I’m in a position where I’m really needing to make some sort of serious career choice, if I’m not going to be stuck in a dead-end, boring job.
My previous work history has been somewhat erratic, and generally fairly physical, until my back started causing problems just over a year ago. I’ve had surgery, and am pretty well recovered, but as a 30 year old with no serious qualifications, and a recent work gap, I’m not very employable as is.
I’ve been thinking about what I’m interested in, and what would be practical to train in, and nursing (or other medical care) has repeatedly been coming to mind.
I’m UK based, and it looks like I might be acquiring a decent chunk of money in the next few months, from my late Grandmother’s estate, so it’s actually probably practical for me to think about going into study. I live near a teaching hospital, and I think I would be able to qualify for one of their courses.
Does anyone in the field (especially from the UK!) have any thoughts that would be helpful for me to make a decision? I’m fairly technical minded, generally OK with the whole ‘other people’s bodily fluids’ thing, and the most important thing to me regarding work is variety. So long as I can get by, I’m not too concerned about pay.
People say there’s a ‘nursing shortage’. Can’t tell it in this area. My SO is extremely lucky to get two days a week, per diem. She has a BS in Nursing, three years as an RN, and a dozen years as a phlebotomist before that.
I was going to say the exact thing about your back. Nursing is back-breaking, mostly unrewarding work. My mother was a nurse for 30 years. She told me she’d pay for my college unless I went to nursing school, in which case nothing. I think she was joking. I think.
It’s not just other people’s “bodily fluids” it’s poop and pee and moving really obnoxiously fat people and trying to get stubborn unhappy miserable people to take their meds and their drugs. It’s night shifts and hostility from the other nurses until you’ve proved yourself. It’s doctors who really have no idea what’s going on.
I’m not sure how the system works here, but I’m under the impression that it’s possible to qualify for one of the less physically demanding branches of nursing without doing the classic ‘ward nurse’ thing at all.
It is hard to work out from the course information available though. It goes on about specialising, but doesn’t make it clear when in the course that happens…
ETA: That is definitely one of my concerns though.
I’m in Australia, not the UK, so the system could be different. But when I started nursing school, the first practical class we ever did was about manual handling, i.e. learning how to get people into and out of beds, chairs and wheelchairs, help them roll over and sit up and walk and all that stuff. We need to renew our manual handling certificates every year, and we are not allowed to go on rotation if we don’t have the up-to-date certificate. It’s as essential as hand-washing and first aid training. I don’t think it’s possible to go through nursing school without doing the lifting thing.
But on the bright side, the main point of the manual handling course was to teach us how to do that stuff without hurting our backs, so maybe you’d be OK.
I’m curious to know if you decided to pursue this route and how it worked out for you.
For anyone just now reading this, I’d like to share my perspective. Before you get to become a nurse, you will have to go through a training program. They are not easy. My ex, who was easily an A student before she got into a program, struggled for Bs. There were a lot of sleepless nights for her, especially since she had to work as well. Fortunately, I was in school too, so we spent our time studying together. If not for that, it would have put a serious strain on our relationship.
She had to lift patients. She was about 5’3" and 110 pounds. I often gave her a massage after work. Make sure your back can handle this.
Choose your specialty wisely. My ex did not like her specialty once she actually started doing her job. It was more paperwork than actual nursing, according to her.
Maybe work as a Certified Nursing Assistant first to get a bit of the flavor. I don’t know what the equivalent is in the UK. In the US; however, it’s a short course and you would work under the direction of a registered nurse.
If you do plan on coming to the states, check out this website to view licensure requirements: www.rnmobility.com
Best of luck.
If you have issues with lifting, you’re going to have a lot of difficulty as a nurse. Even if you aren’t working in a specialty where you have to do a lot of patient lifting (NICU is one that comes to mind), you’ll still have to move equipment.
Anyone who’s considering becoming a nurse should get a CNA certificate first. It only takes a few weeks, and you’ll know IMMEDIATELY if you want to pursue this further.
There are plenty of branches of nursing which don’t require heavy lifting, or require it very infrequently. School nurse, occupational nurse, nurse for most doctor’s offices and clinics (I think you call them “surgery” in the UK), home health nurse, insurance company nurse, WOC (wound care/ostomy) nurse, dialysis nurse…nursing schools focus on hospital nursing, unfortunately, but there are a great many nurses who never set foot into a hospital after school.
Part of the reason I became a nurse was that, like the OP, I tend to work really well at a job for 5-7 years, and then I’m bored and want to do something else. With a nursing license, I can change to a very different job within the same career path, without having to go back to school for another degree (although I will need some continuing education and on the job training, of course.)
I’m nearly 4 years into home health nursing, and I’m not bored enough to switch yet. I can count the number of times I’ve had to do heavy lifting on one hand. But you do need to be able to bend and kneel and stand up again without too much effort (to check feet when someone is sitting in a chair, and often for wound care), and you absolutely must love patient education to be any good at it.
