To give up a well paid career for a NMW job?

[WhoTheFuckIsSimon]

Ive just kind of applied for a job in a shop. Not sure of the wage but it's not going to pay well. But it's a shop related to a hobby of mine and I'm genuinely interested in it and think Id find it interesting.

I'm currently a midwife. I feel burnt out. I'm sick of the long shifts and the night shifts, I'm sick of the e rosta giving me 50 odd hours one week and 20 the next.. I'm sick of the paperwork and the pressure and the overwork/not enough staff/too many women.

More than anything im sick of the fear culture and investigations. I'm a good, experienced midwife but I see colleagues been hauled over the coals for really minor stuff which a few years ago no one would have batted an eyelid at. Medication given 30 mins late, etc. one of the matrons asked me to come and see her the other day and I felt physically sick as I went to her office.....turns out it was nothing at all, I wasn't in trouble. But I can't spend my life feeling like this.

Dh earns enough that we can cover bills no problem. But it's the nice things in life that would be a struggle....holidays, clothes, hair cuts, new gadgets. Id also have to go full time and at the minute im part time....so Id work more hours for less pay. It's nice having an extra day off for meeting up with friends, going to the gym, etc.

Alternative is to just to stick it out as long as possible until I do have a near breakdown, and at that point think "fuck it" and walk away.

Fuck it and walk away now.
I worked in the NHS for a few years, the blame culture is unbelievable (unless you're a consultant).
Walk - you won't regret it.

YANBU. I've had various well paid professional but stressful jobs and am now a cashier in a bank. I love it. Pay is rubbish but I walk out of the door and my life is my own.

We shop at Aldi and our hols are off peak and cheap but I don't feel as desperate as I used to be!

I like the analogy of jumping off a cliff. That's what it feels like, that I'm peering over the edge.

Even though I dislike my job it feels safe in a lot of ways to stay.

I do like being a midwife.....it's just everything else surrounding it which I hate. Even if I thought that being an independent midwife could be financially viable I don't think it would suit me. I'm not organised enough to work for myself, I would worry about the lack of indemnity insurance (no company will provide it to independent midwives so you risk being sued and losing everything), I would dislike being in call 24/7 for weeks on end.

WTFISS
Independent midwives exist, the financial exposure can't be insurmountable.
Working in the NHS until retirement, and then regretting missed opportunities would be a waste of your life.

If your friend couldn't make it work in your area then you probably couldn't either, unless you were willing to actually up sticks and move in for a month with one of the sort of fabulously wealthy families who do exist in and near London, and that has its own hazards. I'm sorry to hear no insurers will provide cover.

As someone who is far better qualified than I need to be for the running of a dog walking and petcare agency, but hated office work and decided to shift, I'd say go for it, in the circumstances you describe.

Maybe go on Bank and do it once or twice a month, just to keep up to date with skills/new legislation etc?

YANBU. I am NICU sister and similar issues. I know midwives/nurses from other trusts/hospitals and same issues.
I think staying on bank would be good idea or signing up to an agency to do bank shifts-you then can work on your terms and stay out of most of the politics.
I'm in the 'there is more to life than money' camp (although you need to be able to live, which you could do). My mum died earlier this year after 30 years as a nurse and midwife. She was in her early 50s. Her large pension is now sat in a bank doing nothing. Just before she died she told me to do the minimum I could and enjoy my kids growing up!
Independent midwifery is difficult at mo due to indemnity insurance. Breastfeeding support/lactation consultant always needed but don't know how much they pay. I know some nurses/midwives go into private research and have nice Monday - Friday no stress jobs!
And to agree, e-rostering is a bloody night nightmare!!
Good luck x

Ooh alpaca I used to think about setting up a dog walking business. I currently pay a dog walker £10 a day to walk my pooch. She seems to be doing well and employs staff.

I just didn't think it would pay enough as surely most people want their dogs walking late morning/lunch time/early afternoon so I thought I would nt be able to walk more than 4 dogs a day.

4 dogs a day! The ones in london walk 7-8 dogs at a time! Small dogs, mind.

I dunno how my dog walker makes a living then, she only walks one dog at a time.

YANBU OP. It's your life and since financially you are okay, why shouldn't you take a break and try something else? I am returning from mat leave shortly but we are looking at me not going back. I don't love my job (dull, don't like management or how my job has changed) and I'm ready to try something different. I am considering taking a voluntary position though to keep my skills fresh just in case my situation changes and I need to return to the sector. Perhaps like pp suggested you could become Bank staff and take the odd shift to keep you registered and top up the pennies if you need to? Also have you looked at local Birthing classes? Im sure they might appreciate your expertise in a paid or voluntary capacity. A couple of local midwives here do a class that is a cheaper version of nct and two local doulas run a Positive Birthing Group which is free. Maybe this is something you might find enjoyable and maybe even give you some of the joy back from mw.

YANBU if you think it would make you happy and I hope it does.

But (did you know there was a 'but') NMW jobs don't equate to stress free.

I briefly did a NMW job earlier this year. One of the most stressful times of my life.

I won't say 'don't do it', but just bear in mind that if you lose your registration you'd have to do 450 hrs unpaid supervised practice + 20 weeks at uni to get it back. I'd try to keep your hand in with the bank if you can.

I think you must have the most amazing skills which are going to be totally wasted! You could a community midwife, health visitor, natal hypnotherapist, there is so much industry around birth!

