AIBU to retrain as a nurse

[Summeriscancelled]

Name changed for this as could be outing.

Here's my situation...

I completed uni right after school with a degree in modern languages and literature. I did really well but just before I graduated, my dad was diagnosed with a terminal illness. I didn't feel able to focus on uni to do my post-grad, so I took an office job for a few years. I did well, earned a decent living. I eventually left this job to go into teaching as this had been my original plan and to then possibly move abroad. By this point my dad had sadly passed away.

Turns out teaching wasn't the career for me, in spite of having done lots of experience in various schools in the UK and abroad before applying for the course. I didn't go on to teach and instead took another office job to rethink my options.

Over the years I've found myself to be quite unemployable because my first degree doesn't lend itself to many jobs without a bolt on qualification. I've considered the police, the prison service, the civil service but I keep landing on nursing.

I realise the job is super tough and really hard work. I don't want children of my own so the shift work wouldn't be an issue for me.

Did anyone else re-train as a nurse when they were a bit older? (I'm in my early 30s).

How did you find the change into this career?

Looking forward to hearing your experiences!

@Summeriscancelled

Thanks for the replies so far!

I got through the PGDE for teaching so surely the workload is similar/slightly less than that if you take out the hours for making teaching resources?

It would be 3 years of uni but, being in Scotland, I wouldn't have to pay for this. I'd get a small bursary but would need to top this up. I can save 8-10k before I start as backup but I'm realistic this wouldn't last for 3 years.

Did any of you have part time jobs during your nursing degree? If so, what was it? I'd like to work 16-20 hours during uni time and be able to cut right down or stop for placement.

A lot of Students join the bank and work as a health Care for extra money. Nights and weekends are a lot better paid.

@Popc0rn - ah, you're right! Misread that at first. I'm sure the calculations are drummed into you and I was quite good at maths at school achieving a B.

I'm also going to research the principles of nursing practice and the NHS values. Is there anything else I should look into?

I've researched the 6 C's and believe there's a group task at the uni interview which is centred around this. I was planning on referring to this in my personal statement and link each C into an experience or scenario.

I've narrowed it down to mental health and adult nursing but I'm more drawn to adult because it seems there might be more options to specialise in. Would that be right?

I called my sister today and she said the same. To just get bank work and take it from there. Would be better to be hands on and to earn some extra money to put aside for studying at the same time.

Depending on where you live as an Adult trained nurse you should have more job opportunities - MH is covered in your training and maybe look at your local NHS hospitals to see what services are offered.

I would look at the contentious views on healthcare, the NHS and the nursing profession at the moment. Also, the Francis Enquiry is still heavily covered in terms of whistle-blowing and the need to adhere to the code of conduct as a Registered Nurse. There's a significant expectation that you will have considered all sides of the dice that is nursing.

The training can be really hard going in places, but it is worth it in the end, the shifts can be brutal (that you will potentially have very control over in terms of scheduling to fit around your children and husband) when you're also juggling a bank job and your studies. I think it's an unexpected level of brutality... a bit like those first few weeks when you've taken a newborn home and you feel lost, confused, sleep deprived and like you're doing EVERYTHING wrong. It does get better, but I think a lot of those who started with me, and dropped out just didn't expect it at all despite some of them having caring backgrounds.

If you can get some hands of healthcare experience it will help you enormously in terms of confidence for your first lots of skills teaching and placements. It will also give you an appreciation of the skills and knowledge of the HCAs and Nursing Associates that you will work alongside. There's absolutely nothing worse than the tremendous bump back down to earth of a new student on the ward who complains about doing HCA work (which is essential, and we really rely on as nurses to allow us to undertake some of the advanced work we now do).

I came from a mental health background, but realised that I wanted to have the greater opportunities available through adult nursing. I qualified in 2014 and I'm now a Clinical Nurse Specialist in my chosen field. Unless you feel a real pull towards Mental Health Nursing I would encourage you to go for Adult Nursing for the variety of specialities. You can always dual qualify in the future though!

I would say get a years grounding on the wards or in a nursing home as a hca to see if you like care work in general and also get an idea of what a qualified nurses role is like ( the two can be quite different) !

Yes it's great wanting to help people but there's a horrendous amount of paperwork involved, ticking boxes that kind of thing as well as it being emotionally and physically demanding. Hate to say it but there's also alot of backbiting, bitchiness and cliqueness that goes on - sometimes it can be a matter of if your face fits so it's important to have an awful lot of emotional resilience and assertiveness.Only you know if you have that ! I've witnessed it at first hand as a qualified nurse of many years standing and it's crap.
I've worked with nursing students of all ages but what stands out is the eagerness to learn, ask questions, have a go (with supervision) and decent time management skills ! If you show interest and are a team player you'll do well whatever your age !

@Orangesox - as an ex teacher, I completely understand where you're coming from about HCAs. I valued my TA so much in my class. They play such a vital role and are sadly overlooked! I do feel a stronger pull towards Adult Nursing and will likely apply for that option.

