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Jobs in health and social care
Nursing
About the job
Some examples of nursing at work
What must you learn?
Are there different specialisms?
How can I become a nurse ?
Where can I get more information?
About the job
Nurses are part of a team of specialists looking after patients. Nurses are responsible for the care of patients and for managing and co-ordinating treatment of patients while they are in hospital, or being treated at home. The main four specialist areas in nursing are:
adults, children, people with learning difficulties, people with mental health problems.
In hospital wards
they work with the doctors, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and other health professionals to plan and provide care for people to enable them to get home as quickly and safely as possible
among other tasks, they give injections and medicine, examine and change wound dressings and teach people to do things for themselves,
for example teaching diabetic patients to give their own insulin injection
they check patient progress, for example, by taking temperatures and blood
pressure and keep careful records of all medicines and treatment
they help patients with daily needs such as eating, washing and going to the toilet and moving around e.g. getting out of bed.
they give information and advice to patients and their relatives
In hospitals' operating theatres
they work with the doctors and technicians to plan and carry out the operation
they are responsible for ensuring that patients are well treated while they are in the operating theatre
they check patient progress, for example when they are coming round from an anaesthetic
they are responsible for giving painkillers and ensuring patients are comfortable after the operation
scrub nurses a re responsible for assist doctors in he operation and ensure stocks of equipment and that instruments are sterilised
In a GP surgery
The practice nurse gives injections, takes blood, examines and changes wound dressings when patients have left hospital and looks after patient tests.
Many work with women to give information and advice about contraception, sexual health, and advice on getting pregnant.
They give advice on travel vaccinations, and health promotion advice on how to avoid
ill-health for example, stress, heart disease, stopping smoking , losing weight, HIV and Aids, substance and drug abuse etc.
In the community
There are a number of specialist nurses who visit people in their homes or in community clinics:
The District Nurse does the same sort of things as the practice nurse, but for people who cannot leave their homes . They also plan care and provide equipment (pads, commodes etc.)
for people who suffer from incontinence (unable to control bladder and bowel).
The Health Visitor gives information and advice to women who have just had babies,
(particularly help with babies who continually cry), and advice on breast and bottle
feeding. They can also help with children who have eating problems and with
women who are caring for children with physical or learning disabilities, ensuring that people know where and how to get all the social benefits and services available. Health Visitors also have a role in protecting children from harm,
for example, child abuse, violence in the home. They also give the same advice as the practice nurse.
There are teams of nurses who work with people who have cancer (Macmillan Nurses) and those who wish to die at home, organising control of pain, nausea and other symptoms.
The
School Nurse works with children who are at school, giving advice about growing up, coping with relationships, sexual health, drugs and substance abuse, healthy foods to eat, combating stresses disorders like anorexia,
bulimia. They work with teachers to help children who have illnesses like asthma and eczema, to help them to understand and help children to take their medication, and to help those with special problems such as allergies. School nurses also work with teachers to protect children from physical and sexual abuse, bullying and difficult relationships.
Some examples of nursing at work
Example 1
Ahmed, who is 12, has had his appendix taken out. He is afraid that if he moves it will hurt. The nurse knows that he needs to move around to prevent other complications, so she helps him to understand why he must get up. Then she gives him some pain killers before he has to get out of bed., and helps him get up and have his lunch.
Example2
The Community Psychiatric Nurse is visiting Mr. Jones who is very depressed and
has expressed a wish to kill himself. The nurse encourages him to talk about his feelings and to take his medicine as this will help to lift the depression and enable him to return to work. She arranges to come and see him the next day.
Example 3
Lucy Smith has recently returned from trip abroad where she had unprotected sexual intercourse. She is worried that she may be pregnant and also that she might have caught HIV. The nurse gives her a pregnancy test, which is positive (she is pregnant). They have discussion about whether she wants to continue with the pregnancy and the nurse provides information about the possibility of the baby being HIV positive, if Lucy is. The nurse discusses with her whether she
wants an HIV test and explains the implications of this, for example, how it may affect her work if she
were to find out that she was HIV positive. The nurse then takes an HIV blood test and talks her to her about safer sex. She arranges an appointment for her to discuss a termination with a women's health doctor.
What must you learn in order to be a nurse?
- how the body works (muscles/bones/organs/brain/nervous system)
- how different illnesses can affect the body and the mind
- how different medicines and treatments work
- how to carry out treatments for example. injections, wound dressings
- how to work with the team to plan for patient care and to keep records
- how to give advice on health and the prevention of illness
- how to help people make choices about their health and about their treatment
- sociological and psychological aspects of illness and disease
- resuscitation, safe administration of medications
- support and empathy for the dying patient and their family
- how to work effectively in a team
- ethics and law
Are there different specialisms within nursing?
While you are training, you can specialise in working with adults, children, people with learning difficulties, people with mental health problems.
Career development:
Once you have become a registered nurse, and gained some experience, you can
do further training for a different profession e.g.
Midwife (although you do not have to be a nurse to become a midwife,
there is also direct entry midwifery training - see 'midwife' under jobs)
Health Visitor, working with children or the elderly in their homes
Practice nurse, providing care in the GP's surgery, injections,
health advice, smear tests, wound treatments etc
Occupational Health nurse, looks after the health of employees
Health Promotion nurse, promotes a health lifestyle to a range of people
in the community
Psychiatric nurse, cares for people with mental health problems
living at home
Nurses can also become Nurse managers
How can I become a nurse?
There are two kinds of courses leading to qualification as a Registered Nurse,
a Nursing Diploma or a Nursing Degree course. The courses are open to
the
Both courses take three years full time. The first 18 months of training is the Common Foundation Programme, which includes learning about health and the prevention of illness and practical experience in different workplaces.
