I love working in the NHS because..........................

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There has been quite a bit of negativity about the NHS and working in the UK on this forum recently so instead of another thread saying how bad things are and how much we hate our co-workers I thought it would be nice to have a more positive thread. I'll start

I loved my job because:

I am a nurse practitioner in general surgery and recently I put a bid together to support a more formalised pre-assessment service, I took it to my senior managers who supported it and took it to the trust board. I have recieved confirmation today that it is a project that will be supported and funded by my trust.

There is money there you just have to try to put together a good case to access it.

Specializes in renal,peritoneal dialysis, medicine.

anyway..back to whats good about working in the nhs...

ermm...

ahh...

oh yes the holidays!

i think madwife covered this before though

oh i forgot the staff christmas party too thats quite good

I agree about the holidays.

But for the me the real reason i love working for the NHS is because as a charge nurse with 16 years experience i still earn less than my sister who is a receptionist. I go home happy every day thinking about how much lower my tax bill is compared to my sister! Thanks NHS because i hate that taxman.;)

Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

May I ask something here: Has the shortage gotten worse there since the UK began requiring the entry level to be a bachelor's degree? _____2000 (sorry I can't recall the exact term)

Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
May I ask something here: Has the shortage gotten worse there since the UK began requiring the entry level to be a bachelor's degree? _____2000 (sorry I can't recall the exact term)

I don't think it has made any different with shortage... what is so maddening is the government did a big drive a few years ago trying to get people into nursing and now that these students are now qualifying there isn't any jobs due to a lot of hospitals making cutbacks due to financial difficulties. At present my nursing times magazine is half its normal size due to lack of jobs

May I ask something here: Has the shortage gotten worse there since the UK began requiring the entry level to be a bachelor's degree? _____2000 (sorry I can't recall the exact term)

'Project' is the word you were looking for.

The HEI my Trust and 3 other Trusts works with has upped entry numbers consistently since Wales started all-degree entry nurse education two years ago. The only reduction in numbers has been through lack of finance at Govt. level.

Cheers

OG

I get really cross when people run the NHS down, it is a credit to the staff working within the wards and department and YES that includes the managers that we provide the service we do. I include managers in that because although many may not realise it they are in strategic meetings fighting the corners of the ward staff, they may not always succeed and usually have to deliver the bad news which makes them unpopular, but I know from the directorate that I work in they do fight for us.

I wouldn't want to work anywhere else

This is very patronizing statment - The majority of members on this site with this forum are nurses who had or have worked within the NHS at all levels and are fully awear of poeples roles within the orginisation- Thankyou.

As to running it down you are wrong poeple question and challenge ( Remember bristol when no body argued)- at present things are not right with in the NHS at its not just about nurses losing or not getting jobs it is the affect that this is having on patient care- remember them what it is all meant to be about. I have my own thoughts as too way the NHS is in the mess its in I think it has more to do with the way the governmnet shunted it up with cash befor the general election to appear to the population all was well but they are just my thoughts me thinking strategically out of the box not just looking at my little area thinking everything is rosy.

Finally keep on questioning you have the right you work within the orginization, you owe it to your patients and thirdly as a tax payer you pay for it.

Loud and Proud Belinda.

Specializes in renal,peritoneal dialysis, medicine.

our directorate manager used to fight for us guess what

they made her 'reapply' for her job

she didnt get it

suprise suprise

Specializes in Operating room and Trauma.

A hearty shout out to all realist that have left or who are about to to leave the nhs. Its not " running it down.... or crediting the managers..."(:uhoh3:is someone on a retainer here) according to the honarable Mable uk but in my view we are using Johns cycle of reflection.

So what if the grass is not greener on the other side. Last time i checked there is a huge amount of vegetation in the US,Canada ,Australia etc.

Plato353

" take life with a pinch of salt a touch of lemon and a shot of tequilla:o

Specializes in not qualified yet, ask me soon! x.

or maybe gibbs ....cycle of reflection..lol..

Specializes in Surgery, ICU, Emergency Care, NP.
.... or crediting the managers..."(:uhoh3:is someone on a retainer here)

Instead of responding to the most recent posts I thought I would tell you about my shift today to demonstrate what I love about the NHS, I have had a fantastic day it has been really busy and I have been on duty on my own as we don't have many nurse practitioners and can only cover for 1 on weekends and bank holidays. It has been one of those days where you come home feeling like you have achieved loads. Now that does not imply that I don't understand that it has problems or have a rosy view of it because I have been is some jobs where there has been no support and because of this I have left these jobs. However now I have a great job which I am passionate about I have this job because of the time I have spent as a nurse in the NHS, both the good and bad experiences has shapped the nurse that I am now.

