 25+
- years working in the NHS
- 2001
- joined as a theatre orderly
- 43
- his age when he earned a diploma with distinction
- 1
- very demanding springerpoo called Harry
On the book
From Harry to Harry
The narrator of Experiments in Murder, Harry Fisher, shares his name with Vince's dog and, by the author's own admission, a tendency to say exactly what he thinks. That, Vince is quick to point out, is where the resemblance ends.
Experiments in Murder is a work of fiction: a dark crime thriller that begins in and around Lancaster and Morecambe, close to Vince's home, before travelling as far as Moscow and Siberia.
In his note to readers, Vince writes:
“Firstly, thank you for choosing to pick up my book … I really hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I did writing it.”
Vince Smith
“For Helen, without whom I would not have had the confidence to complete this book.”
Experiments in Murder · Vince Smith
Meet his Harry.
Harry Fisher is brilliant, wealthy, brutally honest and entirely without remorse. Discover Experiments in Murder by Vince Smith.
Kindle edition · Britannia Publishing House Ltd
