Fitness & Life

So what has been happening since the last update

Job

So I left uni with a job on a private unit with the local NHS hospital. This unit had been closed since January 2020 and wasn’t open, at least as a private unit, by the time I was due to start. Due to this, I was set to start on a surgical ward that I wasn’t very happy about, nearer the time I was asked if I would like to start on the discharge lounge which was currently occupying the unit. This I jumped at, it’s not a very clinical role, if at all, but was much better than the surgical ward. I started there on 14th November, by 14th December things weren’t looking good and I was asked to pick a ward I would be happy to work on. I picked 3 wards all of which came back as having no space, so I ended up on the surgical ward!

I lasted 3 1/2 months before leaving. It was so busy, was basically surgical plus everything else, and I felt like I was being treated as an experienced nurse rather than an NQN. The staff were lovely but as the ward was so busy there wasn’t time to offer the support I needed. I started looking for a new job around Feb 2021 and secured myself one soon after. I ended up getting a role in a nursing home on nights, 3 nights a week, and much much more money than I was making within the NHS. In fact, I wouldn’t be able to go back as a band 5 as I would drop too much money.

This role had or has its issues. The staff I work with are lovely but some of the residences can be challenging, mainly down to dementia but I am coping very well with these people. There is one resident that is causing staff to leave or agency staff to not return. He is very rude, bad-tempered, argumentative, aggressive, etc, etc. He has recently had assessments with the dementia crisis team & MHA team to possibly section him. I don’t feel he needs that but the home isn’t the right fit for him. Finally, the manager has seen it too and he will now need to go somewhere more appropriate. He basically wants help, but doesn’t want help, calls the staff names, throws things, etc. He was once a very powerful man but now needs help and can’t accept that.

I have been there since April and since July I have felt very at home there, more relaxed and confident in my abilities. I had my first death the other day and it wasn’t as daunting as I thought it would be. I have been offered lots of training, which I wasn’t before.

Poeple say leaving the NHS is a bad move but so far I don’t think so, I am learning skills I wouldn’t in a hospital and if I ever do go back, I’d learn the skills needed then.

University

So I came out of university with a 2:1. I was very impressed with that, I feel that if I’d tried harder in 2nd year I would maybe have gotten a high 2:1 but I’m happy with a 2:1 none the less, it’s what I need for post-grad study.

Last September I started a B.S degree with the University of the People. This is an online US university that caters to students worldwide, who wouldn’t normally be able to afford college/uni or don’t have the qualifications. Each course is $100 and you can get scholarships if needed. There are many however that already have degrees who are changing careers or doing it out of interest. I am doing Health Science previously name Community Public Health. The previous title put me off a few years ago as I felt it wouldn’t cater for me & the UK health system rather the US health system. Also, it is very science based so Health Science is a better fit. There is however an internship at the end and I’m unsure if I’ll be able to do these but I have time to find out.

From October 2021, if I get student finance approved, I will also be started a BSc Sports Science degree with The Open Uni. This I will talk more about if I do start it.

So it’s been a while since I updated anything on here and been even longer since I wrote anything about my nurse training. I got so caught up in the stress of a paid placement and finishing assignments that I neglected this little place of mine on the internet. I am now back and a lot has been going on.

Placement

I think the last time I mentioned placement I was waiting to hear back about my extended placement and getting totally stressed out seeing others starting and getting band 4 pay. Since then I got given my placement on a #NOF ward, thankfully at my local hospital, not the trusts other one miles away. I got no choice in this placement, I was joking I’d end up on an elderly ward and I did. In a way I am thankful for this as it wasn’t a ward I would ever have considered working on but I ended up liking it and will go back for bank shifts. I also ended up with a band 3 contract for only 30 hours a week rather than 37.5, meaning I’d have hours to make up once the placement ended, I also wasn’t given an end date so I could be finished with my placement at anytime. After much back & forth, I eventually got an end date of 20th September. Bare in mind that the NMC & HEE changed things and decided to stop paid placement after 31st July or 31st August for those starting later (me), my trust also guaranteed my hours till 20th September. I’d since heard (after my placement ended) that 2 of my cohort’s paid placements ended 31st August and they weren’t allowed to finish their hours.

