I'm a Mental Health nurse who wants to get out of nursing....

an9i77

What makes you nurses think that low morale, politics and carp management are specific to nursing? I don't work in nursing, but that seems to sum up just about every employer I've ever worked for.

Shoey1610

an9i77 wrote: »

What makes you nurses think that low morale, politics and carp management are specific to nursing? I don't work in nursing, but that seems to sum up just about every employer I've ever worked for.

What makes you think us nurses have only ever worked in nursing?

We know that low morale, politics and crap management is everywhere, but you're not dealing with several chaotic or suicidal patients together with complex child or adult protection issues on top of it, are you? Or did you think it was all bedpans and shagging the doctors?

Croatoan

I'm glad you're happy now, though it's wrong that it got to the point where you felt leaving the profession was your only choice. Sadly I know you're not the only one. In the end the powers that be don't give a damn. There'll always be a steady supply of NQs, many of whom will also sadly leave before they should.
I think the fact that people are willing to give up their job and take a cut in wages just to be happy and healthy again says a lot about the state of mental health nursing in this country.

Croatoan

an9i77 wrote: »

What makes you nurses think that low morale, politics and carp management are specific to nursing? I don't work in nursing, but that seems to sum up just about every employer I've ever worked for.

Who said it was just nurses? Not me or anyone else on this thread that I can see.
I was 48 when I entered the profession and have done a few jobs in my time and I know all about low morale, politics and crap management in other fields, and have experienced them all, but none have been as bad as what I've experienced while being an MH nurse.

Mrs_Ryan

I'm not a registered nurse but I'm an HCA on a mental health ward and pretty much agree with everything that's been said. I'm having a rare weekend off this weekend but I've had to work 7 straight shifts on to get it. I was off sick for a long time and I've been back full time for six months now but am permanently knackered.

chookmom

I am a MH nurse with 30 years+ experience. I tick off the days until retirement and, like every one of my colleagues, thank God that thats another day that I got safely through.
No time or resources. Not even enough time to tick the boxes that my managers are so fond of and every month it gets worse.

Blackpool_Saver

mel48rose wrote: »

As a registered nurse just wanted to say that I totally agree with the above. Some days I feel like going to work in Tesco's instead.

then it must be VERY bad, joking aside, I don't think I could take the strain of it, I really don't

Toffee21

My full respect to the nurses who admit they don't have any passion for nursing anymore.

I can easily see how the NHS, and in particular it's awful management and difficult patients, make the job unbearable with no enjoyment whatsoever.

I think other posters are forgetting that health care is a vocation, not just a job, and money means very little provided you can pay the bills. Coming home from work and genuinely feeling you've made a difference makes up for a not-so-great wage. Likewise, coming home demotivated, abused, stressed, anxious etc is not 'wiped out' by a good salary.

Best of luck to those nurses who are trying to pursue other careers and well done for recognising you've had enough and not just 'slogging through it' till retirement.

Patients trust health care staff with their lives, their physical health, their mental health, the health of their children, with breaking death messages, and providing intimate care. It is a special relationship that goes way beyond the customer/cashier relationship in Tesco and patients deserve a dedicated & committed professional, not somebody who doesn't want to be there. This isn't selling groceries, this is about peoples health and the health of their children when they are at their most vulnerable.

Clearly the posters saying "Stop whinging, you're on £45k in a recession, everyone hates their job, stick with it you over-paid public sector worker" probably don't mind seeing a terminally ill loved one looked after by a burnt out nurse who is too stressed/anxious/depressed to bother with care, compassion, regular pain relief, skin care, properly documented treatment etc? Likewise they don't mind being told by the same nurse that their loved one has died but then offered no further explanation as the nurse clocks off in 30 seconds? Personally, I think it's far from just a job.

Croatoan

I'm guessing most of us got into the job to try and help people - that doesn't mean anyone considers themselves saints or "angels" (AAAARGH) - it's just, in my case, I thought it would be a really worthwhile way to earn a living. And on those increasingly rare occasions it goes right, I still feel that way.
But at some point, at least on a lot of wards, many start to think, hold on a minute, I'm not a nurse, I'm a prison warden (but without any of the back up and training prison wardens get) who hands out pills.
When someone comes onto a ward in handcuffs surrounded by three or four policemen who remove the handcuffs and hand them over to a single nurse whose only means of defence is a smile and the offer of a cup of coffee you know that someone somewhere doesn't give a damn about your safety. And outside of the NHS if you can't work it usually means SSP and not a full or even half wage. I know of one nurse who was battered senseless and then was told it was her fault because she "approached" the gentleman in the wrong way. This was someone who had a history of battering small female nurses and HCAs, but was like a mouse towards males. No males were rostered on shift that day - this was private and not NHS. Another nearing retirement age female nurse was on the floor with a patient on top of her punching her in the face and she scratched him on the cheek. She was immediately suspended for assault. She never came back to work. Private again.
And while I was for a short time on a very good wage (though not any more) for a nurse, that's very rare and involved 60-70 hour weeks. Admittedly most nurses are, compared to a lot of workers, on a reasonable wage of around 20 - 25k, though Nursing/HC Assistants who often face more risks because they do most of the hands on nursing while nurses complete piles of paperwork mostly to avoid litigation rather than of benefit to patients, are usually on near minimum wage.
And to be honest this thread hasn't ever been about nurses and carers wanting sympathy from those outside the profession - I don't seek or want anyone's sympathy - it was originally a "what other job can I do" thread, and has morphed into, in some ways, a bit of therapeutic blowing off steam to others who know what it's like. I'm not aware of any UK MH or nursing forums where one can do this - but would be interested to know of them if others do.

fredandwilma

an9i77 wrote: »

What makes you nurses think that low morale, politics and carp management are specific to nursing? I don't work in nursing, but that seems to sum up just about every employer I've ever worked for.

Seems to be indicative of the pressures of living in modern day soceity?




OP - Have you considered applying for a job as an Atos assessor?



Well paid, 9 to 5 job, all you have to do is tick boxes on a computer screen. No stress, (although you do have targets to achieve, they are not unachievable?)