I'm nearly a qualified nurse and I want to become a teacher

Nursetoteacher

I am doing nursing at the moment and I hate it. I have many reasons, starting with the parts the hate the most

1.nurse bullies (i have cryed so much over them)
2.long hours/night shifts
3.bad pay
4.bad social life
5.theres so much legality to nursing. Have to document every move a patient makes
6. I feel people think teaching is a better job

I need your opinions guys because I am in a muddle over it all. I qualify in one month but I am planning on doing primary school teaching when I do qualify in a few months because I am miserable . The reasons I want to do primary school teaching is
1. I love children
2.short hours (yes you have paperwork to do after school, but at least you are not up at 6am in the morning and not home to your family till 10am at night)
3.i can't imagine bullying to be worse than in nursing. It's cruel
4.not as much responsibility (you can't kill someone by teaching them wrong)
5.i feel like you need to be academically smart to be a teacher but not a nurse (people who get 200 points in leavning cert will get into nursing no problem)
6.i feel people think nurses are labour workers and people have more respect for teachers (nursing is a dirty job)
7. You get summers off, Christmas, holidays to spend with your family and go to any weekend social events.
8.its Monday to Friday like most jobs
9 you don't have to work with other staff who may be bullies (they're in different class rooms)

Am I crazy? One day I really want to do teaching. The next I'm on the fence about both careers . Help

Passenger

You've just weighed up the positives and negatives. Go with your heart. Life's too short not to.

LegacyUser

Have you honours Irish? Two years and 14000 grand for the masters? If so go with your first choice

alibab

So nurses are stupid people who don't need a brain and are nothing more than labourers in a dirty job with long hours . If this is how you see it yes your right please leave now and retrain as nursing is most definitely not for you . Best of luck with teaching in the future.

njs030

My sister is a primary school teacher, she works very hard and while she has weekends off she spend Friday evening and all day Sunday preparing.
She was top of her class in secondary school, got into her first choice college and has a first class honours degree in teaching. It still took her over a year to find a job as there are so many qualified teachers- she works over an hour from home so she leaves at 6.30 and gets home around 7. By the time she's finished preparing for the next day and eaten dinner it's around 11, she has no social life during the week because she's exhausted. On her one day off she sleeps and occasionally goes out.
Oh and like all young teachers she's quite badly paid.


Perhaps you could go and talk to a few teachers and find out what it's really like. I think you have an idea it's a lot easier than it is.

freshpopcorn

Hi!
I know somebody who left a job in the HSE. It wasn't a nurse and it would have being well paid.(A lot more than a teacher)
They wanted to become a teacher. They left it after about two years but they got work in hospitals whilst at college.
Just to clarity a few things in my opinion.
Pay isn't great in teaching compared to before.
Just be aware theirs a lot more to teaching than Monday-Friday from 9AM to 3PM. Theirs lesson plans, meetings with parents, correcting tests, filling out forums for assessments, planning trips, putting up art, green flag, after school activities. Just be aware not all teachers run out the door when the kids go home. You really see the difference in a teacher that puts in the bare minimum.and those who do the bit extra.
You've to constantly monitor kids(Behavior, academically, bullying in the classroom). You are the person responsible for a room full of kids.
You do end up with better social life but be aware if your in a small town and want to teach locally.You'll end up running into kids the whole time and their parents/uncles. You've to be careful how you act in public. I've heard of teachers have everything thrown in their face by parents and kids.
Bullies, some of the worst bullying I've heard of happened to teachers in school. SNA's seem to get on with one another but the things I've heard from teachers about how they've been treated by other teachers is awful. Since the place you work can often be small it can be very isolating. Teachers often have to work together yard duty, split in classes, resource teachers, etc. Parents can also be bullies and you can be accused of anything.
PS.
If you want to do the move do it. The person I know loves the kids and does their best for them.The person I biggest is a bit of bullying and people who don'y really like teaching. I don't want to put you off it for one second. If I had to choose I'd probably pick the teaching.
However have you ever looked into children's nursing, nursing home, district nurse, nurse in a doctors surgery? Being in a big hospital might not be for you!

