thinking of dropping out of uni

[roxie_09]

I am currently studying mental health nursing at uni, aswell as studying I work as a part time nursing assistant in a mental health hospital. I really enjoy working as an NA and considering dropping out as I prefer the hands on 'nursey' bits rather than the culture of qualified nursing these days, which is spent infront of the computer and form filling etc. It's a big decision that I don't want to take lightly. I just don't want to waste another year if it's not what I want to do :(. Can anyone give me any advice on making the best decision for me? x

[LoftyLottie]

Well, it sounds as if you have your head well and truly screwed on and you will make a success of whatever you do. Good luck x

[roxie_09]

Thanks Lofty :). I have three weeks of theory left for this module, then a month off for summer :D and then a placement, so I have plenty of time to really look at all options :D xx

[brenda]

Do not be a total plank ------get your degree it shows forever your ability to study to degree level. What you then choose to do depends on you.But your degree will open wider options --- good luck.

[LoftyLottie]

Can't say I agree with you Brenda. It is not always the case. More and more employers are realising that people with degrees are not always the best employees or the most intelligent.

Also, so many people are getting degrees and degree standards have dropped, that they have lost their significance.

I would agree that a degree that is work based and geared towards future employment is very useful.

[boxtops]

Roxie, you sound very sensible, and yes I am inclined to agree with you - several HCAs I know have taken sponsorship into nurse training and have all that pre-reg experience behind them. However, you are a long way in now - degree nursing (whether we all like it or not) is the way forward, and all new pre-reg programmes will be at degree level from 2012 onwards. You are in the forefront! - so when you qualify, and get your PIN, you can be an example to all those new degree students on placement themselves. The degree intakes are going to need a whole new level of preceptorship and you'll be ideally placed in a couple of years' time.
You may well be that MH nurse who can change practice, and make a real change for patient care in your areas of responsibility.
I hope you stick with it, but only you can make that decision - do let us know!

[roxie_09]

Thanks all for your wonderful support and advice, I will most definately take my time in making a decision and would like to think that I would be one of many that would make the difference  xx

[ChocolatChip]

Couldn't you complete your degree, work for the NHS as a nurse for the designated time they suggest, then go back to the nursing assistant?
I went to a job interview the other day about becoming a healthcare assistant on a mental health unit. They said that a lot of Psychology students (like myself) just stay as healthcare assistants rather than become psychologists.
I don't know exactly how NHS Bursary courses work, but surely at some point you could return to being a nursing assistant, if you so wished.
But education I think is something you can fall back on, even if you don't do nursing, completing a degree proves that you have various skills that work well in many jobs.

[boxtops]

That would be such a waste of education funding, though - and it does complicate matters considerably if someone has a live nursing PIN but is working in the care assistant role. Nurses can undertake tasks which CAs can't - it makes the boundaries for CAs very blurred and she wouldn't be able to undertake nursing duties.

[ChocolatChip]

But Boxtops, that sounds like what she wants to do, just be a care assistant rather than a nurse. So as long as you knew which was which. Wouldn't that be enough, or would the employer probably ask you do jobs above your position?

[roxie_09]

They wouldn't be able to ask me to do anything above an NA banding by law, to be honest this would include giving out medications and the paperwork S these have to be done by qualified staff. Everything else I could do a lot more hands on. After a few years of not working as a qualified I would have to do a back to practise course of 18 months if I decided in the future that beig a qualified is what I wanted. So needing more funding. Hope this makes sense x

[roxie_09]

Just re-read my post sorry for the spelling mistakes, silly phone auto-correcting some words x

[ChocolatChip]

Hmmm, I see what you mean. But I think it needs some serious thought. Do you not enjoy the other nursing? Maybe its more office based due to the fact you are training?

[roxie_09]

I do enjoy it, but the client contact not the paperwork involved. As part of the qualifieds nurses role you have to document everything! Which although is fundamental to the care of the client it draws the nurse away from the clients and leaving them in the office. Although some nurses do try and find a balance the paperwork will always have priority, which I believe should be secondary to the care of the client. X

[lcg]

stick with it...i am a qualified psych nurse and although i have to take charge of a large male acute ward, i still get to do 'hands on' bits, but get paid far better for it than a hcsw! also, i now teach medical students part-time (i have always wanted to teach in this area) and got the job after being a bit lazy and applying after 4 years of practice. i have no intention of staying on the wards full-time as i work with (mostly) a bunch of lazy idiots. that said...you are halfway through a degree and if you stop now, decide you want to do something else at uni in the future, it'll probably cost you £30k to do it (you'd be mad to go back for that price). also, nursing is a rewarding career, you can specialise in so many different areas and can continue studying whilst working. i'm doing an msc with the open university at the moment. you are in a priviledged position compared to students starting uni in 2012 so stick with it - as others have said you will at least have a first degree. play the long game...a quick decision now will mean you repent at your leisure. the 2nd year is the most difficult, and your last year will fly by before you know it. and then you can become a trainee accountant or something! x

[LoftyLottie]

Me again.

What I have observed over recent years, is that nurses seem to put paperwork first. I have witnessed long changeover periods where nurses were involved in going through acres of paperwork whilst patients were quite honestly neglected. Doctors and Nurses deep in lengthy conversations, whilst care assistants were left to cope with the patients.
Nurses are now taking on far more technical jobs. Nothing wrong with that, but somewhere along the line patients are losing out and becoming numbers, and in some wards it seems that the patients are just a nuisance.

[roxie_09]

Thanks LCG I do love the hands on nursing and know that's what I want to do. Maybe it is the fact that I work with people that are lazy and just want to sit in the office rather than the hands on nursing role that they should also have. X

[roxie_09]

Yes Lofty, completely agree. Like I've said although it is important, with the suing culture that society has become people cant breathe without it being documented etc and therefore leaving clients missing out on the Care that they should be receiving x

[DTCwordfan]

My advice - stick with it, see it out.

If you want to go more hands on after, so be it, and one of the best areas to consider, maybe, is to go for private nursing where you ought to get more client time.

However, you will need your full degree and the better the grade the easier it is combined with your personality etc etc - and its then yo can "differentiate" by pointing out, "I have the admin side, I have the technical, but my strength is on personal care, and that's what I want to focus on......."

[ethandron]

don't forget too that once you're qualified it will open lots of doors in other aspects of nursing for you like health visitor or practice nurse and other types of 'nursing'. you don't have to stay in a hospital situation.

[roxie_09]

Thanks all. All your support and advice has been really helpful in making me think about this from all angles, I really do appreciate it x