My actual placement was well, bluh. The 1st two weeks were great, I was supernumerary and felt like a student. Once those 2 weeks ended, things changed. Practice education realised I should have been on a band 4 contract but they couldn’t change it & the ward manager was unclear how to place me on MAPS and in the numbers. As a final/management placement student I should have been having my own patients, running my own bay etc. For 1/2 my shifts I was down as a student the rest as a HCA, never as a nurse. I suspect the ward manager didn’t want to effectively be down a nurse on those shifts. For about 90% of my shifts I was a HCA regardless of my status in MAPS. If the ward was down a HCA then I was placed in that bay so it was just me & the nurse. A lot of the time that meant I was a HCA for the shift, it all depended on who the nurse was. Sometimes I would do things like the medication rounds as well as everything else. It got to the point where I just went in to do my hours.

I also rarely spent time with my assessor. Thankfully I was with a great nurse one shift that was very slow so we managed to get loads of things signed off but I was struggling with the things that only my assessor could sign. Either he wasn’t on the same shift as me or he was in charge. I did manage to complete everything but it was a rush at the end and I was basically just emailing him documents to complete to then email to uni.

Assignments

During this time, I was become very withdrawn, I felt everyone was against me and I eventually removed myself from the uni whatsapp group. I wasn’t getting any help form anyone anyways and they would either ignore me or attach me (or so I felt). We were having zoom meetings with uni during this time, not all I could attend, so I’d have to listen to the recording. One I attended people were complaining about a submission date, that it was too close and it was too hard with working full time etc. They ended up getting the date pushed back & I got no say in the matter. These were the same people who wanted to be full time but were also complaining about being full time! This new date ended up being closer to our final 2 modules so I don’t really know what they got out of it. I submitted that assignment on the original due date.

This wasmby best year for marks by a far. I managed 81% in one and only got below a 2:1 in one.

Finishing uni

Our final classification came on 14th December. We basically already knew what we would get as we had already received all our marks, so some calculations would have given you the result. Before this date certain students would be letting everyone know about their assignment results but only over a certain %. Come the time to get their classification no one mention anything other than they had qualified. I can only assume their didn’t get the classification they expected. These 2 people ended up with a 2:1 so I suspect they expected a 1st. I think only 2 or 3 students got a 1st. I was aiming for a 2:2 but came out with a 2:1.

I have started to trial undebt.it . It can sync to YNAB, though I don’t think all the features on undebt was this way (balances change but due date is still out standing etc).

The above it all my debt except 3. I am going down the UE route on these. JD Williams for £1740 and Natwest for £744 (OD) + £4888 (loan), currently 2 years into the 6 years.

Work experience is great to have when pursuing nursing.  It offers you a chance to see what it is like working within the nursing field.  You may find that certain nursing specialities appeal to you more than others. 

Why you need it

Work experience is not required but it is necessary if you wish to determine which nursing area(s) you would like to work in.  University level nursing programs are also very competitive and have high dropout rates.  Work experience will help set you apart from the rest of the other nursing applicants by showing your dedication to becoming a nurse. 

Ways you can earn work experience

There are a few ways in which you can gain work experience.  Some of the methods are listed below:

Volunteering:  Allows you to work alongside staff and shadow them in the day to day tasks required of a nurse.  You will not be paid for your work but you will still gain the necessary work experience and possible recommendations.  You can take a gap year and either volunteer within the UK or abroad.  Examples: Private hospitals, NHS, private clinics, private health centres, charities or social enterprises that assist with long-term disabilities and other health conditions, organizations that provide first aid (St. John Ambulance, Red Cross), residential care homes and day care centres.

