Previous nurses, what do you do now?

[NavyNails2]

Hi, I'd love to leave nursing to do something more flexible and with better hours, but have no idea what! The NHS offer such good benefits that it's a scary thought to leave. Any previous nurses out there who have moved onto new careers that they love? Please inspire me! Would also be interested in knowing what training it took you to get into your new role?

You will be hard pushed to find something flexible with better hours that is well paid I think. A friend left the NHS after many years to work for a social enterprise. She couldn't believe how much less holiday and pension contributions the rest of the population have to put up with. In fact, she's just taken advice on her pension and has been advised that she will unlikely find a better pension than the NHS. I think she may be returning in a year or so!

Could you do something else in nursing? Something not ward based?

There was a thread a while ago about employer pension provision, many were better than the nhs one so maybe look that up. Teaching and civil service pension are better than the nhs one. What hours do you want/ want to avoid? What benefits are worth most to you? Private health care/ bonus/ holiday/ sick pay/ maternity etc? It’s likely to be quite different depending on circumstances/ life stage. There’s also regular articles about the best employers to work for which may be worth a look at, some provide amazing benefits but again it depends on your priorities eg 6 months full pay maternity leave isn’t much use to you unless you’re planning a child!

Left nursing, now I'm teaching part time in adult education. I'm on the teachers' pension scheme which compares well to the NHS one and I work term time only so plenty of time off. My hourly rate is £20-25 depending on employer.

I turned a hobby into a career. I teach a craft which is very popular so I also run workshops during holidays and sometimes at weekends - £200 daily rate.

It's not riches, but I'm pretty much my own boss, I'm working with people who have actively chosen to be in the room with me. It's relatively stress free - certainly in comparison to nursing.

It might be worth you making contact with the National Careers Service to talk through options. They also help with CV writing , interview techniques etc. Their website address is nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/

What about becoming a research nurse? Collecting data/ samples from participants for various research studies?

A friend of mine went to work in the civil service. Another in local government.
Better paid, very family friendly hours (one does term time only), job stability and good pensions.

Can you not find a job that isn’t ward based? Are you a general nurse? What about community work? Or a postgrad into school nursing/GP practice nursing. You have loads of options, but I think a lot of ward nurses get stuck into a rut. I come from a family of nurses and not one of them has ever grafted in wards.

Thanks for the responses! I am community based already, it's a good job but I'm definitely ready for a change. I had forgotten about research nursing actually, I'm going to look into it again as I enjoy admin and organisation. Also as soon as I read Adult Teaching I instantly felt interested, an option I'd never even thought of. You've all given me options to explore, thank you!