Band 5 to Band 2/3...... anyone done it?

[Jinglebell2020]

I work as a staff nurse (nhs scotland )
I want to revert to a HCSW for many many reasons, main one being stress as a nurse and continued stress from mounting paperwork and more and more put on us on a daily basis. Patient contact is less, and I want to do what I loved before qualifying: caring for patients.

Is this possible? Do I lapse registration/ call HR/ speak to lead nurse? Any advice or tips from anyone who has done this. If I can’t I think I’ll need to leave nursing for something else. I’ve been qualified 7 years and thought long and hard about this. It’s affecting me mentally & emotionally and I need to do something.

Thanks for reading x

Definitely have a chat with your band 6 or 7. I'm sure they would appreciate your honesty. You can always call hr for a chat. I worked with a nurse who wasnt coping with band 5 work so hr came to an agreement where she could step down to a band 2.

In my old trust you cant be enployed at a lower Band if you have an NMC PIN.
Issues regarding scope of practice etc.
Can you step away into a Specialist Nurse role instead where you have your own clinics etc

I did it.
I was a band 5 Staff Nurse but in 2012 I had a psychotic breakdown which was the start of my problems with schizoaffective disorder.
I had to give up my Pin on grounds of ill health but the NMC said I could do the return to nursing course 'if I got better' well obviously I haven't.
So my employer allowed me to work as a band 2 HCA on a surgical ward part time.
It's been a struggle due to tiredness from meds & paranoia but I do enjoy my job caring for the patients & working with my colleagues.
I missed working as a nurse for a long time & still feel very bitter about what has happened as I didn't choose it to happen.

The hardest things have been colleagues trying to still treat me as a nurse & give me certain responsibilities when I don't want or need them (I get stressed now very easily); I then have to be assertive with them.
Also knowing when a patient is poorly & trying to get someone senior to listen as many nurses really don't listen to HCAs. I often write in patients notes & will go over the staff nurses heads if a patient is really poorly & as I'm always right in that regard I don't feel bad about it, the patient comes first.

At first some I secretly felt some of the hca roles were beneath me such as rinsing cutlery but now I'm like queen of the kitchen haha & I love doing the teas!

I know 2 people who've given up their PINS as they didn't want to bother with revalidation.
One of them isn't really a good HCA as she's not hot in personal care.
One has just started as an HCA now & so far feedback is good.

One thing I do find hard (as do many hcas I know) is being spoken to like dirt or ordered about by certain SNs & certain Student Nurses. You have to be assertive if this happens and tell them not to talk to you in that way.
Also if they want you to do obs when you're changing pads or to do obs when you're doing dinners; you need to be able to ask why can't you do it?
And to be able to pull them to one side and have a conversation with them if there are issues.

Thank you for the replies
I’m going to speak to work next week about it
I just can’t carry on like this and I’m glad it’s worked for you @LilyJade it’s good to see it can be done ✅
@Quicklittlenamechange I don’t want to do any more study as I have 4 kids and life already stressful I feel I’d just be adding to it by doing that. @Mumof1andacat I definitely will be speaking to work about

Can I just ask, those that have done it, it was possible to stay in the ward you were a band 5, you didn’t need ti transfer? Or if u did, did u get to choose or be told where u would be working?

Thanks again

I did stay on the surgical ward where I was a band 5 for 4 years as an HCA and they were very supportive.
Now for the past nearly 4 years Ive chosen to move onto a different surgical ward but many of them knew me when I was a Staff Nurse.

@LilyJade are you nhs scotland?

No England

I left nursing to do an HCA role not with the nhs but with a specialist charity. I absolutely love my job now. Nursing I had no time whatsoever ever with patients. I felt continually stressed and pressured. Now i have a much better work/life balance. I no longer go home worrying I've forgot something important. I now have quality time with patients and give them the time they need

Thanks for the replies
@LilyJade I hope nhs scotland is the same 🤞🏻
@Girlintheframe that’s great to hear

I feel more positive now to go to my boss and explore this option

Thanks again

@Jinglebell2020 hello, what was the outcome of your band situation? I’m currently a band 5 in Scotland but I’m in the same boat and it’s the hardest decision ever.