Most wards genuinely wouldn't be able to function safely at times without student nurses. I agree about working in the NHS after though.

I'm a Student Nurse so I've got a good insight into this.

 

They're 'free' in that your tuition fees are paid for (in most cases) but you still have to work a 37.5 hour week in addition to University work you need to complete for no pay. I reckon paid tuition fees are a decent compromise - otherwise you'd have very few Nurses.

 

 

i have a daughter paying for a degree, so, so do i

 

not looking for an argument and happy to be educated, but this 40 hour week, how many of those do you have to do

 

i know that daughter bear will do plenty weeks on placement over her 3 years and she still has to pay

 

i understand the shortage of nurses being a driver for it, but when folk can do a nursing degree and then either take their skills abroad or go and do something else (an additional year to become a school teacher for example) it all starts to stink a bit

Gonzos experience with his kid is fairly typical from what I can gather unfortunately. Be glad you didn't get admitted and referred. Last winter kids from Bolton were being sent as far as Sheffield as there were no beds closer. They're closing more kids wards in greater manchester soon as well so that should be a laugh.

To be honest with you cas I'd say the system isn't perfect. You get a few dropouts who don't fancy the job when it gets hands on. There's a few who use it to go and travel or live abroad as well so you've lost the investment there. Like you point out I've known a couple who've used it as a cheap gateway degree as well. Plus some can't be arsed or are no good so you're wasting money on them. The ones who play the game though are put into pretty stressful situations at times and expected to work shifts including nights with at times unfair levels of responsibility, they then hopefully go on to a career in the nhs. I'd say they're worth the investment. There's probably a better way of doing it with the money being tied into nhs service but god knows how that'd work. I can't imagine the nhs xan either. I couldn't begrudge someone going to work in Australia or New Zealand.

So you're essentially working for £9,000 p.a?

Or is the requirement just for the term time ie 30-odd weeks?

No we get 5 weeks fixed holiday this year - plus a weeks 'reading week' - so six essentially. The rest of the time we're alternating between 10 weeks at Uni (probabaly average at about 5 hours practical study/lectures a day, plus more work at home) and 10 weeks Hospital placements (37.5 hour weeks plus work at home). The idea is that we're 'supernumerary' - but in reality we take up the slack in Nursing shortages.

 

Most students get a Bursary of about £4000 and can apply for a Student loan of about £2,800 a year. Taking the tuition fees out of the equation, most are surviving on about £7,000 a year, so work extra shifts on the bank to pay the bills. Most people I know do at least an extra 2 12.5 hour shifts to give them enough to live on. It's a long old week.

 

If you want to class tuition fees as part of the wage, then most Student Nurses are 'paid' about £13,000 a year. I'm not complaining, I wouldn't swap it for the world - but it's not a walk in the park and there is a very high drop out rate.

tell the class, mr floppy

 

 

is there more than one doctor at the practice

 

are you willing to see any available doctor?

Yes and yes

i understand the shortage of nurses being a driver for it, but when folk can do a nursing degree and then either take their skills abroad or go and do something else (an additional year to become a school teacher for example) it all starts to stink a bit

Yeah that is bollocks to be fair. If the NHS pays for your degree, then you should have a minimum term that you're expected to work for them. To be honest, a very high percentage of newly qualified nurses do stay within the NHS. Largely because nobody else will have you for at least a couple of years until you prove that you can do the job for real.

 

Don't get me wrong, I realise how lucky I am to have my fees paid, but rest assured that we have to work damn hard for it!

Yes and yes

And is it a private practice like most GP's or an NHS one? If it's a private practice, the NHS are paying for you, but not necessarily providing the service.

I couldn't and wouldn't do the job for that.

 

Fair play to you and those in the same boat.

Problems facing the NHS;

1. Fat knackers

2. Over priced PFI contracts

3. Folk not keeping appointments

4. Ever increasing expectations, from tit jobs or ultra expensive cancer drugs

can we add smokers junkies and drunkards to the list please?

And is it a private practice like most GP's or an NHS one? If it's a private practice, the NHS are paying for you, but not necessarily providing the service.

Then the same goes for them praising NHS because of their local doctors

 

They were everything to do with the consistent fuck ups at the hospitals and for the prescriptions service which bollocko'd up

The NHS has far too many managers and pen pushers making it inefficient for the cash that is thrown at it

The cutbacks need to start at the top and work downwards, that will never happen as the ones making the decisions are higher up.

Labour's big policy for the election is £2.5bn more funding for the NHS to save it from the Tories.

 

This is funny, because in Wales where Labour run the NHS, funding has been cut. In England, where the Tories run it, funding has increased by more than £2.5bn every single year since the election.

