Nursing - Why not?

[leonairs]

Thinking of becoming a nurse at 38.

Always wanted to be one since 21 but couldn't because of caring commitments

Is it a big no and should I run for the hills? Or would you still nurse again even with all the crap staffing etc?

I've just posted a similar thread asking about NHS reservists.

I don't think i'd go into nursing again - what with the bullying culture and unsocial hours - never mind the pay!

@Chowtime my best friend is a Midwife. She says bullying is rife and like an occupational hazard

Can I ask why you think that is?

I know staff are stressed but surely that doesn't excuse bullying people!

RUN !

If you want to try getting to know what a hospital is like register for the NHS bank as a Health care assistant (HCA).

Secondly. Run for the hills as a RN. The management is poor, its tick boxes galore, lots of hierarchy from some of the nurses thinking they are abouve washing patients.

Unsocial hours and long shifts which become draining. Busy beyond dangerous when you have too many patients to look after.

Definitely a massive bullying culture. I think everyone is stressed and takes it out on the next rung down.

I couldn’t go back to ward work. Specialist roles or practice nursing could be nice.

I think a few of the reasons are

1. cliques
2. promoting people into management positions without giving them any management training - so if they are WILLING to do a job, and they apply for it, they probably get it. To prove themselves, they then bully people - because they have no management skills.
3. A lot of the nice people leave - which leaves a bigger percentage of bullying arseholes.
4. More targets foisted on people means less time to deal with bullying problems and staff issues, so the bullies get away with it more.

Yeah, I can take a lot of shit at work, but I aint working with bullies ever again. When I turned 50 I made a rule that if you wanted to be in my life in any way, shape or form you had to be nice to me ALL THE TIME. So far, it's stood me well, although I am self employed now lol.

I’m a nurse, I was 34 I qualified, I’m 38 now. I don’t regret it at all. The past few years have been tough, I find my job very challenging sometimes (but then I choose to work in A&E…) but I also find it fulfilling, interesting and meaningful.

With regards to bullying, it does happen. Healthcare is quite a brutal environment generally sometimes and if you combine that with people who are stressed and struggling, you’re going to see conflict.
You definitely need to have quite a thick skin sometimes. But that said I try to lead by example and treat people with respect, and most of my colleagues do the same. I have made lifelong friendships through nursing and am genuinely fond of my colleagues.

I also think nursing offers great opportunities for learning and progression, and a wealth of different jobs and experiences.

The pay is crap though. Unless you go into aesthetics 😁.

I would, but I couldn’t have remained as a ward nurse - I just didn’t enjoy it anymore. The key to a successful nursing career is to not get ‘stuck’ in a rut, keep developing your knowledge and skills and seek out opportunities.

I started my training at 35 after loads of admin type jobs. Never looked back. It is hard work, I enjoyed my training and the sense of massive achievement. Left school with no qualifications.. I qualified at 38 now at 42 a band 6..go for it I say..

do some hca shifts on the bank and see what it’s like before making any decisions. Research other health professions OT is often cited as being a good alternative

Thanks all - I've done a few HCA shifts at my local Trust but don't see how it can really compare much as I don't have the responsibility of a registered nurse?

I used to do bank shifts prior to starting my training and I wanted more, I wanted to be registered, have a pin, do medication, mdt meetings

@bellalou1234 can I be really nosey and ask if you did an Access course into nursing?

Before your degree that is!

My friend just trained as a midwife att 39 and loves it!

Bullying, Incompetent managers, understaffing, exhaustion.

I will go against the grain here. Qualified 25 years ago and have worked in the community for all of it except the first 6 months. I have good hours and they have always been very flexible to me, fitted around family life great when the dc were young. I am a top band 7 and do not have any management responsibility, purely clinical. I have been fortunate and never experienced bullying personally. I earn around 55k a year upwards with unsociable hours pay and work 3 long days so plenty of down time. I realise that I am probably a rare case here but I think it can depend on the speciality, I am now working with Paramedics and ex A&E staff and they've had it much much worse than me. Staying on a lower grade where the pay is crap would be much tougher.