Year 10 work experience:  You can gain this through opportunities offered by the NHS through NHS trusts.  These types of trusts are often organized between the NHS and local schools or local work placement agencies.  Your school’s careers advisor should be able to give you more detailed information about the NHS and NHS’s trusts and any other opportunities that may be open to you.

Part-time and full-time work/ apprenticeships: If it is possible, look for work that is within the medical field or allows you to get training as a healthcare assistant. Working in a daycare centre or places that assist with disabled, mental health, and or elderly are also good places to check.

Other options: Caring for friends, family or a person who is disabled can also be considered work experience.  Shadowing a nurse, doctor or other medical professional may also help with gaining experience and insight into the day to day tasks. If you get the chance, talking to a nurse, doctor, or medical professional, in a one-on-one interview, can help you gain some insight into what you want to do with your degree. 

Final thoughts and advice

Work experience is great to have when pursuing nursing.  It offers you a chance to see what it is like working within the nursing field.  You may find that certain nursing specialities appeal to you more than others. 

Why you need it

Work experience is not required but it is necessary if you wish to determine which nursing area(s) you would like to work in.  University level nursing programs are also very competitive and have high dropout rates.  Work experience will help set you apart from the rest of the other nursing applicants by showing your dedication to becoming a nurse. 

Ways you can earn work experience

There are a few ways in which you can gain work experience.  Some of the methods are listed below:

Volunteering:  Allows you to work alongside staff and shadow them in the day to day tasks required of a nurse.  You will not be paid for your work but you will still gain the necessary work experience and possible recommendations.  You can take a gap year and either volunteer within the UK or abroad.  Examples: Private hospitals, NHS, private clinics, private health centres, charities or social enterprises that assist with long-term disabilities and other health conditions, organizations that provide first aid (St. John Ambulance, Red Cross), residential care homes and day care centres.

Year 10 work experience:  You can gain this through opportunities offered by the NHS through NHS trusts.  These types of trusts are often organized between the NHS and local schools or local work placement agencies.  Your school’s careers advisor should be able to give you more detailed information about the NHS and NHS’s trusts and any other opportunities that may be open to you.

Part-time and full-time work/ apprenticeships: If it is possible, look for work that is within the medical field or allows you to get training as a healthcare assistant. Working in a daycare centre or places that assist with disabled, mental health, and or elderly are also good places to check.

Other options: Caring for friends, family or a person who is disabled can also be considered work experience.  Shadowing a nurse, doctor or other medical professional may also help with gaining experience and insight into the day to day tasks. If you get the chance, talking to a nurse, doctor, or medical professional, in a one-on-one interview, can help you gain some insight into what you want to do with your degree. 

Final thoughts and advice

The intention was to do a weekly update but things got in the way, I got lazy and also started my extended placement finally, so I think it would be a better idea to do a monthly update instead.

In one month I have lost 3.6 lbs! My body fat/fat mass is still very high but that will take time to decrease. I am happy with the progress so far.

So I have been struggling to lose weight since around 2013, it has generally been my fault that nothing has really changed since then, mainly down to my complete laziness and my immense fear of loose skin – there I’ve said it!

On this site, my weight would appear to have fluctuated over the years, when in reality nothing changed. I do feel that I am fitting clothes better and than fat has basically moved from one part of my body to another. That is the only way I can describe it.

While in my previous flat I thought I was doing well but the scale lied. For a scale to be accurate it needs to be on a flat surface and not be moved around a lot. Well, the floors were slanted and all over the place so I was lead to believed (naively) that I was making progress.

Fast forward to my current place and ALL floors have carpet. YES, ALL floors – yuck! So the scale would be off as they don’t work well on carpet at all. Even a cm move and the number would be different. I ended up with 3 scales are giving me differing values. Two were close but one (my Aria) was way off like 20lbs but the one I was using for weigh-ins etc. [I’m a Fitbit whore]. I think I also didn’t want to believe my true weight.

