To ask you to help me make this awful decision??

[Wanshu]

I have just qualified as a nurse.
I started my new job 2 weeks ago.
It's a ward based full time job and includes weekends and nights.
I hate weekends and nights but assumed that would be all I could get right now.

However ...

I've just been offered a job as a community nurse. Mon - Friday 8.30 until 5pm. Covering the odd weekend. No nights. Same pay.

I love the staff on the ward but I'm very much a loner and struggle in social situations. For this reason I find the 'working relationships' of the ward quite stressful. In the community my day would be spent driving around on my own, managing my own workload, visiting patients. Heaven.

But the manager of the ward has been so lovely to me, has invested time into my training and will go mental if I tell her I'm leaving before ive even got out of my supernumerary phase.

But do I pass up the opportunity to do what I really want in fear of upsetting others?

Is it really a dog eat dog world? What do I do??? My intention originally was to stay with the ward for a year and turn try and get in community - I didn't think they'd accept me yet

Personally is stay on the ward to build my experience up. You'll learn lots and will be a more confident community nurse.

If you don't, it may ne hard going back on the ward if you ever wanted to. You'll be inexperienced for the number of years you've been a nurse.

Take the job but do make sure that some support will be in place for you as you are newly qualified.
I only lasted for 6 months on the ward when I first qualified - it's not for everyone. Lots of people love the ward environment but I hated it, I now work in research and love my job.

Not relevant but can I just say all you nurses are wonderful! If it was possible financially I'd join your ranks you are angels. Community health visitor who spotted my pnd saved my life IMO. And the ward nurses during my ectopic were beyond amazing. Pointless post I just don't feel any of you get the praise ( or money ) you truly deserve.

Take the job you want.

Life is too short. They'll easily replace you, people switch jobs all the time!

when you get to my age you'll realize company loyalty is a waste of time

Ward work is hard and not for everyone but as a senior nurse I would be very very wary of going straight from qualifying to working independantly on the community, to be honest im suprised that any manager would consider it. I think you need to go and have a good chat with your prospective manager about what form of preceptorship and support will be avaliable as you are kidding yourself if you think you will be able to manage a caseload requiring knowledge of a variety of clinical skills a couple of months after qualifying.

You don't owe the ward anything so I say take the job.

I do advise though that you make sure your role is very very clear.... the trust I trained (mental health trust) did a big drive to recruit newly qualified nurses into community posts and it soon became clear it was to save money more than anything else and the newly qualified band 5s were basically doing the same that the band 6 nurses were doing just without all the experience behind them which in my opinion made for some quite frankly unsafe practice.

Take it! A few weeks of working your notice put in a hostile environment (although it probably won't be as bad as you think) is infinitely preferable to spending years thinking "what if" and "if only".

You can do it,.be brave!

OP, put yourself first, and take the job.

manager is lovely until she's pissed off and then can be rather unapproachable

That you've seen this after only two weeks is likely to mean it could get worse. I wouldn't want to be walking on eggshells in a job that has enough stress in any case.

Take it. I did something similar when I qualified as a social worker. I was only in my first job for a few months before a more suitable job came up. I felt bad as the first job had given me training and support. But you've got to take the opportunities that are best for you.

You decided to train as a nurse by you didn't want to work evenings or weekends?

Take it!! Don't waste time thinking about stepping on anyone's toes.

There is nothing worse for patients or colleagues' working environment than a burned out, unhappy nurse.

They will train the next person, who may well love the job and take to it like a duck to water.

MS - There are many different roles in nursing. Community nursing is one. A person might really want this and be really suited to it, and might not want the night work. A friend of mine is a school nurse, loves it, wouldn't fit in in any other sort of role. A cousin went into psych nursing, never gave anything else a look -- this is what he wanted.

It's fine to take the job you want, but going straight into a community job as a newly qualified nurse can be tough and not always good for your career. You'll be missing out on the extra support of working alongside a team which can be really helpful,and you may find it hard to move out of the community if you want to later.

I think it's fine to take the job you want,just make sure that you are sure about the long term effects.

My friend is a nurse and has recently left the ward to work in a GPs. She said it is amazing and she is not used to not having constant stress and pressure. She said it was terrible on the wards and she was always missing things at school because of the shifts. Now the other nurses can cover for her at the GPs if they need to.

Go for it! Don't stay loyal to anyone in a job. It's your life and you need to do what will make you happy and not stressed and depressed.

Look after number 1 - no one else will. Do what makes you happy and whatever is right for you :)

I am taking early retirement after 35 years continuous service in the NHS, I have just had enough. As an employer I can say they are quite happy to run their staff into the ground, therefore if you have found your ideal job then go for it.

I would say, as have other posters, that I would be concerned about your lack of experience and am surprised you have been offered a job where you work alone when you are newly qualified.

You definitely do not owe your current employer anything. Anyone would do the same in your position, I'd be surprised if your manager even raises an eyebrow. It can be a dog eat dog world (which you must!), but you taking this job is not an example of that.

Life is to short to do a job you aren't enjoying. Take the community job.

Go for it, don't worry about upsetting your manager!

Don't worry about the boss, she could leave next week and then you'd have turned your dream job down for nothing.

One of my close friends is a ward sister and although she can be scary, she'd be understanding of someone wanting to further their career. From what I understand, in nursing it's easier to switch areas while a Band 5 as it becomes much trickier as a Band 6 or 7.

Accept the job, hand in your notice. Don't be convinced otherwise because if you do and stay, she will be pissed off you tried to leave and you'll always get the unpopular shifts etc.

People come and go all the time, just say you have another opportunity and feel you must take it for both career and family reasons. She doesn't need to know anything else. In case she spoils it for you. ( cynical)

A friend of mine got a ward based job, then got offered a job as a District Nurse, she jumped at it. Nearly two years later, she still loves her job.

The team she worked with on the ward were understanding and supportive.

You say your manager is ok until she is upset then become unapproachable.

How long before you upset her some other way? Can you be sure you will never do anything to upset her?

I say, hand in your notice and even if the atmosphere is horrible, keep remembering you are heading to your dream job and will be out of there very soon.

take the job.

please be aware that you will get no thanks for staying and being miserable because you passed up a fabulous opportunity, purely out of loyalty.
life is too short.
your colleagues will get over it.
people leave jobs for better ones all the time, you know. you are not the first to do this and you will not be the last.
please take the job.