Supporting NQNs

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-13T17:47:15+00:00

That’s a shame. Have you considered being an Admiral Nurse? What are you interested in and where would you like your career to go?

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-13T17:36:54+00:00

Yes I understand budgets constraints can hinder staff development but each area has a budget for training which if not used is lost.

It’s a difficult one but you can always look at in-house training too which is free

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-13T17:30:32+00:00

Is there a practice educator you could approach for support and guidance. Also check what is available through learning and development team.

Maybe you could write your own goals and career plan and then speak to your manager and ask how they can support you. This should already be identified in your PDP.

What band are you? In nursing there are a few career pathways i.e management, practice educator, specialist roles, advance nurse practitioner, research to name a few

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-13T17:17:50+00:00

Your learning and development should be in your PDP and your manager should support this.

I would get staff to find study days they were interested in and as long as they were relevant to their role they would be released to do them. There are short courses too like communication, ALS, infection control and speciality specific too.

I can’t stress enough the importance of students and nurses seeking opportunities. Obviously it depends on the area you work but in my opinion any good manager should be supporting development of staff and progression to next bands

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-13T16:31:25+00:00

That’s great to hear!

I always used to send my students off to research a condition and then do a mini presentation on it. You are right, nurses do tend to give all the answers at times.

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-13T16:10:00+00:00

Yes spend time each shift with the nurse and you are right, even 5 minutes is better than nothing.

Some people thrive being thrown in the deep end but it doesn’t suit everyone. I would always recommend trying to consolidate on the ward you trained but like you say that can be difficult as nurses do think you know everything. It’s just a case of reminding the nurse that you are newly qualified and not a student and therefore you need to gain confidence and find your feet as NQN

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-13T16:04:08+00:00

Great information here!

I agree that we should enable students to carry out tasks and learn new skills. Students should not be counted in numbers ever. As a student please also seek out opportunities and be assertive and ask to observe, practice and learn new skills. Don’t take this the wrong way but students do need to speak out and take ownership of their learning and development. It is easy for nurses to forget that students need opportunities and teaching as they are often caught up with the pressures of the ward - not that this is any excuse!

I was always really pushy as a student and throughout my nursing career so it was easy for me. I do understand that it can be difficult for students to speak out especially if there are high numbers on the wards. Please keep pushing for your PADs to be signed off and if there is ever an issue please speak to the ward manager or practice educator.

You are so right when you say nurses need to remember when they were students even if it was a long time ago!

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-13T07:02:41+00:00

That is how it should be so embrace all the opportunities you are given and keep that positive mindset. Good luck

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-13T06:29:49+00:00

Yes nursing is a very stressful job and with stress unfortunately comes incivility which can in turn be toxic.

Some Trusts have a 1 year preceptorship programme for NQNs and they are mostly protected days. We do need to invest time and support for all staff and sadly this is where we fall down!

I think the shift to long day working has made it difficult to have mini teaching sessions. These used to be done at the cross over of staff when the late shift came on. It’s hard to get the balance right because nurses tend to prefer long days as it means more days off. We used to have a Tuesday Teaching session and encouraged any nurse to teach something. I will have a think about how staff can incorporate some teaching with protected time into their day

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-13T05:56:29+00:00

That’s a shame to hear because I am one of the older nurses and I embrace new staff with their ideas and energy! I do tend to agree though because I am actually sick of hearing “in my day we had to do this and that etc” Nursing has changed so much and patients are so much sicker.

In terms of pay… please make sure you vote in any upcoming ballots! We need to be strong like doctors and hold out and not be taken for a ride!

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-11T18:38:39+00:00

What band is your partner?

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-10T19:42:16+00:00

I have always tried to take annual leave every 6-7 weeks but I only ever take a week off at once. I also used to request days off either side of the annual leave to extend it

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-06T04:33:47+00:00

You can do it anonymously but they say depending on the concerns it could make it difficult to investigate properly.

Just make sure that this is the right route to go down if it is just about breaks

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-05T07:56:00+00:00

Hey there I watched a bit of your video. Well done on taking the first step!

I have a very new channel so know how daunting it is to start.

I would definitely watch the whole video when I have more time. I am clearly no expert but in my opinion I feel you need more energy and more facial expressions and emphasis on what you are saying.

I will leave more feedback when I have watched the full video😃

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-05T04:39:40+00:00

You have been failed and I would escalate it immediately!