My aria started acting up recently by not syncing so I looked at getting a new scale but didn’t want the lastest Fitbit one. I decided on the Withing Body Cardio as it did everything I wanted. I knew the numbers wouldn’t be accurate but at least I would be able to see a trend.

The scale came on Friday just past and I can now say that my weight it…

205.2lbs

I have lost nothing but I am not scared to share this number with like the one person who actually reads this blog – hi!

I am more determined than ever to lose this weight. I do feel however that the loose skin is the really reason that I haven’t honestly tried before. Yes I know it can be covered up with clothes etc and I’m not about to go out in a bikini at any point in the future, but it will be there, it will cause issues and I’m not about to be able to afford skin removal surgery.

So what I have I been up to…Wallowing, watching CSI, doing assignments and going down the youtube rabbit hole.

It’s been 18 ish days since I last posted and not much has changed. I have one assignment due in at the end of June with is nearly finished, I was struggling with the appendix for ages and still, it isn’t as I want it but being on a Chromebook I am limited to what I can actually do. The other assignment I have also started I am leaving for now (the groundwork is mostly done it’s just rewriting it). It isn’t due till the end of October and I have another that is due end of August. This only I don’t like and think it will be the grade dropped when workout my degree classification. My final assignment I’m not starting till after this one.

I haven’t any new information on the extended placement, other than having a phone call from the trust on 27th to confirm my cohort but since then nothing. Oh, I emailed them on 30th to enquire about when I’d hear anything and got the reply that they aren’t doing 2nd years at present. Say what?! I’m 3rd year not 2nd. I’m basically like ‘oh well’ about it now. I’m just so fed up that I sometimes think of just giving up. I did however, find out today during a uni online lecture that one other student hasn’t heard anything yet. She is based in London though so I’m not sure how they are organising things there.

I was all thankful that I had just gotten back on the bank at my local trust but there aren’t many shifts. Any that I do book get cancelled, wards are all moved around and it’s so so quiet there, there are more staff than patients. Brighton isn’t much better.

At 4 this afternoon we have a uni/placement update, so watch this space for me getting even more fed up.

Things haven’t gone to plan for my extended placement!

7th April I got the ‘thank you’ email for joining the trust for the extended placement, then a followup email on 9th April with a start date of 16th April for online induction and either 20th or 27th April to start on the wards. I had been given a ward but it was closed so I didn’t know who to contact about shifts. 15th April I received an email to say they were still waiting on funding information and our start date would be pushed back but to still do the online induction. The very next day 16th April we had the go-ahead and our start date would be from now. I was still awaiting a new ward but by the end of the day, I had been given where I wanted so I was very happy.

Fast forward to 14;30 on 17th April after our q&a and I had been pulled from placement. I had been placed in the group of September cohort my mistake. I was devastated, I’d only just found out my ward and been given a start date of 20th April. If I remember correctly on the phone practice education at the trust said they would be getting February cohort information next week or the week after, I can’t really remember and they appear to have washed their hand of me completely.

I got into a slight pissing match via email with uni. Practice education had been in contact with them and I was placed on hold. I could either move trusts or sit and wait. I decided to wait as the whole point of being at this trust was that I didn’t need to travel.

The uni finally replied to my email I sent them before they told me I was on hold and they are going to confirm with other students within my cohort as to what contract they have, especially those who are already working. My uni has been pushing us to be in the last 6 month of our degree but we won’t be until mid June. It appears students are being treated differently. I hadn’t seen a contract and won’t for up to 6 weeks but others, even those who haven’t got a start date yet, have & they are for band 4’s. We should be band 3 until our final 6 months. At least one person, though I think more. has already started.

