The 18th December will be two years since I joined the NMC register and got my pin. Two years since I qualified and I haven’t learnt anything clinical in that time at all.
November 2020 – December 2020
Discharge Lounge – Here due to my NQN role not existing due to Covid. Few patients due to covid so I was moved on after 1 month. No clinical skills needed.
December 2020 – April 2021
Surgical ward – Redeployed here and hated it from the second I arrived. Nothing to do with staff, they were all great and as supportive as could be. The ward was either too busy for them to support me or too quiet and I got moved. I was seen/treated as a nursing coming in with experience not as a NQN. I had to chase the preceptorship team and book myself on to IV training. I decided to go somewhere for the money during covid as most (if not all) wards were not their main specialty and basically took any patient that needed a bed. I didn’t survive long here, in my last month I was either on AL, training, or off sick. I just couldn’t face going in. I learnt to do bladder wash outs and do basic dressings. I got signed off for basic medication.
April 2021 – May 2022
Nursing Home – At first this felt a great place to work but soon the manager left and one of the deputies took over and it went down hill. My shifts were changed and I had to keep getting them changed each month. Communication became no existent and people started leaving. I’m glad I left when I did. I got signed off for medication and did theory training for syringe drivers and male catheters but never got to do the practical.
June 2022 – August 2022
Hospice – A true disaster. I thought this was going to be the place to build my career but it didn’t turn out like that. They were impressed at interview that I had palliative/eol experience but on the job not so much. I was supernumerary for the whole 2 months I was there, mostly with the education nurse. I was treated like a student and felt like a student. They were not impressed that I wasn’t already training to take bloods, do male catheters or some other clinical skill. Basically I didn’t have what they wanted so I was sacked at the end of July. During my time there 2 others got let go too. I wouldn’t have lasted there anyways. Too many changes that people didn’t like etc. The atmosphere wasn’t good. They told me to go for a development post (no idea what this was) and they would be happy to re-interview me in a year if I still wanted to work there. No Thanks.
August 2022 – Present
Nothing – During this time I have been on the books for multiple agencies but haven’t done one shift yet. some of the agencies have no shifts within 60 miles though they claim to have loads. Others cancelled my a shift here & there. I booked a few then realised the travel was just too much.
I start a new job on 13th January, in the mean time I have used up my savings and I have had to ask my parents for some help. I do have some agency shifts booked though. This new job is home based and non clinical. I really hope to be successful in this role. I have been looking into possible uni courses I can do either to help this role or to do instead if things don’t work out.
