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Nurse job not in NHS?

7 replies

asblackasyoursoul · 18/10/2019 23:05

I'm a 2nd year MH nursing student, currently on placement, of course all in the NHS.
I've been there 5 weeks and already 2 of the nurses who were there at the start have been signed off on long term sick with stress.
Every single day I hear constant complaints about the NHS and the stress of it all and the responsibility and low pay etc etc.
There were a new batch of qualified nurses who started in the hospital and all left within days it's that bad.
There are a lot of older nurses who quite often mention that they are just hanging on a year or two until they can retire.

All of this has made me have a bit of a freak out. I absolutely love the work itself, but then I currently don't have any of the real responsibility and pressure the staff nurses have.

I don't want to stop doing nursing but I don't think I could work in the NHS with how it is.
I've had a look for jobs outwith NHS but all I can really see is care homes, which I could do but it's not really my area of interest.
I'm much more interested in acute mental health. Also substance misuse.

Does anyone have any advice at all for me? Thank you.

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partysong · 18/10/2019 23:12

I'm so sorry but private hospitals are usually worse in my experience (not a nurse but work with MH nurses every day) There is the idea that they are luxurious but they're usually not at all.

Not all the NHS is awful. You just need to find somewhere that isn't.

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Muchtoomuchtodo · 18/10/2019 23:16

Of course there’s pressure in the NHS but your clinical supervisor and ward managers make a huge difference on how those pressures are passed down to staff.
Please don’t rule out a career in the NHS, just be vigilant during your training and look for jobs in environments that suit you.
I’m an ACP and am currently supervising a member of staff who has really struggled in their previous rotations. With our team and with the correct support in place they are thriving.
You could of course look for posts in private hospitals, hospices etc but it’s good in my opinion to consolidate your undergraduate skills in an NHS setting where you’ll get a good variety of experiences.
I’m not up,to date with the funding if nursing training but the other thing to consider is whether your course is funded by the NHS and therefore if you have any obligation to work for the organisation before looking elsewhere.

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Muchtoomuchtodo · 18/10/2019 23:17

That should say AHP not ACP

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minesagin37 · 18/10/2019 23:20

There are many different roles you can undertake as a nurse. However you will need some grass roots experience first. Do you want to stay in the mental health field? How about research nurse, nurse specialist, forensics, counselling, education, management, abroad, schools?

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mapleleafshiba · 18/10/2019 23:24

Find the good jobs within the nhs. I promise you there are some - I work in an amazing nhs team and the nurses have some incredible jobs (all mental health nurses!) and we all love it here.

I promise it's not a bad profession to be in, even on your worst days please don't give up! Just find where you belong within the system. Best of luck

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asblackasyoursoul · 19/10/2019 13:12

Thanks for the advice guys. I don't want to rule out the NHS - maybe ward isn't for me, even though I do love it but the management are a joke.
I'm thinking more a smaller rehab sort of unit would be my thing

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partysong · 19/10/2019 16:19

Might be worth considering community work?

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