I started at 7am and didn't finish until 5pm I have been constantly busy. THe first thing I did was to make a cup of tea which was the first and last all day. I then checked the on call book on the ward that my office is based on to make sure there were no urgent jobs that needed to be dealt with. Fortunately the Hospital at night team had sorted out all of the problems. I then walked the floor. I cover 6 surgical wards and any surgical patient that is outlying on other wards on the weekends which is different to my week work.

On the first ward I attended they had a patient they were concerned with, he was post op 3 days (colorectal) and had began vomiting. I reviewed his history and examined him, he had been allowed to drink the previous day and I couldn't hear bowel sounds so I reduced him back to sips and prescribed some IV fluids after checking his bloods. THese are all skills that I have learnt within the NHS fully supported by my managment. I bleeped the SHO to asked him to review him later.

I then went to the next ward where they were short staffed because they had one nurse escorting to CT she wasn't going to be too long and I didn't have any jobs that needed to be done, so I took her bay of patients to help alleviate the workload a little until she returned. I made a a few beds with the HCA and assisted a confused lady to have a wash and dress. One of the HCA's was only on her 3rd shift and was unsure how to take a manual blood pressure so I talked her through it and she took my BP then the patients.

The emergency bleep went and I attended another post op, peri arrest the staff had notice a deterioration and the pateint had become even more drowsy within the past hour. When I arrived there was very little for me to do as because of the training they had recieved from our resuscitation department put up high flow oxy and they had speeded up fluids. He was a shocked post op so with some fluid he improved and HDU came to assess him further.

Now there were lots of other little jobs that needed to be done, resiting IV's taking bloods arranging discharges and the usual sort of stuff that makes up my weekend work. Because it is August the new house officers need lots of reassurance the docs that we have within my unit are a little green but ask for help when they need it and to be honest they are very competent. Today I have also spent time with one of our new ward managers who was feeling overwhelmed by her role and we spent a bit of time talking about how she could feel more in control of her new job.

THe highlight of my day was reveiwing one of my patients for discharge. During the week I work with one consultant so I a patient caseload. This lady had been very unwell and there have been times in her admission when I was convinced she would die. During this time as her nurse practitioner I have got to know her very well. The first time I met her was just after her admission, I was called to see her as she had a huge PR bleed and had collapsed. During my assessment of her she grabbed my hand and asked me if she was going to die, she called me dr. I knelt by her side and explained that I wasn't a doctor I was a nurse practitioner. I explained that this was a nurse who worked on all of the wards and I worked for her consultant which made me her special nurse.

Now she had been very unwell on a few occasions but every time I attended her she said here is my special nurse. After many weeks of investigations and interventions, then dealing with her home situation and making sure she was safe to go home today she is finally ready for discharge - both physically and more importantly mentally as she had lost much of her confidence during her admission. I cannot explain the relationship that I had with this lady but to see her go home well is reward enough. But it does not end with her discharge as she is booked into clinic in 4 weeks so I will see how she is progressing there. This continuity is priceless. If she had been an elective patient I would have seen her pre admission, pre operatively assessment I would have been there for her admission and discharge and then in follow up clinic.

Now this experience is not unique to the NHS I know that, but the skills that I have built up and experience I have has been within the NHS so I have to give credit for that.

I have a fantastic job, I work with fantastic nurses, doctors and managers. I love being with my patients and I love working in a role where I can still be a nurse but learn and practice new skills as well. and have continuity with my patients from the start of the care to when they are discharged from clinic.

ALthough early on in my carreer I funded all my education and did this in my own time within my current job all of my education and development has been supported by my directorate and the NHS. I realise that I am fortunate in getting this but I cannot believe that I am unique, in fact all of my team of nurse practitioners will also recieve their MSc funded and supported by our managment. I know I am fortunate to have such a job and that there are areas and staff that are not so lucky but I have to speak about my experiences.

As far as reflection goes I was always taught that it is just as important to reflect upon the good experiences as well as the bad that was we can acknowledge what we do well as well as what we need to improve upon.

Personally I don't like Johns as a model of reflection I find it far too prescriptive and Gibbs is very simplistic. I use Bev Taylor's technical, practical and emancipatory reflection as I find that I can reflect more deeply on what happened, the impact on others and the impact within the bigger picture (Emancipation)

As I have said before there is lots about the NHS which is not good, but there are elements, staff and practices within the NHS that are good and this is what I wanted to highlight within this thread not the policital issues but the good practical and clinical issues.

Specializes in renal,peritoneal dialysis, medicine.

blimy

I must say it is so refreshing to hear that in all the NHS there is ONE person so happy at work!

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