To be curious about those who work in large hospitals

[curiouslycoy]

It fascinates me that people choose to do this in their thousands. For the most part, hospitals have no natural daylight. Often being asked 'what's the weather like out there?'.

I've been told in the past to go to a 'cupboard' for a blood test/vaccine, where a nurse sits all day on her own..

Overall they work long hours, gruelling shift work, paid little, few days annual leave and whilst I'm not sure on the perks and culture, I don't think a crumbling system like the NHS has too much to offer.

Wanting to help people is great and the jobs mostly are well respected but I must be too selfish to consider it desirable myself.

I only seem to know those who are self employed, SAHM, have their own business or for the most part work in offices, mainly large companies, if the company isn't succeeding they try to find one that is, also where there is the opportunity to climb the ladder, enjoy perks, partially wfh or when they do go in there is a culture (and daylight), a start and end time and being paid a hell of a lot more than the souls in a hospital who put in a shift (literally).

Not an accurate picture of working in a large hospital. Yes there are some clinic rooms without windows but wards & departments generally have lots of windows & natural light! Also you mention perks- the annual leave & maternity leave in the NHS are one of the stronger features compared to other sectors…also a good pension. So I’m not sure where your info is from.
As for long shifts- nurses & doctors often do this and yes we’re short staffed but a large portion of the workforce work regular office type hours- ie 8.30-4.30. Staff are underpaid for what they do generally but there is good opportunities for career progression in most roles. A downside could be the fact you can’t really wfh like half the bloody nation which does make me green (I’m sick of hearing people in places like the gym on work calls pretending to be in the office or boasting how much housework they get done while working) but I actually overall do prefer the workplace for the social side.

dh works in an Endoscopy unit with no natural light, he’s often in the theatre from 8am until 7pm. He also dies outpatient clinics, but again no natural light . The weather does affect him though because he cycles to and from work.

I wanted a job that was meaningful to me, that was focused on women, and could make a positive impact on society. So it was a fairly idealistic (and somewhat naive) choice to train as a midwife in the NHS. I no longer work for the NHS as I have moved to Ireland so work in the HSE (the Irish sort of equivalent).

I still find the work meaningful - I retrained as a mature student so had worked in utilities and media in London so have some experience of the corporate world, so I do have a point of comparison. Unfortunately any large institution such as the NHS and HSE always ends up putting it's own needs about the needs of the population - for lots of complicated reasons such as risk/insurance/governance, so it can be challenging to feel that you are making any difference on a large scale level, but I would like to hope that I make a positive impact on the individual women that I offer direct care to.

I absolutely love working with and for the benefit of women. That is not to say I love all of my colleagues, but I have worked with some truly amazing women. And I love meeting and supporting women as they go through such a transformative time.

I would love it if the facilities were better - women and families deserve to be seen in nice bright airy clinics, with privacy and dignity. They deserve privacy and peace in the early postnatal days as they recover from childbirth. They deserve solid community based supports for the for few weeks afterward to make sure their physical and emotional health needs are picked up and treated quickly. Unfortunately, there is no appetite to fund that sort of care, or train and pay a large enough workforce to do it and pay them a decent wage. So I do the best I can in the circumstances we have and hope that it is enough.

So, personally speaking, although the work can be hard, I never go home feeling like I have "put in a shift" and the day that I do, will be the day that I need to look at getting out.

I've worked in hospitals of all sizes and types, it's been my main job my entire adult life and I can't imagine doing anything else. My current job I am in a windowless room and I do ask what it's like out in the real world, can't lie that in winter it's dark when I arrive and dark when I leave so I see no daylight but it's what you get used to.

During the pandemic I diversified a bit out of my normal role and actually had windows for a bit which was lovely but the main thing that keeps me working in the NHS is the people. You meet new patients every day and they are often so interesting and a joy to meet and my colleagues just make work the best place to be. We pull together and work hard and most of the time laugh and laugh. Don't need to work for money but I DO need to work because it and my colleagues keep me sane. I truly cannot imagine working anywhere else.

I work in a career where there are a lot of us based in hospitals working on the acute wards and I've spent time shadowing acute colleagues when I was trying to build up experience on swallowing assessments, and I go with clients for VFs a fair bit - I have peers who love working in the hospital setting and absolutely thrive on it, but I find it too unmanageable on a sensory basis (and yes the lighting is part of that for me) - and I don't walk bloody fast enough to keep up with the hospital based SLT teams - I was sprinting along to try to keep up with them when I was there!

I do work in the NHS, and I believe in its importance and that it's being absolutely battered of late - but community suits me so much more and that's what I love - while those I know who work in hospital love the speed and the ever changing set of patients and having colleagues there with them; I like the solo working but with colleagues to call in if I need it, and the longer-term pieces of work I get to do with clients, and seeing the same people come back again as different needs arise over time (Added bonus that I have a largely rural beautiful working area). It's some of my peers' idea of personal hell though.

Actually the AL is pretty good. I get 2.5 weeks more than my husband! I picked my career when I was young and naive and have worked my way to mid management so feel a bit trapped in it to be honest. Not sure what else I’d do which would match my salary without retraining- which if I’m honest I can’t be bothered to do.