To feel hurt by my employers

[Jackfruitburger]

Work for a small private dentist as a receptionist. Job was so dull when I started that I taught myself some dental nursing duties and have been doing them alongside my own role for a while. This has helped the nurses out and also my employer who now just has to pay one receptionist rather than a receptionist and a spare nurse.
In January I sent her an email saying that if she was looking for a trainee I'd quite like to become a nurse in the future (she wouldn't lose a receptionist as there are three of us in what is essentially a one woman job.) She replied saying that they didn't have the money to train me nor the spare nurse to watch over me whilst I was in surgery. Fair enough, I thought, and carried on as before.
On Tuesday we had a meeting and guess what? Here is boss's niece over from Malaysia who will be training as a nurse so can we all make her feel very welcome. They want to move all our shifts around to accommodate a spare nurse to train niece and for me to train her on decontamination.
I know I should say no but it's a very small business (eight employees) and things would get awkward pretty quickly! Anyone had a similar issue and survived. I am looking for other jobs before you suggest that but I don't want to carry on my nursing duties if there is no incentive. I don't get paid anymore than the other two receptionists who sit on the River Island website all day!

Not got any experience of this but agree that by rights you should refuse to do any nursing duties unless you are paid for them. The only thing I would worry about is your reference. Presumably you want them to say how well you've been doing with taking on nursing duties.

How quickly do you think you will get another job. I would say wait until you are working your notice and then make your position clear but my assumption is that we are only talking a couple of months. You shouldnt be doing these unpaid duties for long.

You need to be sure that the duties you're performing are not considered "restricted activities". For example, I'm a nurse and I can't ask an unlicensed aide to give an injection. That's a restricted activity.

They are being unfair - but I suspect it’s what they would do for family. I know - I myself was let go fron my job because my bosses niece loss hers and needed one, so I had to go.

@puzzledlady sorry that happened to you. I had an inkling that my ex boss was trying to shunt me out to make way for her recently unemployed daughter but she didn't want my job so I could to stay!

I don't see the harm in telling them that with the new member of staff coming in, you will no longer be carrying out unpaid nursing work. You don't need to explain any further.

I don't think I would inform your employers that you are no longer carrying out unpaid nursing work. Apart from it sounding snooty, you started doing nursing work off your own back. They didn't ask you to. It suited you to get some experience and a feel for the work and it suited them.

You are right to look for alternative employment, because I think, you would understandably feel hard done by watching someone else do the work you wanted to do.

In the meantime, I'd probably take a back seat once the new woman arrived and resume receptionist job hunting duties.

Be prepared for your employers to ask you to help out with duties you have previously done. Either do the minimum training and say you are busy doing receptionist duties and bear in mind that you may need a reference.

I hope I didn't sound harsh with this reply. I have been through something similar in a job where they actually gave the person my desk leaving me with none!!!

What was your proposal for getting the required qualifications?

Are you actually qualified to train someone in decontamination?

If you aren’t, that’s a straightforward out

It's shit but you have to accept where their loyalty lies, and it's not with you. They look out for #1 and their family, every time.

Dental nurse isn't your job role, you really can't go inventing a job role for yourself just because it suits. It doesn't work this way. If you want to be a Dental Nurse you need to look for another job or stay being a receptionist.

I had similar - I was in a shop, my department manager quit and I took on most of his roles. after a while I approached and asked to be promoted and told that they wouldn't be having a manager in that department any more. I stupidly kept up doing the ordering and things only undertaken by managers on other departments until the bosses mate started and I was expected to train him to be my manager! Quickly found another job and when I handed in my notice the offers of pay rises started coming.

I'd look around if I were you, it sucks working somewhere you're not appreciated.