Page 6 | AIBU - Training as a nurse - to work in Aesthetics only!

anniz91 · 21/12/2021 22:57

@Wishingitwassummer

I’ve came across this a fair few times now. Student nurses completing their nursing degrees as they want to work in aesthetics (and aesthetics only). This is just such a waste of government funding. I’m in Scotland - so we don’t pay tuition fees and the bursary is still available. Now I know this will only be a very small minority of people who are doing this but it just doesn’t sit right with me at all. AIBU?

I'm sorry. This is so very judgmental.

Do you work in the NHS currently?

Veeveeoxox · 21/12/2021 23:01

I most probably won't be working for the NHS when I qualify a private hospital near me pays 36k for newly qualified instead of NHS 25k and meagre pay rise after 2 years. I paid for my degree in tution fees I work for free doing 13 hour shifts on the wards used as a unpaid HCA when the nurses are too busy to teach me. I get a bit of the learning support fund but it's teeny I'm going to qualify with 60k worth of debt I don't feel I owe the NHS anything .

Original poster

Wishingitwassummer · 21/12/2021 23:07

Sorry if it sounds judgemental.
Yes I do currently work in the NHS. Yes, it is shit.

OP posts:

Branleuse · 21/12/2021 23:09

Nurse training requires you to be working shifts in the ward right from a few weeks of starting the course. All the way through. For free. The bursary isnt a wage. You couldnt live on it. Not even close. I am glad to hear theyve brought it back though. I thought theyd scrapped the bursary when they scrapped the nursing DipHe.
If a few nurses want to work in a private clinic after their degree, then good luck to them

youvegottenminuteslynn · 21/12/2021 23:09

@Wishingitwassummer

Sorry if it sounds judgemental. Yes I do currently work in the NHS. Yes, it is shit.

Surely you can see that during their training, nurses work bloody hard, with very long hours and aren't financially compensated for their time spent on placement?! As a PP said, if you did the maths on the basis of hours worked and bursary given, they wouldn't be anywhere close to minimum wage. Don't you think that's a hell of a lot they're already giving to the NHS before they even officially qualify?

Original poster

Wishingitwassummer · 21/12/2021 23:12

It is a shame that the NHS is losing so many good nurses. I’ve seen a fair few go down the ANP route. But even they are underpaid for the work they put in and the extra responsibility. It really does sadden me, the state of our healthcare system.

OP posts:

user313213521 · 21/12/2021 23:12

I read the thread title as 'anaesthetics' not 'aesthetics' and was incredibly confused about what the problem was

Original poster

Wishingitwassummer · 21/12/2021 23:15

I believe many moons ago, before Nursing was degree only, student nurses were paid when on placement.

OP posts:

anniz91 · 21/12/2021 23:25

@Wishingitwassummer

Sorry if it sounds judgemental. Yes I do currently work in the NHS. Yes, it is shit.

So you can't really blame them.

Anyone working in the NHS currently is battling burnout and student nurses can see that. So I don't blame them. I switched to bank shifts because I couldn't take it anymore. I don't blame anyone who wants to get out!

youvegottenminuteslynn · 21/12/2021 23:26

@Wishingitwassummer

It is a shame that the NHS is losing so many good nurses. I’ve seen a fair few go down the ANP route. But even they are underpaid for the work they put in and the extra responsibility. It really does sadden me, the state of our healthcare system.

You can think something is sad without having such a judgemental attitude to the individuals involved.

These girls are only doing it because they HAVE to do the degree.

Setting aside your patronising 'girls' wording, someone gets through a nursing degree has worked bloody hard and their work has included gruelling hours as well as often traumatic and unpleasant tasks, especially over the last couple of years. As someone in healthcare you surely know that more than most.

Also you say about the shortage in nurses. Without nursing students, even including those who leave to do something non NHS based, there would be an even larger gap in nursing roles being filled.

Your posts are dripping in judgment of people, predominantly women, who work hard for very low pay for a few years not earning even minimum wage for a job that's arguably harder than many many others physically and emotionally.

Maybe reflect on whether you're arguing the right side of things here...

Original poster

Wishingitwassummer · 21/12/2021 23:30

I wouldn’t say nurses have ‘very low’ pay.
They are paid less than others who have a degree, agreed.
And I didn’t just set out to ‘judge’ women. Jeez.

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youvegottenminuteslynn · 21/12/2021 23:32

@Wishingitwassummer

I wouldn’t say nurses have ‘very low’ pay. They are paid less than others who have a degree, agreed. And I didn’t just set out to ‘judge’ women. Jeez.

I said they are on very low pay for a couple of years ie during their degree. In fact, I was wrong to say that. They're on zero pay, living off their bursary for the equivalent of well below minimum wage. Your attitude towards this is baffling.

youvegottenminuteslynn · 21/12/2021 23:33

And I didn’t just set out to ‘judge’ women. Jeez.

You're doing a bloody good job of it!

anxiouswaiting · 21/12/2021 23:33

I don't understand the issue.

I have over 30k debt for my nursing training, I worked 2300 hours clinical placements which included nights, weekends, public holidays etc for free. At £9 an hour (which is what I got and a carer working to support my family while I trained) that's £20,700 of free care work I have given before you consider all the breaks I missed and the times I stayed late to help where I was needed.