@Shanghaisue - I have the contact details for a hospital, a hospice and a care home which I'll contact tomorrow to ask about getting some bank shifts as an HCA. Unfortunately I'm not currently in a position to quit my full time job and move into healthcare work. However, I'm hoping to fit in a few shifts a month to both give me an idea of the role, and also to strengthen my application. It's so sad that people are like that. There is a lot of bitchiness in my current workplace and it's just awful how some people are treated and spoken about. I tend to get along with everyone and don't get involved in that sort of chat. It seems to work and I don't get any hassle. I realise you'd need a really strong support network in a healthcare role so it would be really important to build good relationships!

I’m not sure I would go into nursing again. Often treated like crap my managers, treated like children. The lack of PPE shows you how little nurses are thought of.

Back injuries, abuse from patients and relatives and the fear that you will lose your registration.

I would look at radiography or occy therapy personally. Not nursing.

I retrained in software development, as it was important to me to have a job that paid very well. Does nursing have a good enough salary? I hear it's pretty poor, and I'd sooner encourage someone to chase financial security rather than a stressful, long-hours, underfunded, low paid role that might be fulfilling but make life harder in the long run.

I did my first degree in modern languages at 18, worked for a few years then trained as a mental health nurse in my mid 20s, I qualified 10 years ago. At that time the financial arrangements were better, there was a bursary, a 2 year post grad diploma courses with no fees. The post grad option is now and MSc so potentially a bit harder work. I topped up to an MSc a few years later.

It’s an unusual step in terms of your degree but I’ve actually found my languages have helped me a little at times. I’ve been able to interpret on occasion and the experience of having lived abroad has helped me relate to people here who don’t have English as a first language.

Nursing is tough but rewarding. Unless you live in an expensive area the pay isn’t too bad, although people have very different opinions about this. I will be on around £37k pro rata next year. The benefits (sickness pay, holiday entitlement, maternity pay etc are excellent).

@tempesthayes - I spoke to my close friends about the salary plus where I live in Scotland isn't an expensive area. My friends work 3 long days/nights then do one extra shift here and there to top up their wage each month as spending money for them. I'd definitely be happy with the salary. The work is harder and the hours less sociable but that's not as important to me. I'd rather be in a rewarding role and still be paid more than I get paid now.

@acquiescence - I feel like I have a lot of transferable skills. I totally understand the frustrations of someone whose first language isn't English. My teaching qualification also taught me a lot about resilience, communication, time management skills, prioritisation. I think I have a lot to get me through the course and good base skills to nursing as a career. I won't need to pay tuition fees as nursing and midwifery is free in Scotland for everyone without healthcare qualifications. The bursary here is being increased to 10k per year which we don't need to pay back.

As someone running away from nursing as fast as I can, I couldn't possibly recommend it.

It's always been hard work for little reward, always been emotionally and physically tough but.... Now, I wouldn't wish it on ym worst enemy

I think that the average nurses salary is £30k. So the top of band 5 after years of service. Nurses start on £24k. There are opportunities for progression up the bands but many of the band 6 / 7 specialist nurses have been downgraded.

I wouldn’t encourage my child to be a nurse. I earn more working in a civil service office with the same maternity leave, annual leave, sick pay, pension etc. With flexitime. And none of the abuse, night shifts, weekend working, manual handling injuries or being treated like crap.

I trained at 22, plenty on the course in 30's and a few in their 50's. I had worked in home care previously and whilst in uni I worked about 15-20 hours per week. Whilst on placement I would still do the odd shift here and there, so if say on a community placement mostly Mon-Fri I would do a Fri evening or a Saturday day.

Unsure on the work experience side currently but care homes are opening up to visitors (slowly) now. If you get volunteer work in a home try and make sure it's nursing as opposed to residential.

And for every person who warns you against nursing you will find someone saying the opposite, there are pros and cons as with anything.

I have been qualified for 6 years, there is never a shortage of jobs, you have opportunity to upskill, study further at university (paid) and endless promotion opportunities (if that's what you want) you can choose private, charity or NHS, all different.

If you dislike or just even get bored of one area you can move into something totally new and different, I have just moved from scrub nursing to district nursing.

If you dont want weekends and nights then find a role that doesn't require this (there's not many but there are some, or work on an agency which typically pays much better also) Personally I am glad of nights and have chose to do them full time, this means I get 30% extra in my salary and bumps it up to 40k a year for top band 5.

You can even choose non-clinical desk based stuff if that is what floats your boat.

Yes nursing is stressful, you have a lot of responsibility, but it also provides some amazing experiences and after 6 years (and several job changes) I do not regret it.

@KindKylie did you always feel that way? If not, what specifically changed and made you feel how you do now?

@HeyBlaby when I was looking into nursing as a career option, it really struck me how many paths there were. I didn't realise the variety of roles available to a registered nurse. I'd also be quite happy to do nights, especially as it would increase the pay.

I think theres a lot of misconceptions about nursing. I think people have a very specific image of nursing.

But theres so many areas you can step into. Research nursing, medical trails, transfusion and organ care specialists, occupational health, copd and asthma clinics, working in GPs and training to be a nurse prescriber, district nursing, working in the charity sector and many more.

