To be sick of the stereotype image of nurses

[GoldenZoe]

... as poorly paid bed-pan changers?
Another debate on Twitter today where the media is peddling poor nurses working extra shifts and visiting food banks (which of course happens and is horrible but is not the everyday for most nurses) now giving rise to astonished cries of 'what a nurse only earns £25k'? Firstly £24k+ is the starting salary of a band 5 newly qualified nurse. This constitutes basic salary and does not include fairly generous enhancements. The top band 7 salary rises to £43,772 basic plus enhancements. Now I know a lot of nurses don't reach a 7 (or even a 6) but this media chestnut darling of the chronically under-paid nurse does my head in. For perspective my son recently graduated from Leeds university with a BSc in Economics and has a job earning £24k at the moment. So what is the uproar?
And as for the wildly out-moded public concept of the nurse as a doctor's handmaiden running round making beds and doing commode runs don't get me started! The general public have NO IDEA of how complicated and skilled most nursing jobs (of which there is a huge variety). And this fault lies entirely with media portrayal. Advanced Nurse Practitioners who have non medical prescribing qualifications who are working in posts the old junior doctors used to do. Cannulating, prescribing, placing PICC lines, undertaking complex medical procedures not to mention running wards and in charge of patient flow/beds trust-wide!
The continued false media portrayals infuriate me. Thoughts?

[bellinisurge]

The nurses who "cared" for me spent zero time on personal care and all their time either not engaging with me or using medical equipment.
So, no, I don't see nurses as "bed pan" handlers. That's because I rarely saw them. The auxiliaries, on the other hand (or whatever they are called now) were kind, respectful and friendly.

[malificent7]

As a colleague once said...there's no money in caring for others. Im training to be a radiographer and the course is tough plus there is no bursary now. Still rewarding though. Nurses get my upmost respect

[plantainchips]

That’s rather disingenuous. The vast majority of doctors end up earning more than that. With unsocial hours & locum work, earnings are far higher than that.

[NurseButtercup]

well the nurses in NI have said enough is enough and they are striking in December because of pay and unsafe staffing levels.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-50411818?fbclid=IwAR1rvEf1z_4OCcyj7keLrU57bRE4uyj8ll08KcnWaZ8GVwxt8KTKFLi5Pf0

[Greatorb]

I work in hospital wards all over the country, and the attitude of the majority of the nurses I meet is shocking.

How they manage all that responsibility in such shitty (often literally) conditions and still manage to treat not only the patients, but family, visitors and other colleagues with respect and a cheery demeanor is amazing.

[NurseButtercup]

This is a better link:

//www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-50411818

[Sewrainbow]

I'm an AHP, unfortunately none of us in the NHS get paid enough for what we do

After a shite day, where we had an external management company drafted into "improve" services at what I imagine are extremely expensive rates and members of staff leaving at a rate of knots, I'm thoroughly depressed.

The government is driving us into the ground with budget cuts, the media and the general public have a distorted view of all of us (they might get it wrong about what nurses do, but at least nurses are acknowledged by media, the majority of AHPs are never even considered) we haven't had a pay rise in 10 years which means most of us would have a substantially better income and wouldn't have to rely on things like food banks....

As one of my colleagues pointed out earlier, the staff of McDonald's are striking in London for payment at £16/hour. My on call payment is that for 12 hours, one day the minimum wage will catch us all up, so what was all that study for?!? We make decisions that literally impact on peoples lives.

I'm pissed off with everything tonight, the only hope I have is to but a lottery ticket and hope I win....

[Cornishbumpkin]

@Sewrainbow I feel your annoyance with the management interference!!

I don't want to annoy you when your already stressed but what do AHPs do? we don't have them in our trust

[Lifeisabeach09]

The nurses who "cared" for me spent zero time on personal care and all their time either not engaging with me or using medical equipment

Nurses are responsible for a shitload of documentation, taken patients down to theatre, x-ray, scans, and collecting them, chasing doctors to prescribe or change drug charts, preparing IV drugs, administering all sorts of drugs, dressing changes, hourly checks on various drivers and pumps, chasing doctors when patient results change or patient deteriorates, dealing with acute patients on 15 minute obs, MDTS, liaising with pharmacy and other HCPS, etc.

No excuse as nurses need to engage with patients but, sadly, nurses don't have the time to give them because of the above.

[GoldenZoe]

@plantainchips yes indeed. But - locum work is the doctor equivalent of agency nursing. And nurses can earn silly money doing that (albeit with no job security but then locuming is the same). The salaries here are basic yes - but so are the AfC ones on the nursing scale. So nurses get enhancements too.

[Sewrainbow]

You definitely do have them AHPs are allied health professionals, basically any healthcare professional that isnt a doctor, nurse, pharmacist or dentist; radiographers, physios, OTs, speech therapists, orthoptists, paramedics, dieticians are just some examples

[GoldenZoe]

@Lifeisabeach09 thank you! And this is EXACTLY what I mean. The perception is from the outside that we are the angels who provide all the care and when ppl come in we are then demonised for 'not caring enough' as we become invisible to them. They have no idea (and tbf why would they?) what we actually DO! So we are then demonised and criticised. Frustrating.

