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Part Time Auxiliary Nurse/HCA

I was volunteering on my ward today, talking to one of the nurses about stuff in general, and she came up with how some med students are part time auxiliary nurses/HCA's, and how you can do it from age 18. There was also an article in SBMJ, namely http://student.bmj.com/issues/08/06/life/232.php

Does anyone have any experience on applying, pay, working conditions etc. etc.? I'm considering changing my part time job from tescos to this kinda thing when I become 18, if it is, of course, possible.

Any advice appreciated

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I have been an HCA in my vacations from uni since 2006.

Applying: if you're doing a degree, easy peasy lemon squeezy. Go to the HR department, and ask to apply! If you're around for a year you might be able to get a permanent position on a ward. If you're going back and forwards to uni they might give you a position on the 'Bank.' Enquire at HR to check which is most appropriate. You give in your CV, do a CRB check, do an ENglish and Maths test that asks stuff like "2 + 4 = ?", have an interview, then they say yes :biggrin:

Pay: pretty rubbish. I get around £6.50 an hour.

Working conditions: busy, depending on your ward. Wards are very different - in some you will be running round washing patients and clearing up from start to finish, on others you might twiddle your thumbs for an hour. There is also a massive difference between working on medical and surgical wards. I think the general opinion would be that medical wards are more difficult and stressful. I however, only work on surgical wards :biggrin:

But my main advice is: GO FOR IT. You learn so much about medicine and hospitals, you have shadowing opportunities right there (if the doctors deign to talk to you, that is), patients can be lovely :biggrin:, and it is such a rewarding job. It's the best holiday job I could have hoped for.
LatinMachine
I have been an HCA in my vacations from uni since 2006.

Applying: if you're doing a degree, easy peasy lemon squeezy. Go to the HR department, and ask to apply! If you're around for a year you might be able to get a permanent position on a ward. If you're going back and forwards to uni they might give you a position on the 'Bank.' Enquire at HR to check which is most appropriate. You give in your CV, do a CRB check, do an ENglish and Maths test that asks stuff like "2 + 4 = ?", have an interview, then they say yes :biggrin:

Pay: pretty rubbish. I get around £6.50 an hour.

Working conditions: busy, depending on your ward. Wards are very different - in some you will be running round washing patients and clearing up from start to finish, on others you might twiddle your thumbs for an hour. There is also a massive difference between working on medical and surgical wards. I think the general opinion would be that medical wards are more difficult and stressful. I however, only work on surgical wards :biggrin:

But my main advice is: GO FOR IT. You learn so much about medicine and hospitals, you have shadowing opportunities right there (if the doctors deign to talk to you, that is), patients can be lovely :biggrin:, and it is such a rewarding job. It's the best holiday job I could have hoped for.


How old were you when you started? I suppose the minimum would be 18 years old wouldn't it.
I'm a full time HCA on an Older Persons (medical) ward at the moment. I would recommend it to anyone applying for medicine. I've learnt alot there, and always offer to help the doctor if it's needed (sitting a patient up, holding still for phlebotomy etc.). If I get a place at medical school it's very likely I'll go on the bank and work during the holidays around the hospital.
Im a part-time HCA and i work on the bank. Im 17..so i dont think you have to be 18, but this might depend on your healthcare trust. Being on the bank means I work on lots of different wards...its a great way to get experince in lots of different areas of medicine :smile:. Because I work on the bank it means I choose when I work and don't work aswell...quite useful when you've got exams and stuff and need to cut back, same as if its a holiday and you want to work more.

If you go on www.nhs.jobs.uk and fill in the search boxes then theyll be a big list of all the jobs advertised according to your search criteria. My trust advertise every month for HCA'S so it's likely there will be at least 1 position going!!

Then you have to go for interview, then its conditional of Oc Health check and CRB check.

And for a 17 year old i think the pays quite good....£6.40 normal weekdays and just under £11 if I work a sunday (which i do :biggrin: ).

All in all i'd say go for it!!! It's a great job, especially if your considering medicine :yep:
.x.--Lou--.x.
Im a part-time HCA and i work on the bank. Im 17..so i dont think you have to be 18, but this might depend on your healthcare trust. Being on the bank means I work on lots of different wards...its a great way to get experince in lots of different areas of medicine :smile:. Because I work on the bank it means I choose when I work and don't work aswell...quite useful when you've got exams and stuff and need to cut back, same as if its a holiday and you want to work more.

If you go on www.nhs.jobs.uk and fill in the search boxes then theyll be a big list of all the jobs advertised according to your search criteria. My trust advertise every month for HCA'S so it's likely there will be at least 1 position going!!

