Dizzieblonde79

Based in the U.K. so I'm not sure if there's a big difference between British and U.S. Outpatients Departments and what the job involves, but I was just after some advice After graduating, I worked on a busy, typically heavy 36-bed acute medical ward, and then last year was moved to Intensive Care after my ward was closed. Although Critical Care nursing isn't *that* difficult really (although getting used to having only one patient was a bit strange!), a few of the staff really seem to spoil it and the morale on there is rock-bottom. I spotted a Band 6 post for Medical Outpatients and applied knowing that I probably wouldn't get it - I'd only be qualified 3 years and thought I stood no chance of jumping from a Staff Nurse to Sister post in such a short time. Lo and behold, I was offered it and have accepted (subject to CRB checks, the usual paperwork etc.). The thought of regular hours were a god-send after the soul-destroying shift patterns on Critical Care, and I knew I'd never progress up the ladder unless I moved around a bit. I did a shift there just to get my head around the layout, the staff and the basic job and all it seems to be is taking a long line of blood pressures, weights and heights (although the auxiliary staff usually do that!), send the patients in to see the doctor in the next room - and then repeat, over and over again until the end of the shift Although I'm looking forward to the regular hours and a lot less hassle, part of me is starting to worry that I'll be so far removed from hands-on nursing that I'll be completely unemployable anywhere else afterwards, or will just become brain-dead and end up leaving the profession altogether. Does anyone here work in an OPD and have similar concerns, or has left one for similar reasons?

Hi Madwife & RGN1 - Bit of an update on the medical situation. Went to my G.P. last Friday as the digestive / bowel problems (which I assumed was IBS) I'd been having lately really became too much to bear. Apparently he suspects it's not IBS (he says it's far too severe for it), nor any kind of bacterial or parasitic infection, and could only say "something seems very wrong", so it looks like a referral to a specialist for me As such, he's signed me off work for a fortnight now, although I don't think I'll bother with the Occupational Health route yet - it looks like it might not be the stress of the job after all (although I'd imagine it has made it worse, whatever it is!). Will keep flicking through the (very thin!) Nursing Times jobs section while I'm sat on the loo for the next two weeks! lol

Good for you Tina - and congrats on recognising that you needed to get out of it, and then going for it. Hoping to do the same soon, but not sure I'm brave enough to jump ship without another job to go to! :uhoh21: I really hope the new job works out well for you - if you enjoy it, you'll be sat in a nice office chair looking back and cringing at the memories of shouting doctors and yelling relatives! hehe

Hi Madwife - Tried phoning HR and all they could suggest was another upcoming post which I could try applying for (Outpatients). I've written to them, so I'll see what comes of it. Haven't been to Occy Health yet, although I'll see what happens at my G.P.'s again Friday and might try to refer myself there.

Do any UK nurses out there know what the staffing situation is like in their region, just out of interest, and maybe we can help identify some possible areas for some of the upcoming nurses on here..? To start the ball rolling, Dudley and the West Midlands has none I'm afraid - some Trusts, including my own, are freezing jobs, only advertising internally, planning to stop hiring through NHS Professionals and refusing this year's cohort of newly-qualified staff. We're one of the better ones though, with most of the other Trusts nearby making actual redundancies. Anyone working anywhere better...?

I really feel for you, babes690 and the others, who are having trouble. I'm a Staff Nurse in the West Midlands, and I'm probably at one of the better Trusts - at least all we're doing is freezing jobs, not filling vacancies, and not accepting newly-qualified graduates for the next year - most other Trusts around this area are actively making staff redundant. I know in comparison that I should be grateful to have a job, but I myself am trying to find a new post and it's pretty much impossible. NHS Professionals have been entirely disbanded down here too, with the Trust arguing that they need to reduce agency spending (the wards are still short of staff, but they don't seem overly worried about that bit!). From an insider's point of view, the only area I know where jobs are still available in the UK is London & Greater London - but the cost of living is so high down there that most people simply can't afford to live down there, even with the London weighting. If you have the money, try there - otherwise maybe consider nursing homes etc., or something completely outside nursing, until it improves (God hope it does!).

Thanks RGN1 - I was dreading posting on here to be honest, and thought I'd be sent packing by people who loved every inch of nursing and wouldn't hear a word against it, so thanks for understanding I was offered a job at a private cosmetic surgeons a while back, but it turned out not to be as good an offer as it seemed; they would only offer a casual worker / agency contract, which didn't really offer any security (and not even an annual wage - just an hourly rate) and someone I spoke to who worked there warned me that staff would frequently be sent home or their shifts cancelled if they were not needed (e.g. cancellations, lack of patients, early discharges etc.) - and not paid for that shift. They didn't offer sick pay either, nor any kind of pension scheme, so I decided to turn it down. I've tried writing a few times to the private general hospitals near to me, but it seems no-one ever leaves! :) Can't blame them though! As for the health angle, I hope I'll know more once I trot (no pun intended!) down to the G.P. later today, but that in itself makes me feel guilty as I've only been with my new ITU unit for about a month now after being redeployed, so I don't really want to become a sick-note case after such a short time. I've only met my manager once since being there though, and she always seems too busy, so I'm not sure I'd feel happy discussing it with her just yet, and don't expect her to be able to offer much of a solution to be honest. You're tagline is right though - 'Life's too short to be miserable' - and I can't help wondering if I'd be better off just getting out altogether and taking whatever low paid, menial job I can get

At the risk of being flamed, is / has anyone on here left nursing, or seriously planning to in the near future...? If so, what did you do instead, did you find the transition easy, and have you regretted your decision? I'm currently working as a Staff Nurse in the NHS, and after my General Med. ward of three years was closed, all staff were redeployed to new areas within the Trust. I ended up on ITU, and after only a month, I am in tears at the prospect of going into work each day. I'm off to my G.P. today as it seems I am developing either IBS or an ulcer, and some days I feel so wound up I can't even keep anything down - Sorry if any of you were eating! lol. It really does feel as though the job is slowly destroying me, and I guess it would be kind of reassuring to know if any of you have felt the same before? As anyone in the U.K. will know, nursing posts aren't particularly easy to come by at the moment, with a lot of Trusts freezing vacancies or even making staff redundant, so the option of finding something else within the Trust is pretty slim for the next year or so at least - there is even a block on newly-qualifying students applying for posts, and some staff at risk of demotion, so I know it's bad for everyone at the moment at all grades. I've come to the conclusion that it's time to get out, but finding it hard to find anything else on a similar pay scale where my nursing qualifications and experience are of any value whatsoever, so just wondered if anyone on here had a similar experience, or managed to find a gem of a job and escape? Thanks for any advice you may have