I have already heard that there are more students than places but from talking to students from around the UK, many are being forgotten. Some students in their final 6 months have heard nothing & don’t think they will. While other February cohort students from other unis are being told that final 6-month student take priority then the trust is moving onto 2nd years. 3rd year students not in their final 6 months are then meant to slot in where there are spaces, if at all.

This is so crap, February starters are having a shit deal. Watching the Health England webinar last night there was no mention of us, just 1st years, 2nd years and 3rd years nearing the end of their degree. what about us?

I had another thought last night. If my trust already had my details then they might not be on the info they get from HEE in the next few weeks. If they don’t already add me to their list. I did get a letter from HEE at the very start of all this asking me to confirm I wasn’t in my final 6 months. Who knows what is going on. It could all be sorted by May or never happen. I know of 2 students saying they are starting in June on their request and 1 student who had an induction at the end of the month. In my little group of 5, it’s looking like I could be joining the 1 student who has opted out.

Sorry, I am just very upset and frustrated. I had just given up a perm role due to this, thankfully I have just joined the bank at the local trust so at least I’ll have money coming in.

Currently, our board of examiners is December so we should all qualify then but some of our cohort will have vastly more practice experience and some may not even be able to qualify then (not counting those who have opted out). I was really counting on the extra money.

So things are definitely moving fast. We got sent a form from university to fill out with our preferred placement areas and then we had a group online chat with our uni tutor on Monday. Tuesday I received an email from my local trust asking me to fill out a couple of forms which I returned within 30 mins.

It was then phone tag on Wednesday, but we finally caught each other. I was asked which hospital I would like to be based and then given the choice of 4 different wards.

I picked the nicest out of the lot (only 9 patients) which used to be private but was told it had a mix at present. Today I receive an email from the trust thanking me for taking up this role, giving me a start date of 16th April and saying that a contract would be in the post.

My other half is at work this afternoon so I asked him to have a look at the ward for me. Well turns out that the ward is closed and currently being cleaned! It is due to re-open next week sometime but it is confusing what patients will be in there. Some say Eartham while some say Balcome. Now Balcome has been closed for over a week now and been moved to Eartham so I am hoping that it is Balcome as that is one of the areas I would like to work once qualified so I could be lucky or it could mean that I am moved to another ward altogether.

I have emailed practice education to find out more, they were clearly working today so maybe working Monday, if not I’ll hear on Tuesday.

Someone from my cohort has been given ITU. This is very confusing as I assumed no-one would be given that area due to restrictions and the fact that none ITU staff can’t really do much at all. I would have loved a placement on ITU but only if I was supernumerary not being included in the numbers.

I am a 3rd year nursing student. Since my last post, I have been pulled from my placement so I am ploughing into my assignments

Due to COVID-19, how we complete our degree is changing, it looks like we will go out to practice much sooner and join a temp register. This temp register is open for students in their final 6 months, this will be me come June and that is when my university is aiming for us to start.

There will be a transition period of 6-8 weeks where we will be paid as band 4’s then we will move on to band 5’s and be paid as such. We will still have student time and assessors/supervisors but we will be counted in the numbers and treated like any other member of staff.

We had the forms through in the last couple of days asking for our details, our trusts, if we opt-in or out etc. It was a 50:50 split in other cohorts. From what we can currently gather Health England are looking to make it compulsory and if you opt-out you end up deferring. I have decided to opt-in. I have requested my local trust (Health England place you) and I’m hoping I get given my local hospital as the reason I am stopping going to Brighton is due to travel and I’d like to be able to walk to work.

I know of people who want to opt-out and some who want part-time (I want full time) and a who weren’t going to opt-in due to not being able to request her own shifts, now looking to opt-in. Apparently we will still get annual leave and have other conditions of being a student.

I do and don’t feel ready to be out there. My confidence has grown but there are basic skills I haven’t done yet – catheterisations and wound dressing are two such skills. Well, I have done wound dressings just not many. I also wonder where I will end up working if I get placed on one particular ward I will have to mention my issues to the trust/university as I don’t feel that I will be given the opportunities needed to progress.