It may be worth getting a substantive post as a HCA in the NHS . Many trusts will advertise nurse training via an apprenticeship route, paying you your HCA salary whilst you train and also paying the fees.

Yes I done an access course to health studoes at a local college. That was the hardest part to me. I needed to do maths, science and a health promotion. I got a conditional offer at uni and scrapped a merit on the access course. I got 2.1 at uni

Scraped not scrapped

I qualified 2 years ago. I'm 53. I work in an Acute Medical Unit plus I bank in A&E.
I absolutely love my job but am very lucky to have great colleagues and an amazing ward manager.

I don’t regret it but I left after 15 years came back during the pandemic and have left again. I won’t be going back.. ever. I don’t know why the NHS is obsessed with 13 hour shifts they are brutal as you get older. It’s too stressful now. Not enough staff. Unhappy patients and relatives. But, you only live once so if it’s your dream then go for it. I have worked with some amazing nurses who just get it, love their job and flourish in the profession. I’ve also worked with loads of bullies. I enjoyed my nursing career but it has never been my passion and now my kids are old enough and I’m in my fifties I’m pursuing other avenues. Good luck 🍀

Specialist nurse (band 7) and I love my role.
But my experience (within 3 very different specialties since qualifying 7 years ago) is there’s too much work (& constant pressure to do even more from management when you’re already working beyond capacity) for the number of staff available.

My computer went on today at 8.15am. I saw 5 patients, made obligatory referrals, phone calls, emails, undertook professional liaison meetings, supported a student, wrote my notes, updated the patient records & completed risk assessments & my computer went off at 11.00pm.

I get paid for 9.5 hours, today I worked for 14. This is a normalised unwritten, unspoken expectation. I had no lunch break, & I think 2 trips to the toilet in that time. I drove home so that took 35 mins out of that time but that was my only break. 5 patients took up 5-6 hours of time. The rest was admin. The level of documentation required is beyond a joke. But it keeps commissioners happy because it’s something they can count & quantify. Meanwhile I give free hours of my time because i don’t want to let my patients down.

And we had a delightful email today in red, bold and underlined from management telling us to improve productivity (measured by record keeping accuracy not patient experience) by discharging patients quicker so we can take on more patients from the waiting list. It’s broken. I’m on the verge of being broken. Staff are leaving all the time. A colleague with 26 years experience in this specialty is leaving & doesn’t have another job lined up. She’s too young to retire (late 40s) but she just needs to stop. It’s heartbreaking and horrifying.

I’m not saying don’t. Just think very carefully.

Oh also, Ive never personally experienced bullying. But I have witnessed it from senior members of staff towards junior members & I reported it. Sod all was done about it.

@FunnyCradock you have hit the nail on the head. In the 1990’s I was younger but much more productive because the paperwork and documentation was manageable. When I returned in 2019 the computer based notes and duplications and duplications of the same information on different systems was unmanageable to me. I was not quick enough and never ran my clinics on time. I just left again after 3 years couldn’t face registering again. I don’t regret it you only live once. Don’t let the job you live make you ill because life goes by so quickly.

@Nonentity4 your reply has actually made me feel quite emotional. The multiple duplication of information within the notes is exactly how it is. Your message has made me feel heard & validated, thank you. I left another specialty role I loved because the inference from management was that the issue was MY productivity (and not personal to me as such, but to anyone who raised a concern about workload) and not the system.
My husband tells me to look elsewhere for work but I don’t know what else I can do (18 years in the NHS, 8 in a supporting role then 10 as a nurse). I also remember paper notes & a time prior to KPIs, work was completed and people went home on time with everything finished. We even had time to catch up with and check in on our colleagues. I’m just about to log on to my computer on my day off to complete assessment letters that I’ve not had time to do for 2 weeks. I know this is masking the workload issue but I feel a sense of duty to my patients. And I know I will feel less stressed if it’s completed. Thanks for understanding and not making me feel that it’s a me issue! Appreciate that more than I can say.