To think most people don’t realise how stressful it is to train for nhs jobs?

[nhsfreshhell]

I am currently in NHS training meaning that I attend university and work for the NHS part time. I am fortunate in that I get paid a salary for this ( unlike many of my AHP colleagues).
However, all this talk around the manifestos of the political parties and the NHS is making me feel so angry.
To gain a place on my training you need to be extremely committed and show an excellent history of both academic work and clinical skills. It is very competitive, however I know so many people who are struggling (myself included) and considering leaving entirely. It has made my life hell for 3 years.
AIBU to think that it needs to be looked at if we want to train and retain good and enthusiastic staff?

It’s stressful to get any job, its stressful to put oneself under pressure and training in any circumstance if you value the outcome.

How do you mean now? That the public should know how hard it is, or that politicians should ralsie how hard people work?

I started the old DipHe nursing qualification and at the time there was talk about eradicating it to degree only and making those without top up over time. That bursary per month on the diploma was lifesaving to so many women who were coming into the profession later in life. These women didn't have the extra qualifications either to get onto the degree. I always wonder how many people it's turned away since who really would have excelled as nurses. I understand why a lot of health courses are degree entry however there are so many people with different skill sets and life experiences who would be so valued in healthcare. I definitely think there should be vigorous standards to qualify but I don't think there should be quite so many obstacles to be able to even start. I'm now mid thirties with young children. I can't even work out how I'd make it work undertaking a healthcare degree.

Im not being argumentative but just wondering if there is a reason itiIs it more stressful than training for any other job? My son attends college and works day and night shifts as part of his apprenticeship (not NHS). Is it because people are generally older and already have family commitments to juggle along with the academic and on the job training?

I trained as an ODP, and it was the qualified staff who made my life hell. It is said that nurses "eat their young", and I found that applied to other healthcare workers too.

It’s really not stressful to get any job. That’s incredibly dismissive and ignorant. Not every job involves life and death decisions.

Take the “nhs” out of ops post and what it it?

I'm not suggesting people's lives should be made a misery to gain a qualification, but as a non NHS person, I would like to think that the training is rigorous enough to ensure the skills and resilience of those treating me are absolutely on point.

The expectation is incredibly high and it’s not well run. We get told continually that if we fail an academic assignment twice that we will be kicked off and that’s the end of our career.

There is no understanding or flexibility that we are generally older (30+) with other commitments. We get told that the rules have to apply to all university students so we get lumped in with rules for 18 year old undergraduates which isn’t feasible when you have 2 small children and a caseload of complex patients alongside all the academic work.

This is exactly how my NHS course was almost 20yrs ago. It has to be like this because once you qualify, it’s the same. I really mean it. And if you do fail twice then yes, you need to leave the course. One day you will be running a ward and will be making high risk decisions. This is literally the training.

I could not agree more and I work incredibly hard to maintain an excellent standard of care. It’s the “box ticking” aspects of the training that I find so anxiety inducing and stressful. The clinical work itself I love 😊But unfortunately it IS making people incredibly miserable and I would say at least 25% of people I know have qualified within the last few years have gone into private practice as its much less stressful and much higher pay.

The expectation should be incredibly high! Woudl you want mediocre not interested health care in your time of need?
on what basis do you say it’s not we’ll run? Yeah, if you keep failing I don’t want you in charge of my health!!

Oh a guarantee the course will not be well run. They are always chaotic at best.

I haven’t failed any of my assignments for reference. I excel academically but just surprised at how stressful and anxiety provoking it has been when it doesn’t need to be!

But a lot more so then just nhs

Honestly, it’s good training for your future. Please don’t think that once you qualify, because you don’t have the academics, it will be less stressful.

It will just be a different type of stress, and it will be under your own PIN. Your everyday life commitments won’t go away, and you will be continually updating your practice.

I don’t mean to patronise although it’s importable to sound like I’m not doing. It’s just really really pressured now and high stakes. You’ll go home from a shift worried that you missed something, forgot a piece of paperwork, missed a drug. You’ll come into work to emails for a ‘quick chat’ and honestly, anyone who hasn’t had this happen to them, hasn’t had it happen yet.

I found my training stressful. It was, in hindsight, a cake walk.

To be honest you’re probably just feeling under the pump right now. Whenever anyone takes a risk to sign up for education they’re always going to start second guessing themselves and being doubtful. It’s not about the NHS, it’s about you not feeling valued. It will pay off , believe me.

This was exactly the same for me when I undertook a post grad qualification in a profession that wasn't NHS based and involved practice hours and signoff etc.

I don't expect people to understand what it's like to be a working parent undertaking an academic course alongside their job, but most people get it if you explain it to them.

I’m not a nurse but appreciate it will be stressful in a different way once qualified.

Whatever your role, you’re feeling a bit undervalued right now. And that’s a pretty legit feeling to have .it’s ok to feel a bit challenged, it shouldn’t be easy! But you got it! For sure x

Not sure if Op is undertaking an under graduate degree or not. But a lot of pre reg degrees such as nursing have the students paying for their degree and spending a huge amount of time working. We need the NHS bursary back.

Im about to qualify as a midwife. I am a single parent and have taken out around £78k in student finance to be able to qualify. I have worked 2500 free hours and paid for parking. It’s bloody hard going!

Is that because you did an undergraduate degree first and then a two-year post-grad in Midwifery? I’m just wondering about how those finances work out as I have a family member considering doing the same.

I know of someone of 40 odd who’d been made redundant elsewhere, and was accepted as a HCA trainee.

However she left after only a few days, because she was given virtually no guidance about what to do, or how to do it - was left largely to herself and became very worried about doing anything wrong (not normally at all an anxious type).
A great shame IMO, since she is a very capable type who’d have been good in the role.

Mine is a postgrad qualification which I am very fortunate to have a salary to do! I 100% agree that the NHS bursary for nursing and other AHPs needs to happen, it’s untenable otherwise.