Aibu to start hating my job

[Zippeedidodah]

I work as a health care assistant, I loved working in a people facing role and it made me feel I was doing something good and worthwhile. For past 6 months or so I'm beginning to resent it, resent my colleagues, resent everything. Some days I feel I'm nothing more than a personal slave to everyone, everything I do isn't good enough. I'm often left to work alone which is fine so I get on with what I'm doing and assist patients whether it's feeding, toileting and everything else in between. It's a busy place, patients all require varying levels of assistance so I'm run ragged and I'm happy with it that's my job. It's when others start piling on more work, like they'll come up and say such and such needs the toilet when I've just taken them and assisting someone else its starting to grind me. Another bug bear is agency nurses who ask me to do things that I'm not trained to do, I say I'm only the hca and don't do that because it's a nurses job and they tut then cheekily ask permanent nurses to complete the tasks then make out I've done nothing all day. I am so stressed out and miserable and wasn't like that few months ago I enjoyed my job. I'm being called to management about a few sick days I took off, one of those days was because a charge nurse had been calling me names but saving face I said it was because I was unwell.
I'm also sick of the bitching and backbiting as well not just where I work, I've worked in care for years the script is the same, there is always someone who is a bitch, either a fat one or a lazy one and I'm sick of grown women calling each other bitches in a setting thays supposed to care.
AIBU?

YANBU X

YANBU - I am not a HCP but I have spent enough time with MIL in hospital to see that HCAs are run ragged.

Could you look at getting some HCA wok in General Practice? You may not have all the skills you need but maybe look at some job ads and see if it is achievable? I have worked in practice management and, IME, HCAs are treasured and are a complete god send. Pay might not be great but certainly less pressure.

Firstly no, you are not being unreasonable - especially in such a devalued sector.

In my experience it’s either a change in managment causing disruption and making you fed up, or you’re ready for a new role/challenge/location/promotion.

As for what to do you (unsurprisingly!) have two options: 1. knuckle under or 2. find a new job. Both have pro’s/con’s!

Personally I tend to always plump for option 2, because if management changes have mess up the job they’re highly unlikely to be undone. If it’s because the job has run its course for me it’s rare management have altered a role significantly to keep me entertained… so job hunting begins!

Good luck and I’m sorry that you’re having a crappy time in a job that is really important but very undervalued.

I'm not someone who wants to be made special or think I'm doing anything special, I used to like it because I make others laugh whether intentional or most times unintentional it feels good because for a second I made them forget they were in pain, ill or in some cases dying :( now I'm less smiling, feeling like a slave and patients are picking up on it, sometimes they say and I hate that my negativity is rubbing off on them. There's days I've come home in tears because I feel I can't give anymore. I'm qualified in nothing so I don't have many options to pick from. I'm on low banding so don't do simple obs ect. My backs broken because most times the nurse working with me or hcas in different teams are busy and I'm left lifting and laying larger patients myself, others say why don't you ask for help, but I do that's the point, nobody helps.

But you do need to be made to feel valued! It’s an incredibly important non-monetary part of being an employer- money only goes so far with your employees. Don’t feel bad about needing development/support (unless when it’s offered you’re not going to take it/put the work in.)

Now it’s very easy for Mumsnetters to sit here and tell you what to do blah blah blah… but you’re the one who’s going to need the gumption to do it!

if you’re looking for advice, and you might just be looking for a healthy vent and no advice - which is perfectly understandable, I would have a chat with your line manager first about some development opportunities. Frame it as feeling a bit at a cross roads/flatter their seniority and experience and see what might be offered. Highlight what you’ve said here about your job strengths but also where you feel you are not as confident as you once were. Close with why you want to develop your career so you can stay in the team and get back to being how you once felt and the benefit that brings. (Write a bullet point script and do a bit of bathroom mirror a practice at home so you know your stuff and then on the day only have to manage your nerves/plucking up courage!)

Don’t for a moment think you don’t have skills/transferable qualities just because you don’t have a certificate behind them. We all started somewhere with zero knowledge and proof!

I liked what a previous poster has said about options for trying other similar jobs like being at GP surgery and think this is a really good opportunity to freshen your perspective of the job/get experience/figure out what you want.

At the other end of the spectrum is going completely crazy and going back to college and using your HCA skills and knowledge and developing that on to becoming a nurse/paramedic/social worker/doctor/ruler of the known universe.

Many many moons ago I did an access to higher education course to get into uni and I bloody loved it and got into a fantastic uni. I even ended up studying abroad! I really do recommend these types of courses more than A levels because they are such a lovely supportive adult environment.

Anyway - there are lots of options and ideas on mumsnet once you have an idea of where you’d like to go.

Hi @Zippeedidodah yanbu xx sounds like a horrible place to work in. I think it's time to change jobs. Whenever a job has got so bad it's given me the push to move on.
I would start applying for a new job, i really hope you find something you love xx