How does that leave me owing anyone anything? I trained in a job just like other people train for their jobs, why would I then owe the NHS a year or more of work?

I do work in the NHS, but I am not sure why people would think I should be obligated to?

I'm not saying I agree with the rules around who can do aesthetics etc, but the arguement that nurses owe for their training doesnt sit well with me. There are many types of nursing both NHS and private. We dont get to choose to train for private practice, it's one training for all regardless of where you go on to work. I'm not sure why it is a problem that some nurses choose to go in different career directions and that these are seen as not worthy, or not caring enough.

As I said I do work in the NHS and I love the area I work in but I dont judge other nurses for the path they have chosen outside of the NHS.

I know a few nurses and midwives who do aesthetics, all of them also do some sort of work either as bank or in a part time position in another nursing area. I doubt many purely do aesthetics.

CliveThighs · 21/12/2021 23:33

I think you should be looking at why these young women are more tempted by a career in aesthetics than nursing - could it be nursing pay & conditions, working hours not being family friendly, staff shortages, work pressures, etc are all far worse in typical NHS nursing work as opposed to aesthetics? They'll have spent time on the wards during their training, they'll know what life on the front line is like. If things were amazing they could be swayed to specialise in any number of NHS nursing jobs.

If you had to choose between a working life filled with stressful 12 hour A&E shifts for not much pay, or a working life with more flexible hours, less aggressive patients, better pay, etc in aesthetics then guess which one is the more attractive option.

Original poster

Wishingitwassummer · 21/12/2021 23:33

Other health professionals do placements without pay…

OP posts:

youvegottenminuteslynn · 21/12/2021 23:35

@Wishingitwassummer

Other health professionals do placements without pay…

And are equally, and quite rightly, able to change jobs after training, surely?

Original poster

Wishingitwassummer · 21/12/2021 23:38

Yes, and hopefully do something that makes a difference in peoples lives.

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youvegottenminuteslynn · 21/12/2021 23:41

@anxiouswaiting

I don't understand the issue.

I have over 30k debt for my nursing training, I worked 2300 hours clinical placements which included nights, weekends, public holidays etc for free. At £9 an hour (which is what I got and a carer working to support my family while I trained) that's £20,700 of free care work I have given before you consider all the breaks I missed and the times I stayed late to help where I was needed.

How does that leave me owing anyone anything? I trained in a job just like other people train for their jobs, why would I then owe the NHS a year or more of work?

I do work in the NHS, but I am not sure why people would think I should be obligated to?

I'm not saying I agree with the rules around who can do aesthetics etc, but the arguement that nurses owe for their training doesnt sit well with me. There are many types of nursing both NHS and private. We dont get to choose to train for private practice, it's one training for all regardless of where you go on to work. I'm not sure why it is a problem that some nurses choose to go in different career directions and that these are seen as not worthy, or not caring enough.

As I said I do work in the NHS and I love the area I work in but I dont judge other nurses for the path they have chosen outside of the NHS.

I know a few nurses and midwives who do aesthetics, all of them also do some sort of work either as bank or in a part time position in another nursing area. I doubt many purely do aesthetics.

Interested to see if OP comes back to this properly.

Friendviv1987 · 21/12/2021 23:46

So what are your thoughts about Drs,Physios,OT ,Radiologist,…should they all stick with the NHS when they qualify?🤔

Original poster

Wishingitwassummer · 21/12/2021 23:47

For a couple of years, yes.

OP posts:

FeelingSoGrinchy · 21/12/2021 23:53

Well that wouldn't work would it, lots of people complete training in nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy etc, and go straight to working for a private company, charity, set their own business up, or work abroad.

Nurses here in England pay 9k a year in fees. They don't owe the NHS anything when they graduate.

Atla · 21/12/2021 23:56

When I started my training in 2009 the bursary in NI was £504 per month. When on placement we worked full time, all shifts - nights, weekends, long days - with no enhancement for unsocial hours etc.

Nursing isn't badly paid, per se, but it IS in relation to the level of clinical skill, responsibility and professional accountability placed on you. I have always worked in the NHS but I don't begrudge anyone taking a different path.

AgathaMystery · 21/12/2021 23:57

OP YANBU & I agree with you but for a different reason. I do not think nurses or midwives should be doing aesthetics. I don’t care how many courses they have been on etc etc. I will only go to an experienced medical doctor for my treatments. I’ve seen WAY too many nurses on social media with hair down, fake eyelashes on, gel nails etc doing fillers/Botox. All these things are big infection control no-nos. I have visited a few clinics and the only one I am happy to be treated at it owned by a medical doctor. I know if I have an adverse reaction she will treat men and probably keep me alive until I get to hospital. Doubtful a newly qualified nurse would.

Toomanyradishes · 22/12/2021 08:41

You may not think you are judging women, those who you think are supposed to be caring and make a difference in peoples lives, but you certainly arent answering whether you have an issue with doctors or other more traditionally male professions doing the same, your iritation seems to be reserved for 'girls'

Maybe the care and the making a difference in peoples lives is reserved for people you arent seeing, maybe they are choosing an option with regular hours because they have children, or care for relatives. Maybe they are choosng abetter paid profession to support their family, or because they want a family.

Maybe after working thousands of hours for free for the nhs during placement they dont owe you or anyone else anything.