I'm a ward sister ask me anything

[Bagsalot]

I've been in nursing nearly 30 years and a ward sister for only 2. It's so stressful and a real challenge...ask me anything

Do you enjoy having student nurses on the ward? If so why?

What do do when staff have constant bitching about each other and divide into factions?

I love having students on the ward. When I took over we had none but now they are back and that's a great achievement for me. They help nurses keep up to date and provide fresh eyes. 3 of my current nurses have jobs with me so it's great for recruitment.

How long are your shifts?

As a fairly new band 6 I would also love an answe to megs question I dread days when certain people are working, everyone is aware of this they just accept it. I however find it unprofessional and frankly quite difficult to work with.

There will always be a certain amount of bitching but I will not tolerate bullying behaviour. They know what is expected of them and I talk to my staff every day about standards it's always there but not a major problem

Communication is key find new ways to communicate and get people on side. The ward sister needs to be visible every day. HR can also be a useful resource. Off people are difficult daily then you need a hard line with performance management and reminders of nmc code of conduct for trained staff

Shifts are 11.5 hours with option to do short days

I'll never forget being a student nurse on a surgical ward... 2 nurses were going at each other in the sluice and screaming and shouting. One scratched the other!

The ward manager didn't take it anywhere near as seriously as I would as a senior nurse now.

Did the nursing unions fight against the long shifts? (I believe there used to be 3 overlapping shifts of about 8 hours in the old days and I don't know when these new all day shifts came in)

How old are you - and do you have plans for when your body gets a bit more knackered ?

That's interesting our trust push the 13 hour shifts with a 1 hour break included, they shortened the half days to7-2 with 1/2 break so 6/12 hours In total and 2-8 with 1/2 hour break so just 5/12 hours which ,makes it difficult to get your hours In, also no cross over as early finishes at 2 and late starts at 2 which means you always stay late to hand over on the early.

I agree about communication but some staff just seem to get away with poor behaviour as that is what they have always done, it's disheartening and making me wonder if this job is worth the effort,some staff are amazing and you can really rely on them others do the absolute minimum. I take my hat off to ward sisters I could never do it,all the behind the scenes audits, incident investigations, off duty and budgeting.

Our 11.5 hr shifts are popular they were introduced in January before that they were 13.5 with shorter night shift. The unions were involved in the whole process of change. Our short shifts now are shorter and it is hard to get full time hours in but some part time people do them definitely it's swayed to long days though.

I'm 47 I'm not sure what I'll do next. This job is the least physically knackering that I've ever had as I do less clinical time, typically one long day a week in the numbers. Having said that it's mentally draining and can be very stressful. I'll see at 55 if I'm still standing!

Do you regret being a nurse?