Then you have to go for interview, then its conditional of Oc Health check and CRB check.

And for a 17 year old i think the pays quite good....£6.40 normal weekdays and just under £11 if I work a sunday (which i do :biggrin: ).

All in all i'd say go for it!!! It's a great job, especially if your considering medicine :yep:


Thanks for the advice. May I ask, what is the job like? I volunteer on a surgical ward and just do general duties, so I imagine it as being this + general clinical stuff. Hopw old were you when you started?
applemilk1992
Thanks for the advice. May I ask, what is the job like? I volunteer on a surgical ward and just do general duties, so I imagine it as being this + general clinical stuff. Hopw old were you when you started?


What I do is wash, dress and help patients go to the toilet (ones who need to, which is most of them where I am), take observations (blood pressure etc.), take blood glucose readings, ECGs, filling out patient profiles, serving the meals/feeding patients if necessary. As an HCA you'll spend more time with the patients than anybody else, so you get some very good hands on patient experience.
It's a fab job!! But im guessing you want to know what i actually do...
First of all it depends on what hospital im working in (main or community), what ward im on (childrens/adult/surgical/medical/Rehab etc..) and finally what shift im working.

If im on a medical ward then I generally have more patient care to do, feeding, washing, basic obs etc. On the surgical ward its more kind cleaning the ward/bedmaking etc. The morning shifts tend to be the most hectic...I prefer working these, i don't like sitting around!!

If im working in a communtity hospital theres also less to do...just because their smaller and don't have as many patients.

I reckon if you have experience a a voluteer then there wouldn't be much of a step up, plus you get all the training you need...and if you feel you need more then you can just ask.

And I was 17 when I started...suprisingly you have to be 18 to volunteer with my trust, but I can work at 17!!
applemilk1992
How old were you when you started? I suppose the minimum would be 18 years old wouldn't it.

Yep, I was 18 - November baby :biggrin:
applemilk1992
May I ask, what is the job like? I volunteer on a surgical ward and just do general duties, so I imagine it as being this + general clinical stuff.
Hrm, not really.

My morning on a Plastics/General Surgery Ward in a district general hospital:

7.30 - arrive at work, and sit though handover with the other nurses/hcas and a cup of coffee (this is where you hear all about the patients)

8-9am - myself and the other HCA make up the breakfast and tea trolleys and serve the patients breakfast. Some patients may need feeding, in which case we do this too.

9-12am: washing and dressing time! Patients who are independent will get themselves ready, if patients are partially independent for whatever reason I will get them a bowel of water and a towel and help them when they need it, and some patients may be all care and need to be bed-bathed. You also strip and re-make with fresh linen as many beds as you can (providing the linen trolley actually arrives - any other HCAs gripe about the laundry department too???)

12 noon: serve lunch to the patients, feed anyone who needs feeding.

End of shift and home time? Somewhere between 1 and 3pm depending on the shift I do. How long do I get for a break in all that? 15 minutes paid.

Other activities that may punctuate my morning:

•

constant buzzers ringing, usually for the toilet

•

I might have to take someone to theatre (having previously prepared them)

•

Doctors rounds which usually manage to interrupt what I'm doing and get in the way, although obviously one has to be nice about it :smile:

•

Helping patients fill in their meal menus/also make sure they have taken their meds, technically the nurses' job but they don't always do it

•

Making patients more comfortable in their bed by plumping pillows, helping them wriggle around etc (usually requested by elderly ladies)

•

The morning tea round, if I have time

•

Sending off specimens/requests/etc

•

Crash call, if you're unlucky - HCAs role usually involves running to another ward to get the ECG machine then cleaning up afterwards. Also may have to pack up the patient and their things if they are deceased.

•

I do observations if I'm feeling generous to the nurses



When I applied for the job I had NO IDEA what it involved, so you're getting much more info than I had!

Also, not everyone gets paid £11 for a Sunday (only Bank staff). The only way I come close to earning that is by working Xmas Day (which is a lovely day to work).
LatinMachine

Also, not everyone gets paid £11 for a Sunday (only Bank staff). The only way I come close to earning that is by working Xmas Day (which is a lovely day to work).


Really?? Im pretty sure the other HCA'S and nurses (qualified), not on the bank, I work with get time and 60% on a sunday, just like me. :s-smilie:
Reply 11
Avatar for miss_snake
miss_snake
LatinMachine
I have been an HCA in my vacations from uni since 2006.

Applying: if you're doing a degree, easy peasy lemon squeezy.