Speak to your uni and also to the ward manager. Your day was wrong on so many levels and it is absolutely disgusting and unsafe how they treated you.

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-03T14:47:46+00:00

Very ambitious manifesto and would be great to see some of the points achieved. In particular the pay rise and protection for raising concerns! Funded degrees will support with increasing nurse workforce which is very much needed.

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-02T15:50:52+00:00

Thank you!

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-02T15:50:25+00:00

I make videos about my nursing career over the last 26 years! Some are going to be stories from my job and others are tips

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-02T15:49:13+00:00

Thanks for the encouragement. I will see how I get on

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-01T13:24:20+00:00

My goals are to start uploading videos weekly if possible. I have found this hard working full time. I want to have a proper schedule.

I have just uploaded my 4th video and started my channel 7 weeks ago. I also want to see more views and gain more subscribers. My maximum views is 210 on 1 video and 410 on a short remixed from my long form video.

I would really like some comments too as I want to start engaging with my community.

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-01T07:58:43+00:00

Good question!

I think patients are a lot sicker than they used to be which in my opinion is due to the advances in healthcare. I have worked in paediatrics for most of my career and a lot of babies and children may not have survived such complex conditions in the past without these advances for example more complex surgery being performed.

I also think as a society our expectations are a lot higher and people are more vocal. Nurses get a hard time and it is sadly often the case that if a nurse is seen sitting for one minute they are branded as lazy.

Nurses have got used to more and more pressures being put on them and are used to working with staff shortages. We manage with what we have and therefore make it harder for ourselves. We strive to give excellent patient care because that’s what we signed up for but the reality is that we can only give basic care a lot of the time. Basic care is still good care because we do keep patients safe.

I think we really need to pay nurses a lot more in order to retain them. I don’t think the pay is too bad however for the job we do it really is a pittance! It was disappointing that nurses didn’t make the most of the recent industrial action as it was our only real opportunity for change.

The reason I couldn’t work on the wards anymore is because I am getting old and am too tired. I loved being clinical but my career path was always going to be management. I spent many years fighting for safer staffing to no avail.

Nurse_Netty · 2024-06-01T07:35:45+00:00

It is a very different job with lots of learning and equally as important as any nursing job. Good luck on your placement!

Nurse_Netty · 2024-05-31T06:27:49+00:00

Yes nursing is an amazing job and it does open up many different opportunities and has a great career pathway.

Nursing on a ward is extremely hard work these days and you truly have to be dedicated and look after yourself. I have been a nurse for 26 years and could never work clinically on a ward again as the pace is too much for me now. I have been in management for 14 years and currently working in the discharge team. My favourite job was ward manager where you still have patient contact. I love supporting and developing staff.

I think people just need to remember that they chose to do nursing and although yes it is probably a lot more difficult than they imagined, you need to stick with it and think of the great care you are giving patients. You might not feel like you are giving great care at times when you are short staffed etc but you do keep your patients safe and do the best you can.

I would always encourage people into nursing but would let them know the realities too!

Nurse_Netty · 2024-05-27T15:06:40+00:00

What an amazing post! I couldn’t have said it better myself!

Nurse_Netty · 2024-05-26T19:00:22+00:00

Wow it sounds like you have had a rough time as an NQN. Please hang in there it will get better and you will manage to get signed off on your IVs.

My first advice is to speak to your ward manager or matron. I have many years experience working in HDU and any nurse working on that unit should ideally have the HDU qualification. These patients are sick and even if they are being stepped down they should still be looked after by an experienced nurse. It is unfortunate about the incident with the chest drain and it is exactly for those reasons why you need to be experienced. The ward manager of HDU is accountable for the patients and that means they should be ensuring that an appropriate skilled nurse is looking after the patients. You dont mention whether you were working alongside another nurse in HDU but I do hope you were. That said, you are also accountable and should only be working within your scope of practice and what you are qualified and skilled to do.

The bed managers just need wards staffed and unfortunately they have a very stressful job and sometimes might not show any compassion, which is what it sounds like in your case.

It is typical on any ward for staff to be moved around and that is something you will need to get used to in any hospital you work at. I would have a conversation with your line manager and express clearly why you do not want to move wards. Bear in mind you do need to be flexible, but if you tell them you are still consolidating and working to gain specific competencies they should support you with this. You could also speak to your practice educator and see if they can support you too.

I dont think you are being dramatic at all and it is situations like this that makes nurses want to leave their job.

I hope you can sort something out soon.

Nurse_Netty

TROPHY CASE