Anybody else got a place and now having doubts?

I'm lucky enough to have a place to study adult nursing in September. I already work in the NHS in rehab as a band 3. Have been in the NHS for years. Mature student, mortgage, husband, kids etc. I'm delighted to be offered a place however I love the job I currently do. I Have been lucky enough to shadow nurses on wards and in the community, ask them questions etc and to be honest, other than the extra money I can't see the advantage is of doing my training. I'm happy where I am and love all the patient contact I get but know my options of career progression are non existent beyond a band 4. But I work locally, great hours, family family, great team, love the work. I'm so scared of giving up something I love for something I'm not 100% sure about. I'm sure I can pass the course, and it will no doubt be very interesting but is the.grass always greener? I'm concerned about the lack of patient contact nurses have nowdays, that's the part I enjoy. The drop out rate is so high, I don't want to be another statistic.

Reply 1

ByronicHero

20

Original post by Fairyegg

I'm lucky enough to have a place to study adult nursing in September. I already work in the NHS in rehab as a band 3. Have been in the NHS for years. Mature student, mortgage, husband, kids etc. I'm delighted to be offered a place however I love the job I currently do. I Have been lucky enough to shadow nurses on wards and in the community, ask them questions etc and to be honest, other than the extra money I can't see the advantage is of doing my training. I'm happy where I am and love all the patient contact I get but know my options of career progression are non existent beyond a band 4. But I work locally, great hours, family family, great team, love the work. I'm so scared of giving up something I love for something I'm not 100% sure about. I'm sure I can pass the course, and it will no doubt be very interesting but is the.grass always greener? I'm concerned about the lack of patient contact nurses have nowdays, that's the part I enjoy. The drop out rate is so high, I don't want to be another statistic.

It is hard to say whether the grass is greener in this case but if you are genuinely already happy with what you do I am not sure that it is worth taking the risk. Do you need the extra money? It doesn't sound to me like your heart is necessarily in pursuing this course but let's assume that you pass - do you envisage your life being measurably better? There is no harm in doing the course purely because it interests you but like you say, the opportunity cost is giving up something you love. It's a bit of a cliche but I think you just need to follow your gut feeling.

Reply 2

wbnurse

9

Original post by Fairyegg

I'm lucky enough to have a place to study adult nursing in September. I already work in the NHS in rehab as a band 3. Have been in the NHS for years. Mature student, mortgage, husband, kids etc. I'm delighted to be offered a place however I love the job I currently do. I Have been lucky enough to shadow nurses on wards and in the community, ask them questions etc and to be honest, other than the extra money I can't see the advantage is of doing my training. I'm happy where I am and love all the patient contact I get but know my options of career progression are non existent beyond a band 4. But I work locally, great hours, family family, great team, love the work. I'm so scared of giving up something I love for something I'm not 100% sure about. I'm sure I can pass the course, and it will no doubt be very interesting but is the.grass always greener? I'm concerned about the lack of patient contact nurses have nowdays, that's the part I enjoy. The drop out rate is so high, I don't want to be another statistic.

Mmm it's a hard one. The only reason I'd say do it is the career prospects. The doors it opens! You can do anything! The world is your oyster. Forget money....think more of opportunity. And you know what it's 3 years.....really isn't that long and I've heard it goes mega quick! You could even go back to the place you work now! As a band 5 of course :wink:

I'm in a similar situation. I work on a surgical ward as a band 3 also and I love my job!! I love every aspect of it....but I want to have more control and say in my patients care. I've always always always wanted to be a nurse. I got a band 3 to step up and get to where i want and I won't be stopping at band 5 either. If you are passionate about something you won't drop out. I'm so scared of my training and I'm not ashamed to say it. I also have children and a partner and a house but il do everything I can to get through it. For the future of my children. If your heart isn't in it then you do what is best for you. But eventually every one moves on....

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Reply 3

WeirdLittleO

11

It sounds like you are happy with the way things are at the moment. I'm a fan of the saying "if it's not broken, don't fix it" which I think applies here. But it is a big decision. Like the previous poster said you can return to work where you are as a band 5 nurse if that is where you want to end up :smile:

Could you still work on your rehab ward on agency when you leave to start training? Best of both worlds then
How long have you got to make a decision? Maybe you could defer your place for a year while you think about it as you don't want to decline it and regret it later.
Maybe speak to your colleagues and see what they think too :smile:

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Anybody else got a place and now having doubts?

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