Want a career change from NHS

MinnieCooper

Anyone who has left the NHS - what did you end up doing? I'm looking for inspiration!

xapprenticex

Try going private maybe.

MinnieCooper wrote: »

HI,

I have worked for the NHS for 20 years (yikes) and I am feeling that I have very little family time. When I went into the role I as working pretty much 9-5 with the odd weekend morning but now we are being forced to work early shifts/late shifts and 13 hour nights. We have increased our service to a 24/7 service but have taken on no extra staff to do this so we are all working a lot of out of hours. I am also bored in my job (ready for a move up) but, due to NHS cost savings, services have been centralised and there is nowhere else (within commuting distance) for me to go to. We don't want to move area either.

We are losing experienced staff! As we also have a high sickness rate (due to the above) we have to cover out of hours shifts a lot more on top of the dire shift patterns. We have brought this up with management numerous times (as have the union) but it falls on deaf ears. I have had one day off with my husband in 4 months and we now work a LOT of weekends. Hubby also works weekends but always has in his job (he does get some weekends off but I seem to always working the ones he is off). Hardly see our children. It is not sustainable in the long term. We have no grandparents either (RIP) on either side to help out. It is very hard to organise childcare too especially when I have my nightshifts as hubby can start work at 4am/finish at midnight on other shifts. His manager is re-arranging his shifts at the moment (when I do nights) but I don't think they will do this much longer.

Anyway, I have a BSc and MSc in Biomed Science and a few other courses under my belt. Has anyone got any suggestions of what I could re-train in for a better work/life balance? I would like to stay in science but I just can't see a way to stay in the NHS. I have looked at epidemiology as, I believe, they work pretty much office hours and a local university is doing a reasonably priced MSc in Public Health/Epidemiology. If there are any epidemiologist folk out there please tell me how you got into the role etc.

I have been accepted for teaching a couple of times (last year and the year before) but I chicken out due to horror stories from teachers (don't think they are any better off in their profession).

Any suggestions for working from home jobs would be great too! I could afford to work part time as we are paying a lump sum on the mortgage in the next 6 months.

milliemonster

I left in 2005 to work for Roche diagnostics as a clinical trainer, ended up in procurement and tendering and went back to nhs in 2010, I've just left again to work in the prison service and love it

Droog

Hi Millie,

What is your role in the NHS? Is there any particular reason you're looking to leave?

xapprenticex

Droog wrote: »

Hi Millie,

What is your role in the NHS? Is there any particular reason you're looking to leave?

You really need to try reading previous posts.

robatwork

milliemonster wrote: »

I left in 2005 to work for Roche diagnostics as a clinical trainer, ended up in procurement and tendering and went back to nhs in 2010, I've just left again to work in the prison service and love it

Hi Millie, can you PM me (your PMs are full)?

many thanks....