I get the need to change but don't rush Into anything

I would definitely stay on the bank so as not to lose my registration.

I'm sure that a nmw job could still be stressful, but I don't think on the same level as worrying about potentially being blamed for a death.

I really feel for you OP.
Its bloody awful that Midwives are being driven out of the profession like this.

I worked on average an extra 10-20 hours a week plus the whole time I felt exactly like you did.
Utterly exhausted by the slog and fear that I would be the one who was next in line .
Praying that I wouldn't slip up, that I wouldn't miss something and the blame culture is hideous( Im a nurse -its the same)
Constantly short staffed and working at breakneck pace .
Never thanked or commended but constantly berated for not meeting this weeks target for something.
I came to the decision to leave the job I loved for the sake of my sanity and health.
No one cares that you are there nights, weekends and Christmas, no one cares that you are late off everyday and drive home absolutely numb with exhaustion and then unable to sleep because of the stress as you run through the patients in your mind, mentally checking each one off.
Did I miss anything ?
The sick feeling when you wake up after a few hours sleep and have to go back to do it all again.
The guilt you feel at not doing what feels like a good job is the worst
Its like a knife cutting away at you.

I left that job and moved into a specialist post last year and the hours are much nicer!
Its still busy but I am not under the same pressure.
Not sure if that's an option for you OP.

I've read this with interest. I have my own business but increasingly frequently fantasise about selling up and doing something less stressful. For me it would be becoming one of those long-distance taxi-drivers who runs people to the airport. Or perhaps a van / lorry driver, as I would enjoy the camaraderie as well as the life (I love driving).

namechangenurse that all sounds so familiar. I have a feeling of dread in my chest when I think about work. Sadly there are far less opportunities for specialist roles, non clinical stuff, moving dept for a midwife than a nurse.

I kind of wish Id done nursing because I think that if you got fed up with ward work you could go into other stuff for a bit, practice nurse, a&e, theatre nurse, etc. I'm sure they all have their own stresses but sometimes you just need a change.

BadLad. That's interesting. I always think that people who have their own business are so lucky because they're their own boss. But yes I suppose the stress that goes with that isn't always enough compensation for not having a shit manager.

I'm a RM too... I just do bank for the reasons you described. I don't want to lose being a midwife because I'm good at it! and I love it, but I couldn't do that full time any more. I swore it wouldn't kill me.

I went and got another career in something I loved (am self employed) and just do bank to keep up my hours and my registration. It's made me much happier.

I was the same as Birdsgot* however I went to a NMW job after a family trauma, 4 years later and I am more stressed in this job then when I was in my profession, the mentality and treatment of some of the industries is disgusting, so much so I have went back into the academic professional world however on a lower scale.

MNW does not mean lesser stress or paperwork, I had even more stress and bullying in my MNW position, all for a paltry sum also.

It's a course I would not take lightly, personally I would not be taking into consideration that the job is a hobby. There is hobbies and then theirs careers.

This is what is happening all over the NHS and it's awful. Op.
I took early retirement and now do a few hours as Bank Practice Nurse, which I enjoy, but still worry about. I think unless you have been in senior position in NHSyou have little idea about the current state of play. Organisational bullying, little support, constant unreachable goals.
The trouble with taking a break is the need to stay on the register, not helped by the latest lot of unreasonableness (half arsed introduction of re validation) coming in next year.
Also the constant bad mouthing of the health service by the press.
A dear friend of mine recently went from senior HCP to part time HCA and can now sleep at night without the constant worry, but still feel useful and do a good job, but the Pay is crap, and the work relentless. What a waste of a degree.
Have you thought of asking for a six month sabbatical, OP, and do some bank work to see how it works out? Take the pressure off for a while without burning your bridges?
Hope what eve decision you make works out for you.

YANBU. But I think there is a big gap between working in a shop and being a medical professional, so there's got to be something in between that will give you a good work/life balance without boredom. How about working with children in some capacity? Being one of those nannies they hire for the really early days maybe? Not sure what the exact job title is. Anyway, I wish you luck. I really admire midwives and don't know how you guys do it!

I can absolutely understand your position. I'm a nurse, I've been qualified two years and to be honest sometimes it absolutely breaks me.
I was part of an 'incident' in my last job, no one came to any harm, they couldn't have, but the month long behind the scenes investigation, blaming, fear of losing my registration made me want to give up the PIN number I'd had for 11 whole months. It was truly horrific.
Every week I think about leaving nursing, I love it, I really do, I'm good at it, but it's just so so hard to do a good, equitable job.
I'm tempted to leave as well.

YANBU. I am a qualified Nurse and frequently feel like giving it up because of the stress, the worry of making a mistake or having a complaint made against me and the constant pressure to do more and more study/ courses etc. I have considered leaving it behind for a minimum wage stress free job. We are constantly short staffed and staying late and like you I can be given 40+ hours in a week when I am meant to do 22. The night shifts are gruelling, particulalry trying to juggle it around a young family. I honestly don't know how midwives cope with the pressure. The only thing that keeps me going is the thought of a half decent pension ( I hope!) and my fantastic colleauges that are truly an inspiration.

totally get where your coming from i,m a mental health nurse i gave up work in may primarily to care for my disabled son but the investigations paper work etc the nhs operates a culture of fear for their employees i would never go back i used to feel sick going into work!