After 18 months, you have to specialise in:
Adult Nursing
Children's Nursing
Learning Disability Nursing
Mental Health Nursing
While training, you can work as a nursing auxiliary or a Healthcare assistant in your own spare time.
Route 1 - Full time study
For the Nursing Diploma, you will need
- Minimum 5 GCSEs at Grades A-C including GCSE Maths; or
- A Levels; or
- BTEC National Diploma; or
- GNVQ Advanced Health and Social Care (but Intermediate is not enough); or
- Access to Nursing; or
- National Diploma in Child Education and Development NVQ level 3 (CASH)
- NVQ 3 Care gained in a health workplace
For the Nursing degree courses you will need
- A levels; or
- Access to Nursing
It would also be helpful to be able to talk about some practical experience
for example.
- voluntary work (with children, old people, etc.)
- paid work as an unqualified nursing auxiliary etc.
- experience within your family, for example caring for someone who is sick or elderly
If you are unemployed, your tuition fees will be paid and you will get a non means-tested NHS bursary.
If you are employed as a health care assistant or in some other job in the
NHS, you should apply to your employer's training department to see if they will
continue to pay your salary while you train to be a nurse.
Ask for information on bursaries and grants when you ask for the course
leaflet
London nurse pre-registration training.
Remember to check if they offer the
Diploma or the Degree or both, and if they offer all four nursing specialisms
(adult, mental health, child, learning disability) or only some of them.
- City University, St Bartholomew School of Nursing and Midwifery, Admissions
Office
, 20 Bartholomew
Close London EC1A 7QN
Tel: 020 7505 5828 Email:Nurseweb@city.ac.uk/barts.
Website: www,city,ac,uk/barts
Kings College London,Division of Nursing Education, Waterloo bridge House,
57 Waterloo Road, SE1 8TU Tel: 020 7873 5111 www.kcl.ac.uk
Kingston University Medical School, Admissions Office, 2nd floor Grosvenor
Wing, St George's Hospital Medical School, Blackshaw Road, London SW17 0QT Tel
020 8283 2600
Middlesex University, School of Health, Furnibal Building, 10 Highgate Hill,
N.19 3UA Tel:020 8362 6600 www.mdx.ac.uk/mdx/academic/school/hebes/
South Bank University, Borough Road, SE1 0AA Tel 020 7928 8989 www.sbu.ac.uk
Thames Valley University, Wolfson School of Health Sciences, Westel House,
28-32 Uxbridge Road, Ealing, W5 2SU Tel: 020 8280 5127/5125
University of Greenwich, School of Health, Avery Hill Campus, Mansion Site,
Bexley Road, Eltham SE9 2PQ Tel: 020 8331 8000
Route 2 - part time study
P2K Colchester Institute www.colch-inst.ac.uk
Route 3- starting with a job
You could get a job as a Healthcare Assistant or Support Worker, or as a
Grade A (unqualified nurse). From both these jobs, once you have gained some experience, you may be eligible to continue to receive your salary, while being sent to university to train to be a nurse. However, you will only be able to do this if you already have the entry qualifications for one of the courses listed above.
You may need to apply to the Hospital Training Unit to do NVQ 3 Care and develop
your written English or Maths, in order to gain entry to nurse training.
To find one of these jobs, check the VACANCIES section of this website (click
on VACANCIES in the blue column on the left). These are updated every fortnight.
If you want to apply for a job, see the Tips for application and Tips
for Interview pages in the HELP AND ADVICE section of this website
If I do not have these entry qualifications, where can I get them?
See the previous paragraph if you are working, or looking for a healthcare
assistant job..
If you are unemployed, or not already working in health, you could
enrol
on one of your local Further Education College full time or part time courses preparing you for a job in health or social care, or for entry to a degree
course. See Education and Training Opportunities below degree level in
the HELP and ADVICE Section in this website
If I have qualifications from abroad, can I use them to work in Britain?
Nursing Qualifications from some countries are recognised In Britain.
To find out if your qualifications are recognised, contact
UKCC - United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting
23 Portland Place, London W1N 4JT
Tel 020 7333 6541/6550/6553 Mon to Sat 9.00-5.00
or look at their web page for overseas nurses www.ukcc.org.uk/overseas.htm
If the UKCC tells you that
your overseas qualification is not recognised, they will also give you a letter
saying what additional experience you need to gain in a UK hospital in order to
work as a nurse in Britain. Some hospitals run adaptation programmes for
overseas nurses.
Some hospitals in East
London are working together with a local refugee organisation which helps
overseas nurses to prepare your application to the UKCC, and can give advice and
guidance and English support, to prepare you to start a hospital adaptation
programme. They have links with hospitals running adaptation programmes. Telephone: Helen Watts at PRAXIS, Pott St, Bethnal Green Road, E2
(near Bethnal Green tube station) Tel: 0207 729 7985 or email: admin@praxis.org.uk
If I already have a degree in another subject, can I retrain?
Some universities which run nurse training (see above) also have a shortened nurse education course for people who already have degrees in a health related subject, a science or psychology.
Where can I get more information?
Free leaflets on nursing and other health careers obtainable from:
NHS Careers PO BOX 376 BRISTOL BS99 3EY
Tel: 0845 60 60 655 Fax: 0117 921 9562
email: advice@nhscareers.nhs.uk
website: www.nhs.uk/careers
Booklet on financial help for healthcare for students, obtainable from: Dept
of Health, PO Box 777,
London SE1 6XH
Fax: 01623 724 524
email: doh@prologistics.co.uk
To find a midwifery or nursing healthcare assistant job, or a job as a
midwife, check the VACANCIES
section of this website. New vacancies appear every two weeks.
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