I work in ICU and we had no band 6 vacancies for 9 years. Locally it's also quite difficult to move sideways into specialist practitioner roles - they are far and few between. When they do come up, competition is intense and often they demand specific professional qualifications which are tricky to obtain due to funding issues/availibility.

Summer I really didn't. I have done over 20 years in the nhs and am more than used to seriously hard graft and poor reward, but recently the lack of respect from government and even interest in what's going wrong for the profession has been too insulting to take.

We are treated appallingly, working in underresourced areas with constant change but no consultation, poorly equipped with an ever increasing replacement of qualified/registered staff for unqualified or support role (which places massive responsibility in the R eg istered staff to carry all accountability). Nursing has v v poor progression with many very experienced nurses remaining on the lowest banding (band 5) because posts are not available, and neither are courses to equip you to progress. Therefore newly qualified nurses count the same as someone who is massively skilled on the rota - there is no way to differentiate someone who can manage the most conoex work and someone who can't even give out all medications.

Management is shocking - often posts can't have required criteria anymore because courses and the funding of for courses were stopped years ago, so it is never the right people who end up in charge and you have to tolerate v inexperienced management with no real right of reply.

You're expected to stay awake all night, work all weekends have no say over your rota at v short notice, have v few breaks, no staff room, changing room, food or drink or perks supplied. You pay extortionate amounts to park and your safety is in question both travelling at odd hours and at work. You have to tolerate utterly incredible amounts of abuse in some roles with v little support, you will be physically hurt - either assaulted or by those who are demented or intoxicated or otherwise unwell. You will see and hear the most troubling, devastating and appalling things and v offered bo time or space to process or cope. You will be expected to manage in any and all situations, however horrific,, and turn up again and again regardless.

You pay to register and maintain registration, you pay to launder your uniform and buy your own footwear and anything you need for the job. You pay monthly charges to a union and for indemnity. If you do any courses you will do them unpaid and often have to fund yourself - and gaining them won't be reflected in pay and progression.

There are so many better organised jobs where you earn more and payout less. Where the public and politicians don't treat you like you're stupid/invincible/dispensable...

It's sad. But it's true.

If you’re worried by bullying then I’m afraid nursing really is not the place for you. I’m also trying to leave after 12 years in the profession. I’ve worked in three hospitals and in 5 different posts and never found anywhere without a culture of bullying. If I had my time again I’d be a speech and language therapist or a Occupational therapist. They’re always lovely to work with and have a diverse selection of things they can go into post qualification. The shifts, conditions and behaviour of my colleagues really finished me in nursing. It has declined in the past 12 years to the point where there can be one qualified nurse on a night shift looking after 30 patients and have to borrow a nurse from another ward so you can sign out controlled drugs. It is gruelling watching a patient suffer for hours while you wait for a qualified nurse to be free. It grinds you down every day till you either stop caring or leave.

@KindKylie this is obviously your experience, and I am sorry it is, but it isn't reflective of mine nor my friends who are nurses as far as I am aware.

Haven't RTWT but would recommend some adjacent sector experience, even if in a care home as the caring side of the work, though much reduced for many nursing roles, doesn't suit everyone, in my experience particularly for those whom the academics tend to come more easily. I'd potentially look for a vocational entry if that is available or when any restoration of the bursary if you're based in England.

Good luck.

Some of what KindKylie says echoes what I've seen second hand, unfortunately. I'd look at the pay scales and the relative numbers across the bands (I'd need to check but are most nurses Band 5?) to make sure it met your financial expectations.

My experience is that on the wards progression to 6 can be quite rapid.
I know of some getting Junior sisters posts within 2-3 years of qualifying, particularly on wards that have a bit of a reputation. A colleague of mine had worked for a year on the ward and a year on ICU - she was offered a 6 on a very busy medical ward, she quickly returned after a few months !
Ward dynamics can be tricky too. I’ve worked on the same unit for 20 years. I’ve seen all types come and go, cliques form and break up. I try to keep out of it thankfully. Shifts can be tricky when you see who you are working with and you invariably prepare yourself psychologically for them tbh. Some big opinionated personalities do better than the quiet unassuming types but then others get accused of being too cocky - it’s a really fine line to tread and difficult to get right ! Appreciate not every ward is the same but that’s the pattern I’ve seen over 30 years of nursing

I'm a newly qualified nurse. I also went into nursing with the idea that an emotionally rewarding job compensated for the downsides. And there definitely are some really lovely emotionally rewarding moments--unfortunately they're not as frequent as the moments of guilt and anger when you haven't been able to provide gold standard care because you're one person and you can only be in one place at a time.

The concept of moral distress is really taking off in academic nursing circles. And speaking from the frontline, that's because nursing is more likely to cause you moral injury than to make you feel deeply emotionally rewarded. Nurses rarely have the resources to do a really good job right now, and that feels awful.

Go for it! I worked as a HCA on the bank shifts when I was studying, I was in my 20s but loved it, started my career in A&E and now with further study am a Nurse Practitioner in a community clinic.