To quit my job as a newly qualified nurse for the opportunity of a lifetime abroad?

[WineInTheSun]

I’m a newly qualified nurse (qualified in March) in a busy emergency area in the NHS. I find it very busy and intense but ok- there are days I enjoy it and others I struggle. On a whim I applied for a 3 month contract as a private nurse abroad, I didn’t expect to get it.

But now I have been offered the job! I always dreamed of working abroad, with a particular interest in the country the opportunity has been offered. It is just for 3 months but is the opportunity of a lifetime. I spoke to my manager as I wanted unpaid leave to take this opportunity but she advised me I needed to be in my role for 24 months to qualify for unpaid leave. My heart says to quit my job, take this opportunity and go. I’m early 20s and childfree for background. I don’t have any savings but I could live at home with my mum on returning to the U.K. if things were really bad.

The job is an immediate start- this week or next, so I wouldn’t be working any notice period. However, my contract says leaving in the first 6 months (which I would be doing) doesn’t require a notice period but obviously this wouldn’t put me in a favourable position with my manager. How would it work for references and applying for jobs in the NHS in the future when I return?

My biggest concern is returning to the UK and not getting a job again as a nurse in the NHS due to quitting within my probation period. To add further confusion, I have been offered one of the last opportunities to do the midwifery 18 month paid salary top up course in September- expected to be one of the last cohorts to train nurses as midwives in 18 months. Taking the opportunity abroad would mean saying goodbye to that.

Should I follow my head or my heart? I can’t stop thinking about it but I also know it’s not necessarily sensible. So AIBU?

Does this job require any clinical skills? If so how on earth are you confident/competent after 3 months to perform them? You need to finish your preceptorship before you think about a job like that. You also need to think about protecting yourself in case of mistakes, regardless of how well you did at interview and the skills you have learned in your new job you will not be experienced or knowledgeable to work independently doing private nursing. Also midwife training is incredibly hard to get on to, if you want that go for it and travel after.

I work in the NHS and if I were interviewing, your application would look flakey/unreliable to me. That said, as long as it was explainable at interview and you didn't come across that way face to face, it might be ok. I'd be a little wary though.

If you want to be a midwife though, don't give that opportunity up. That's like gold dust.

Until I saw the paid top up I thought heck yes go BUT you would be mad to give up a paid top up course as you will have even more opportunities being dual qualified.

Also meant to say. I'd be wary because your first clinical year should be heavily supported and mentored with lots of CPD etc. I'd be wary that you jacked that in to go abroad and didn't think that applied to you, if that makes sense (but again, if you could show that your support and competencies were being being equally addressed on the 3 month contract, I'd be less wary)

Stay and do the midwife course, there will be other opportunities to work abroad in future if that's what you want to do.

Do the midwifery course if that's the direction you want to go. I think you will regret that longer term. You can go abroad at any time.

I am very interested in the midwifery training- it’s not a feeling I couldnt live my life if I wasn’t a midwife (hope that makes sense), but it is something I am very interested in and have gone out of my way to gain experience in by doing days on labour ward, a midwife lead birth centre, spending time with the breast feeding breast feeding support midwife etc on the post natal ward. I envisage myself as a midwife in the future going down the years.

The job is through a reputable agency, the agent emailing me has a legitimate LinkedIn profile etc and the agency is even used to provide nurses/HCAs and locum doctors in my own NHS hospital. The job I have been offered is directly working for a well known family abroad. In terms of clinical skills it involves administering medication and generally being with the person. I have been to this part of the world a couple of times before and had some training there which I enjoyed, but I know working- especially for such a role- is different to visiting.

In my current job there are often incidences of very poorly patients who end up going to ITU and being on ‘red’ unsafe levels staffing which has left me as the nurse looking after them, thus having to juggle the acuity of different patients. It’s left me feeling very stressed and worried sometimes because I lose focus on the less acute patients to focus on the poorlies and then feel guilty when I’m at home. I might be being naive but I feel competent and confident in providing one to one care privately because of this.

where is the private job?...i knew someone who left a nursing job and went abroad for a private job and she returned early because it was awful...treated badly by the family, no time free, etc (middle east) what may sound like an opportunity of a lifetime may end up being a nightmare

Which country would you be in, does your registration transfer?

I’d be tempted to stay and complete the MW course and then look to go after. Surely you’d look more appealing abroad with this experience?

It all sounds very flakey. You're willing to walk away from a staffing critical job with no notice for the sake of a three month jolly.

That reputation will follow you around for longer than the job.

And if the job is an immediate start, who is doing it until you get there? Have you even given them a date? Why can they not recruit someone locally?

There are experienced nurses who do short term contracts like this, and they'd be on the plane within 24 hours. The vagueness of your arrangement just doesn't add up.

in your circumstances, i would definitely stay:

• you will easily find other jobs abroad once you have qualified
• you should finish your training/probation to get it over and done with.
• the job is only for three months

I genuinely can't see why you would even hesitate a second!

There are plenty of private jobs abroad too for nurses. I would just do the midwifery course.

I would stay here. That's not an interesting enough job to leave for. I'd stay, get a couple of years' experience and then make a decision based on where I fancied visiting and what experience I'd gain. This seems too much like some random job to me.

I would stay and do the midwife training. That sounds a fabulous opportunity. If you still want to travel afterwards then you can. But if you travel now it seems that the opportunity of that particular course is gone forever.

I'm an HV, I would recommend doing the training first, then travel. 12wks is nothing and I think going by your last post you may see it as the easier option. September is very close, stay in A&E till then, it's not long in the grand scheme of things. Do consider the HV course as well though, knowing people who have done both, the HV job is far less stressful than the MW. Plus it's 12mths and no shifts or wk ends I may be biased of course You get paid band 5 whilst doing the HV job then automatically band 6 once you are qualified.

As many others have said, do the course because the other opportunity is 3 months only and Private nursing is notoriously unpredictable.

band 5 whilst doing the HV training I meant

Hmm, is the abroad job a bit glamorous/with a celebrity family or similar?

You're giving up a lot for a 3 month contract, exciting though it may sound, I wouldn't do it...

Ooh just had a thought it's not with Harry and Meghan in South Africa is it!? ha ha

There are 40K nurse vacancies in the NHS you will certainly get a job again once you return, however you won't get the top up midwifery opportunity again. It depends if you really want to be a midwife because tbh you will probably also be able to do this traveling opportunity again after the top up course

Is there any reason to think you would never get the abroad opportunity again?

I'd go for the top up course and then keep applying for abroad. It is never late and you'd be more qualified by then. I think it matters how you start your career.