[berryhead2013]

I was a nurse and what I was expected to do for my basic 24 k was basically the job of two or three nurses they are so understaffed it's not funny plus if you end up on a shift with two or three bank nurses who don't know the ward or the patients or the ward routine you are stuffed basically not a slur against bank nurses most are brilliant
People need to do a shift or two on a crazy understaffed ward then say the pay is enough
The best staffed shift I ever had was when the prime minister came to visit we were told we were not allowed to talk about staffing with him
We had ten members of staff that day normally we would have had four

[Cardy24]

KitKat, I’m working in those sorts of conditions only I’m not a nurse and I don’t get paid. I’m looking after one, very aggressive, patient. I’ve had no training and I don’t get paid holiday or sick pay. The reason I’m doing this “job” is because a nurse assessor decided that my relative does not qualify for CHC funding.

[Namechanger001]

I work in an operating theatre, have responsibility of making sure we have the correct instruments (and there is a lot of it for orthopaedics and it’s heavy), make sure it is still sterile from it’s route from sterile services to us, know how to put it together, make sure the patients are safe whilst asleep or immobile, document everything (or it didn’t happen), sometimes look after the patient in recovery when there’s no one else to do that role. Oh and be on call for the night every two weeks in case of an op needing doing in the night. With the lack of pay increases I struggle each month now. My bills have increased and I have very little fun money and no savings. Oh and pay £120 a year to be able to work plus £30 a month to park.

[Ziggyzazoo]

I am a prescribing ENP with 20 years experience. I am top of band 7. I work unsocial hours. Yes, I might get paid more than the FY1's and 2's, but I know more than them and am frequently supervising them. In my specialist field I often know more than the ED Consultants. I pick up their mistakes on a not infrequent basis. I have also been doing an MSc whilst working full time, with no study time. All the doctors are given time for CPD included in their rostered hours. Nurses are not.
Experienced ENPs and ACPs are working at Registrar level not FY1 level.
They employ locum Dr's to cover our shifts when we are short staffed and they can't get an ENP. Those doctors are paid twice the amount the ENPs are paid to do a bank shift, for doing exactly the same job. How is this fair? Especially as most of the time we have to 'carry' those doctors as they don't know what they are doing.

[GoldenZoe]

@Ziggyzazoo Locums are paid stupid money.

[Wineislifex]

Lots of specialist nurses including prescribers are a band 6 not 7, very very few nurses will reach band 7 so when you look at the responsibility and level of skill required the pay can be poor for the job done!

[minesagin37]

Here here. I think people are splitting hairs over the exact pay etc. The bigger issue is that no other profession faces the gender stereotyping to the same degree that nurses do.
@Cardy24 I appreciate that you are in an extremely difficult position. However you are not doing a nurses job. You are doing a carers job. There's a difference.
To go back to the ops point. Some nurses are also on extremely high wages. I have friends who are in senior management positions in Hospital Trusts who are earning 80k a year. That's not a job I'm sure many nurses would want but the opportunity is there.

[avoidingwork]

YANBU OP.
Every nurse I worked with when I was in the NHS was a Band 7 or above but we were in specialist clinics.

[Cornishbumpkin]

Sorry @Sewrainbow just never heard them referred to as that

[lizzyliz2]

YADNBU. I roll my eyes every time I see this crap. I have worked for the NHS for 8 years and know the nurses are reasonably paid, my sister is a band 5 nurse and gets paid a very decent amount (she said herself) with the unsocial hours etc on top. She lives a comfortable life supporting herself. I work with band 7's and they sit on there arse in the office 65% of the time drinking tea and chatting rubbish (community setting). I have came across a lot of very rude incompetent nurses and it scares me to think they could be looking after my family. They know what there singing up for when they do their degree so infuriates me that they cry on about there wages and being 'over worked' when there's so many people worse off. In my role, I'm yet too come across a nurse who is anymore overworked than anyone else in another role. The wage they get is more than reasonable. If there not happy, leave. Simple

[Lifeisabeach09]

It's hard, OP, because I know from my own experience working in a 35 bedded unit with 4 HCAs (on a good shift!) and high needs patients, it was essential that the nurses help with personal care and feeding also. Quite rightly so. But in addition to all mentioned above...
I don't care about the 'bedchanger' image but I do resent the 'I never saw my nurse' because of the complete disregard, or ignorance of, what nurses do when not in the bay.
Shit, I remember having to accompany my patient for a scan (I had to take the suction machine) and I was gone for two fucking hours!!! No wonder my other 5 patients never saw me!!

[Lifeisabeach09]

I don't think nurses complain of the wage. For me, it was definitely the working conditions and lack of staffing.

[GoldenZoe]

@minesagin37 amen!