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Ask A Band 6 RN!!!!

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Original post by ButterflyRN
At the starting point of band 5, depending on if you work nights or weekends your salary after tax will be around £1400-1600 a month.


Cool.:smile:
Is a band 6 RN like a deputy? Then you could work your way up to be ward sister/charge nurse?


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Original post by Zainab96
Is a band 6 RN like a deputy? Then you could work your way up to be ward sister/charge nurse?


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It depends. I assume all hospitals/trusts work similarly to the one I work in. Our ward hierarchy is:
Senior Sister (Ward Manager)
Sister
(Senior Registered Nurse - our ward doesn't have these, but specialised areas do)
Registered Nurse
(Assistant Practitioner - again our ward doesn't have these but a lot of wards do)
Healthcare Assistant.

I am a Band 6 RN but I am a Ward Sister so I am more involved in the day to day running of the ward and have additional responsibilities such as Co-Ordinating, doing audits, signing off datix's, answering complaints, keeping all the staffs training up to date, can do the off duty etc. Senior Registered Nurses are Band 6 nurses. They usually work in specialised areas where you need additional skills and training such as ICU, HDU, Oncology etc. but they tend not to have managerial responsibilities. There are also Specialist Nurse roles that are also Band 6 RN's such as Tissue Viability Nurses, Diabetes Nurses, Discharge Support Nurses, Palliative Care Nurses etc.
Does your pay increase yearly? and do you feel the pressure to work overtime?


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Hi! What was your favourite placement so far? And have you done any related to mental health?


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Original post by Zainab96
Does your pay increase yearly? and do you feel the pressure to work overtime?


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You do get increments yearly after you've had your appraisal and all your training is up to date. I am not really pressured by my boss to work over time. There are normally always shifts to be covered but we are not pressurised to work them. I used to work a lot of over time when I was a band 5 staff nurse but that was through personal choice. I don't do so much over time as a band 6 because my responsibilities are different and I tend to work longer stretches but shorter hours so I don't really have time to do any over time.
Original post by tinkerbelle2
Hi! What was your favourite placement so far? And have you done any related to mental health?


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Hmmm it's hard to say what my favourite placement was. I think my gastroenterology placement in my second year was my favourite as I really felt like I blossomed as a nurse and I had a great mentor. I really enjoyed the different types of patients and I learned lots and lots of skills on that placement. I had a lot of first evers on that ward!

As boring as it sounds I also really enjoyed my nursing home placement in my first year. When I got the placement I was really disappointed because I didn't really know what I could possibly learn in a nursing home. But the truth is I learned an awful lot. I perfected my basic skills and assessments such as checking pressure areas and nutrition etc. I also learned loads about meds and did every medication round with my mentor. She had lots of time to explain the meds to me and what they did and she also let me go and research medications so I learned so much. I also learned how to do PEG feeds and wound care. I got to update the nursing evaluations every day and update the residents care plans weekly. It also inspired my interest in dementia.

I did do an acute mental health placement in my first year too. Nursing placements were structured a lot differently then than they are now. On our first 12 weeks we had to do 4 weeks branch placement, 4 weeks mental health and 4 weeks learning disabilities and a week of mother and baby. I enjoyed my 4 weeks on the mental health ward. I did loads of activities with the patients and I did learn a lot whilst I was there.

I had a lot of different placements. I did vascular surgery, mental health, learning disabilities activity centre, mother and baby, nursing home, gastroenterology, endoscopy, practice nurse, district nurse, walk in centre, A&E, oncology and trauma and orthopaedics. Very varied placements and I enjoyed them all really, except the walk in centre (and that was because of the staff rather than the placement itself).
Thanks! I'm stressing ridiculously but reading as much as I can........ Enjoying reading this thread, very insightful! Thank you!

Original post by ButterflyRN
I wouldn't go too mad and overwhelm yourself. Your A&P books will probably suffice as background reading prior to starting your course. They will go more in depth in your lectures and they will explain anything you don't understand. I really enjoyed the A&P at uni!!!

Congratulations and good luck!
Original post by ButterflyRN
Hmmm it's hard to say what my favourite placement was. I think my gastroenterology placement in my second year was my favourite as I really felt like I blossomed as a nurse and I had a great mentor. I really enjoyed the different types of patients and I learned lots and lots of skills on that placement. I had a lot of first evers on that ward!

As boring as it sounds I also really enjoyed my nursing home placement in my first year. When I got the placement I was really disappointed because I didn't really know what I could possibly learn in a nursing home. But the truth is I learned an awful lot. I perfected my basic skills and assessments such as checking pressure areas and nutrition etc. I also learned loads about meds and did every medication round with my mentor. She had lots of time to explain the meds to me and what they did and she also let me go and research medications so I learned so much. I also learned how to do PEG feeds and wound care. I got to update the nursing evaluations every day and update the residents care plans weekly. It also inspired my interest in dementia.