Ha! We wish! Still applying, still getting rejected...even though i've been working sinc I was 14 so have a lot of experience....pah!
aah ysee by 'more clinical' i meant the kinda things LatinMachine meant... after all, my volunteering duties all seem to scream DONT TOUCH THE PATIENT OR WE SHALL PUT YOU IN SERIOUS TROUBLE. those are the kinda 'official guidelines'

anybody know the minimum age to apply for these positions? some who've replied are 17, some are 18.
applemilk1992

anybody know the minimum age to apply for these positions? some who've replied are 17, some are 18.


Give HR a ring and ask them..should only take a few minutes :smile: (providing you can actually get through :rolleyes: )
miss_snake
Ha! We wish! Still applying, still getting rejected...even though i've been working sinc I was 14 so have a lot of experience....pah!

You keep getting rejected for HCA jobs? Maybe it's your availability or something?

applemilk - HCAs do SO MUCH more hands on work than volunteers, however volunteers are especially loved as they do the tea round when I don't have time to do it (and the patients live for their cup of tea!), and we don't always have enough time to talk to the patients as much as we would like to/they need. Although I wasn't particularly impressed with the HCA training I received, you need to go through the 'official stuff' to be allowed to do manual handling tasks.

And sadly, I definitely do not get paid £11 on a Sunday, otherwise I would be a rich(er) woman :frown:
LatinMachine
You keep getting rejected for HCA jobs? Maybe it's your availability or something?

applemilk - HCAs do SO MUCH more hands on work than volunteers, however volunteers are especially loved as they do the tea round when I don't have time to do it (and the patients live for their cup of tea!), and we don't always have enough time to talk to the patients as much as we would like to/they need. Although I wasn't particularly impressed with the HCA training I received, you need to go through the 'official stuff' to be allowed to do manual handling tasks.

And sadly, I definitely do not get paid £11 on a Sunday, otherwise I would be a rich(er) woman :frown:


may i ask, what kinda training did you receive becoming a HCA?

to me, being a volunteer is worthwhile and good for experience in a hospital environment, but it annoys me that theres so little I can *actually* do, in terms of a list of tasks. nothing even slightly clinical, which I am perfectly capable and mature enough to do. Despite the short list of tasks, i really enjoy it, and often stay behind later to complete my tasks, which is why I think I'd be more worthwhile there than in tescos :p:
Reply 16
Avatar for Qos
Qos
do you need any particular qualifications to get a job?
applemilk1992
may i ask, what kinda training did you receive becoming a HCA?

to me, being a volunteer is worthwhile and good for experience in a hospital environment, but it annoys me that theres so little I can *actually* do, in terms of a list of tasks. nothing even slightly clinical, which I am perfectly capable and mature enough to do. Despite the short list of tasks, i really enjoy it, and often stay behind later to complete my tasks, which is why I think I'd be more worthwhile there than in tescos :p:


You sound like a perfect candidate for an HCA job, get down to your nearest hospital TOMORROW! (One thing I will saw though, is be prepared for a lot of excrement.)

For training, you do the mandatory training that all NHS employers have to do, which usually involves a day of fire safety and health and safety talks etc. You also receive Basic Life Support training (i.e. what to do when someone has a heart attack), Blood Transfusion Training and Manual Handling Training (which I found very useful second time round). You then do two 'supernumery' shifts where you essentially shadow an HCA and they teach you how to do stuff i.e. the ward routine, how to make a bed (how much you learn can depend on the HCA who shows you round!). Then you're on your own!

Additional training, for example, how to do observations can be done, but it's at your matron's discretion how much training they allow you to do.

If you want to do medicine, take this job. You will cope absolutely fine - I did, and I'd basically never been in a hospital since my birth and knew nothing about the job. It's hard at the beginning, but you get into a routine and with experience you know how to handle the patients (and the staff!).
Just to emphasise that your training will differ depending on your trust...It was mandatory that I did all of the training mentioned above by LatinMachine, but it was also mandatory that I undertook obsrvation training, and resusitation training (this was basically the same as basic life support..i don't really understand why i had to do both.)
I also had to hold a Food Hygiene Certificate.

Finally i had to complete 5 supernumary shifts rather than 2.

I wouldn't worry about not knowing what to do, like any job, once you get used to it it's fine.
Reply 19
Avatar for glenn22
glenn22
i only had to do one orientation shift, and was then employed, but my training took forever (it was only actually 4 days, but they were spread over 4 months!!! not good)
however it has been worth it, for sundays i get time + 78% (so like almost £12 an hour) and i also do "specialing" shifts on neuro, which involves just looking after a single patient which can be nice from time to time.

Its a really good job and bank is good because you only have to work one shift minimum every 6 months (at my trust anyway) so i can keep the job through university by working holidays, as well as hopefully going at the bank wherever i go to study medicine.

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