The NHS has far too many managers and pen pushers making it inefficient for the cash that is thrown at it

The cutbacks need to start at the top and work downwards, that will never happen as the ones making the decisions are higher up.

Unfortunately all those pen pushers are needed to ensure that the money is spent correctly, targets that the Gov set are met, bills are paid, staff are managed and patients are kept informed.

I work at a small DGH and the number of non clinical staff is amazing. All clinicians are spending more and more time jumping through hoops to fulfil meaningless targets set by central gov instead of seeing patients.

Edited September 24, 201411 yr by freds dad

I'm back to work now after having maternity leave and I have chosen to work permanent nights otherwise I'd never see my daughter, 13 hour shifts are a killer. I love my job but I hate the management tosser who run it. They don't see a brain injured 16 year old in a bed after trying to top himself they just see the pound signs.

Edited September 24, 201411 yr by bolton_blondie

System has always been alright for me.. Occasions where I've spent hours waiting..

 

One belter with snoops nose where we waited four hours with a broken nose.. Doctor then told us if we had seen him a few hours earlier he could have sorted it..

 

I found a lump rang gp.. Appointment same day.. Hospital appointment 2 weeks to the day.. Got to hospital and had all the checks and found out it wasn't malignant all in space of 4 hours.. Baring in mind I thought it was a swollen muscle and they didn't tell me I was booked for tests.. The whole process made it a lot less stressful..

I'm on exactly the same money as Kent, though my degree takes 4 years. I travel to Leeds every day that takes 1.5 hrs each way (though that's my choice) and in that 4 years will do about 9 months of placement.

 

I too cud just disappear into the private sector at the end and that does seem wrong.

 

Blondie is right about the management though, I have 3 friends in NHS management, it's a cushy number with no where near the accountability or responsibility you would see in similar positions in industry.

I'm on exactly the same money as Kent, though my degree takes 4 years. I travel to Leeds every day that takes 1.5 hrs each way (though that's my choice) and in that 4 years will do about 9 months of placement.

 

I too cud just disappear into the private sector at the end and that does seem wrong.

 

Blondie is right about the management though, I have 3 friends in NHS management, it's a cushy number with no where near the accountability or responsibility you would see in similar positions in industry.

 

 

tbh, even that doesn't piss me off so much

 

at least its using the degree you've studied for

 

and without the private sector, surely there'd be more strain on the public

i work in a doctors surgery. was listening in a bit to a meeting the other day with all the clinical staff and practice managers etc, jesus it was like tesco's boardroom. PROFIT PROFIT PROFIT

i work in a doctors surgery. was listening in a bit to a meeting the other day with all the clinical staff and practice managers etc, jesus it was like tesco's boardroom. PROFIT PROFIT PROFIT

 

 

Or, in the case of Tescos..."loss, loss, loss"

Unison calling a strike of health workers on 13th October 7-11. I'll be honest I'm not sure what the logistics of that will be?

i work in a doctors surgery. was listening in a bit to a meeting the other day with all the clinical staff and practice managers etc, jesus it was like tesco's boardroom. PROFIT PROFIT PROFIT

.

 

Is yours a private practice then? When I used to work in a Surgery, it used to piss me off that the practice got paid for keeping up to date records. They get £6 for making sure the smoker/non smoker box is correctly ticked and similar amounts for alcohol levels, weight and blood pressure. More for blood results. As far as I'm concerned - your GP should know all that as a matter of course. They shouldn't need to be insentivised to do it.

Unison calling a strike of health workers on 13th October 7-11. I'll be honest I'm not sure what the logistics of that will be?

 

Yeah, cos they care so much about their patients. Selfish bastards. Health workers shouldn't be allowed to go on strike.

 

Point for discussion - veterinary care is private. Who reckons that they would need to make more than two phone calls to get one of their pets in for some trivial mater by the end of tomorrow? 

Yeah, cos they care so much about their patients. Selfish bastards. Health workers shouldn't be allowed to go on strike.

 

Point for discussion - veterinary care is private. Who reckons that they would need to make more than two phone calls to get one of their pets in for some trivial mater by the end of tomorrow? 

 

Aye - all Nurses are callous, selfish bastards who care only about feathering their own nests at the expense of the taxpayer.  For what it's worth - I'd have voted against a strike, but it's going to last for 4 hours, not all staff are going to be involved, and the ones that are will be replaced by agency workers for the duration. 

 

And while you're comparing humans to animals, you might want to consider that your average man or woman tends to vocalise about pain and ill health much more coherently than your average pet.  We also tend not to euthanise humans when they become unwell towards the end of their lives.  You might also want to consider the fact that you won't get charged £200 if your human pal requires an x-ray and more if they require any medication.

I rang my barber to see if he could fit me in today and he was ''all booked up''. I'm taking no chances tomorrow, I'm booked into WaggyTails at 9am.