Nothing has really changed for me over the last few weeks, I continue to go to placement, work, and try to shop. The only difference is no NASCAR, slot car racing or Micropubs for a few months. I don’t feel anything different, the days don’t feel any different, I just can’t get a delivery in the next few weeks, I will stay away from the major large supermarkets, shop at local or on the way home from work. I am thankful that I can continue to pay my bills.

As it currently stands I am still on placement in Neuro Theaters and loving it. I can cancel the placement if I want to but the uni doesn’t know yet how/when I’ll be able to make up the missed hours & assessments. As I also work as a HCA within the trust I don’t see me cancelling unless I HAVE to. Some placements are contacting the uni to cancel, in neuro theatres, we will continue to have emergency & cancer surgeries but there is talk, like with most trust, about turning recovery into extra ICU beds. ALL electives will be cancelled from 15th April and that just happens to be my last week there.

All uni classes have been cancelled (due back in May) and we only have 1 exam while I can see being online.

There is talk of having nursing student being HCA’s within the hospitals and being paid, that’s a good thing for those not already employed, but I already work a permanent role as well as on the bank. I can see many not wanting to do it, especially those that don’t need to the money. Now if we get the governments £1000 per month ‘wage’ then I’ll be quids in!

Food shopping isn’t as crazy as the media make it out to be but I am avoiding the large supermarkets and going local. Two of my delivery came with half my order missing! I was only trying to do my normal monthly shop. The local micropubs are slowly shutting or reducing to take out only 🙁

Since I last posted about starting to apply for NQN posts, I have been talking to a few people at different trusts and heard back from applications.

29th Feb 2020

WSHT my local trust as a recruitment day at both Worthing & St Richards (Chichester). I have been in contact with someone at St Richards about theatre positions which I am interested in. I didn’t realise that the day would be at both sites so I am trying to find out what positions are available at Worthing currently as I would prefer there to Chichester but I don’t want just any jobs.

19th March 2020

Portsmouth has a recruitment day and I have been asked to tell them the areas I am interested in. I don’t particularly want to work at Portsmouth but if that was where the role is I’ll take it to start.

So far I have yet to hear from Brighton but I haven’t seen any specific NQN recruitment post.

I have been speaking to someone in my cohort who was telling me that cohort 1, who have just qualified, are still waiting for the go-ahead to apply for their pins! So looking like a March start date. Not sure if you can start as a NQN on a band 3 or 4 before you can even apply for your pin or only when you are awating it.

I’m not one to just wait around, too many times things haven’t been done when they should and delays have happened. Due to this since December 2019 I have been checking our uni cohort placement spreadsheet to see if it was updated.

13th January, it finally looked like things were happening. There was an extra page, even if it was only named ‘sheet 3’ at that point. Excited, I clicked on the page and saw a list of our names next to dates and placement names. I scanned down the page, looking for my name. Finally, I spotted it but my placement was TBC. All but 2 of us had placement confirmed. I am the only one of my cohort in my placement area and assumed, therefore, it was easier to arrange for me. May be due to me going direct to the NHS trust asking for specific placements, there is a delay. I really hope I don’t get a community placement, not many do in 3rd year. In my cohort, there is probably only 4-5, with the rest mostly in ITU.

I have officially registered onto my final year of nursing, this means I’m a soon to qualify nurse! I can now start applying for roles.

Some people may say it’s too early to be doing this but I know of people who have received job offers in October with a start date of the following September. I see it as more opportunities to land that role, especially if you want to work in a certain area.

I’ve applied to 3 or 4 in Worthing/Chichester, 1 in Brighton, and even one in Portsmouth. I’m just hoping that a job I want comes up, I really don’t see myself in elderly care.

I can’t be that picky though and I will accept pretty much any job. It’s best to have multiple offers rather than none at all.