I did do an acute mental health placement in my first year too. Nursing placements were structured a lot differently then than they are now. On our first 12 weeks we had to do 4 weeks branch placement, 4 weeks mental health and 4 weeks learning disabilities and a week of mother and baby. I enjoyed my 4 weeks on the mental health ward. I did loads of activities with the patients and I did learn a lot whilst I was there.

I had a lot of different placements. I did vascular surgery, mental health, learning disabilities activity centre, mother and baby, nursing home, gastroenterology, endoscopy, practice nurse, district nurse, walk in centre, A&E, oncology and trauma and orthopaedics. Very varied placements and I enjoyed them all really, except the walk in centre (and that was because of the staff rather than the placement itself).


Wow! Thanks for taking the time and going into so much detail! It sounds amazing and definitely the right job for you. It sounds as if you've blossomed and gained a lot of great life experience! What a good variety of placements and experiences as well! It's definitely made me want to think about it! I'm a HCA in a psychiatric hospital at the moment and am thinking about options for the future!


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What happens when you reach the top of the band 6 pay rate? Do u stay at the top untill u move on to another job role that earns more. Dunno if dat makes sense.


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Original post by Zainab96
What happens when you reach the top of the band 6 pay rate? Do u stay at the top untill u move on to another job role that earns more. Dunno if dat makes sense.


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To a sense yes. Nurses are band 5s though. Youl find sisters or specialist nurses are band 6s


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Original post by tinkerbelle2
Wow! Thanks for taking the time and going into so much detail! It sounds amazing and definitely the right job for you. It sounds as if you've blossomed and gained a lot of great life experience! What a good variety of placements and experiences as well! It's definitely made me want to think about it! I'm a HCA in a psychiatric hospital at the moment and am thinking about options for the future!


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What branch of nursing are you thinking of applying for?
Original post by Zainab96
What happens when you reach the top of the band 6 pay rate? Do u stay at the top untill u move on to another job role that earns more. Dunno if dat makes sense.


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When you get to the top of the band your salary stays at the top of that band unless you are offered a pay rise by the government then your salary will go up slightly otherwise you won't progress further pay wise unless you get promoted to a higher band.
Original post by ButterflyRN
What branch of nursing are you thinking of applying for?


Most probably mental health but also interested in occupational therapy / counsellor.


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Original post by tinkerbelle2
Most probably mental health but also interested in occupational therapy / counsellor.


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That's great! My fiancé's mum was a mental health nurse for 20+ years and has worked in all kinds of settings. She has worked on an acute mental health ward, low/medium secure mental health units and she has worked at high security units such as Rampton and Broadmoor. Very, very intense stuff. She has now re-trained as an OT and has worked in prisons and she is now back to working in acute mental health units as an OT. She also has loads of additional qualifications to work in any direction she really wants to.

I have also received therapy myself and most of the therapists that work in my MH Trust were ex mental health nurses. If you are interested in mental health, there really are many different directions you can take.
As many weeks annual leave do nurses get in the nhs? As i was told u only get 3 weeks off a year.


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Original post by Zainab96
As many weeks annual leave do nurses get in the nhs? As i was told u only get 3 weeks off a year.


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Mine averages out at about 6 weeks and 4 days. The longer you are in the NHS the more annual leave you accrue :smile:
Original post by ButterflyRN
Mine averages out at about 6 weeks and 4 days. The longer you are in the NHS the more annual leave you accrue :smile:


Hi again :smile:
At my trust I'll be working in NQN I get 28 days holiday, plus 8 bank holidays so 36 days. If I'm doing 13 hour shifts does this mean I get 36 13 hour shifts off or does it work out you get 36 8 hour days?
So if I wanted two weeks off, would i use 6 days of annual leave (6 13 hour shifts) or would I use 10 days (office hours)
Hope that makes sense lol


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Original post by WeirdLittleO
Hi again :smile:
At my trust I'll be working in NQN I get 28 days holiday, plus 8 bank holidays so 36 days. If I'm doing 13 hour shifts does this mean I get 36 13 hour shifts off or does it work out you get 36 8 hour days?
So if I wanted two weeks off, would i use 6 days of annual leave (6 13 hour shifts) or would I use 10 days (office hours)
Hope that makes sense lol


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It's all worked out by hours. So you get 37.5 hours off a week and it's deducted. If that makes sense? They don't do it by days in my trust, it's all done by hours.
Original post by ButterflyRN
It's all worked out by hours. So you get 37.5 hours off a week and it's deducted. If that makes sense? They don't do it by days in my trust, it's all done by hours.


Ohh okay, I guess it would probably work out at less than 36 days then. I'll have to find out how many hours it is.
Thanks :smile:


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