To start a psychology masters and abandon nursing

[Toolate16]

I graduated with a nursing degree 6 months ago, but have not been able to find a job due to a lack of jobs for newly qualified nurses in my area - and my requirements of a non ward job. I have a severely disabled child and it seems impossible to find a job that doesn’t require being available to random shifts 24/7. I initially was going to just start applying for non nursing jobs, but DC is starting school soon and I have already been told wrap around care is not a possibility due to care required. Looking for a suitable childminder/nanny is also not working out. So even standard 9-5 jobs might not be an option. Would I be unreasonable to apply for a MA psychology conversion online course? Partly with the hope to retrain into a more suitable career for working around my child and also partly because I need something to do. Also any suggestions of jobs that are flexible with hours?

What are your career goals if you pursue psychology? Have you looked at nursing related courses... Health visiting, research, public health... Something along those lines? It seems a shame to give up on nursing before you've even started.

I'm a nurse and it has taken a long time to find a job that fits around family life so I sympathise. It is hard, especially with the lack of wraparound care. I work in research now and it's a lot more flexible than being on the wards as we are not providing round the clock care. Other options might be outpatients, endoscopy, practice nursing, school nursing. I appreciate that these jobs are few and far between and not easy to get when you are newly qualified but they do exist.

Good luck!

What are you thinking you want to do with a psychology masters? It’s a very broad field and many many different courses leading to various, or no specific, career.
on the face of it given your circumstances further training may be a good idea, but it would be good to be clear about what the possibilities are for jobs…
Are you thinking MH nursing?

Psychology Masters won't automatically qualify you for anything. I'd stick with looking for nursing or nursing-related jobs. Could you do temporary or bank nursing?

The next step after your masters will be the most difficult, finding an assistant psychology. They are super competitive.

My DN is just starting her doctorate in psychology. She has worked everywhere, at all hours, afyer her masters to get jobs and experience. She has no kids and it has still taken 6 years and she’s lived in three different cities. Her placements for the doctorate are evweywhere

i would look at MH nursing definitely first - you need to see if you enjoy working in that field

Psychology is brutal in terms of chances of employment. I teach mental health nursing and every year without fail we get students join our programmes with psychology degrees because the pathway to qualification as a psychologist is so long/so competitive.

The nursing job market is tough at the moment but not impossible. You may have to take something that wouldn't be your preference to get you through preceptorship and then give you more choices with a little experience. Have you looked at PIVO settings? Lots of good options outside of the NHS that sometimes get overlooked

Brilliant quote.
I'm a nurse and the profession has provided me with a brilliant experience and career.
OP, I totally understand about the challenges of finding a position that doesn't include unsocial hours.
Please don't give up on putting your nurse registration to use.
Is there a careers service linked to the university that you trained with?
What about daycare, outpatient services, endoscopy services as some options?
Wishing you well

Psych masters won't actually qualify you for anything different though.

Have you looked at OT. Often more friendly working hours and would use your nursing skills?

Thanks everyone for the advice so far. I suppose I haven’t given it enough thought as to what the path would be afterwards if I did pursue psychology. I was just trying to figure out something to do for now in the hopes that DC might eventually be suitable for some childcare options. I’m a single parent so there really is no options other than paid childcare for which no one so far is willing to do due to the level of care involved. I might have to look at relocating to find a nursing job.

Agree with above that psychologists often have doctorates, significant post grad study and often fo lengthy unpaid internships so if you're planning that route I'd recommend being clear with what you want to do with it

Its a real shame how things are going nursing jobs wise atm

I’m struggling to understand how you managed to get through a nursing degree and qualify without working a number of 24/7 placements? Have your circumstances changed in the last six months? If the uni found you placements that fitted your desired hours, have you approached these areas for work?

Where I studied it was generally accepted that you had to “do your time” on the wards for at least a couple of years after qualifying. The uni had a process to line graduates up for jobs.

Once you are in a role you can legally apply for a flexible working arrangement eg fixed shifts, though they can legally refuse.

If possible I’d look at trying to find a way to do the required shifts for the short term, get some nursing on your CV while your skills are fresh. Youll then be in a stronger place to negotiate going forward or move to bank work. I hear about a lot of people spending money on masters but struggling to find work afterwards unfortunately.

Good luck with whatever path you take.

DC was born during the degree so it wasn’t an issue for the first year and then I had friends/nursery for placements. We moved away from uni area after I graduated as it was a high cost of living area so unfortunately previous placements aren’t an option unless we move back.

Have you looked into care homes? A lot are willing to take on new nurses and even essential split shifts e.g 8-2 or 2-8 rather than 8-8

Can't you do bank nursing for a while? That might be a way in.

What childcare did you use whilst you were at Uni?

When my son was young, he needed a lot of care from various clinics & we had lots of nurses visiting him at home from various disciplines. Have you considered:

• Health visitor
• Home visiting cleft, cancer, palliative care, dementia nurse
• School nurse
• Aesthetic cosmetic nurse University campus nurse
• Care home
• sports club - have a look at professional football, rugby, tennis etc clubs. They always need injury specialists

You need to think outside the box and look into areas that require nurses other than a hospital.

You need experience to be a bank nurse, it would be far too much of an ask for a newly qualified nurse to turn up to a ward/ department and just crack on.

It’s tough in nursing as to get to the more flexible jobs you need to have experience somewhere else (whether that’s on the ward or community). I’m an RMN and it’s slightly easier to be flexible in the mental health field but still not ideal.

I’m wondering about jobs with 111 or as a clinician assessing for disability benefits?

Psychology is a great, flexible career - AFTER you’ve done all the buts at the beginning. Realistically, your chance aren’t great as you beed to be very flexible for the first 5-10 years.
I have a friend who is a 1-2-1 for a medically complex child, could that be an option? its school hours only (pay isn’t great though)

why not do a teaching degree? 1 year, fully funded, lots of jobs in hospitals for teachers - work around school hours. lots of kids excluded you could teach etc