Dtp1979

Nursetoteacher wrote: »

I most certainly don't think nurses are stupid. But I do think nurses don't have to be good academically and academics was always a value of mine. I think teachers are more respected than nurses. Just like nurse is more respected than a health care assistant

Ah the grass is always greener on the other side.
I'd say nurses are FAR more respected than teachers, and even doctors Alot of the time. And no, I'm not a nurse.

bee06

Nursetoteacher wrote: »

I think teachers are more respected than nurses.

I don't think this it true at all. Most non-teachers I know think teachers have a cushy job with short hours and long holidays. Basically that they have an easy life.

It doesn't really matter though. Nobody should chose a career to be respected. They should chose something they love and get fulfilment from. That clearly isn't nursing for you but I'm not sure you are choosing teaching for the right reasons either.

Nursetoteacher

Notareg wrote: »

Have you honours Irish? Two years and 14000 grand for the masters? If so go with your first choice

Yes and yes ..these are not problems and not news to me

Nursetoteacher

bee06 wrote: »

I don't think this it true at all. Most non-teachers I know think teachers have a cushy job with short hours and long holidays. Basically that they have an easy life.

It doesn't really matter though. Nobody should chose a career to be respected. They should chose something they love and get fulfilment from. That clearly isn't nursing for you but I'm not sure you are choosing teaching for the right reasons either.

You may be right. I have studied nursing for 4 years and I have never been so stressed and tired in all my life. What has stressed and tired me is 13 hours cooped up in a ward with headaches from lack of food, and just dying to get home after 3 hours of my shift which feels like 6. Is this teaching or anywhere near it?

LegacyUser

Nursing is undoubtedly a tougher job (not that teaching doesn't have its challenges) but anecdotally, I believe there is an awful lot of bullying between teachers. I think some of them don't advance beyond the mental age of their charges!
There's nothing wrong with a career switch but I would hazard caution - the grass isn't always greener

freshpopcorn

Why did you want to become a Nurse in the first place?

Is their any area that you might like to try and see if you might like? I did mention a few in my previous post.


I'm just trying to understand your situation regarding respect for nurses is etc/ them being allowed to get in with only 200 points.
My theory is studied hard and in college and on placements you experienced bullying. You were probably brought up to believe that if you did a good leaving cert and got into college bullying doesn't happen because everybody is well educated/etc. Some of these people might have got in trough PLC courses but these peoples qualifications are the same and they worked at college to get them. People can also get into teaching via a back door system as well.(I'm not saying people who enter careers via different paths don't like their job by the way).
I know of bullying/scummy/lazy/etc nurses and teachers but this happens with all professions.
Respect can be very hard to gain OP be it a nurse or a teacher. I think a teacher can nearly be harder to gain respect because parents can really look down on you over various issues. Right from the Manager to the lady in her pajamas smoking at the school gate. The main difference with teachers is you get to know the people your working with better. IE students and their parents whilst patents tend to move on unless your in ling term care.

Dtp1979

Nursetoteacher wrote: »

But many people think nursing is a bad job

And many realise teaching isn't the joy filled Mary poppins fantasy that some think it is

Kablamo!

Nursetoteacher wrote: »

You may be right. I have studied nursing for 4 years and I have never been so stressed and tired in all my life. What has stressed and tired me is 13 hours cooped up in a ward with headaches from lack of food, and just dying to get home after 3 hours of my shift which feels like 6. Is this teaching or anywhere near it?

To be honest it sounds like most jobs.

MissShihTzu

Nursetoteacher wrote: »

I am doing nursing at the moment and I hate it. I have many reasons, starting with the parts the hate the most

5.theres so much legality to nursing. Have to document every move a patient makes
6. I feel people think teaching is a better job

I need your opinions guys because I am in a muddle over it all. I qualify in one month but I am planning on doing primary school teaching when I do qualify in a few months because I am miserable . The reasons I want to do primary school teaching is
1. I love children
2.short hours (yes you have paperwork to do after school, but at least you are not up at 6am in the morning and not home to your family till 10am at night)
3.i can't imagine bullying to be worse than in nursing. It's cruel
4.not as much responsibility (you can't kill someone by teaching them wrong)
5.i feel like you need to be academically smart to be a teacher but not a nurse (people who get 200 points in leavning cert will get into nursing no problem)
6.i feel people think nurses are labour workers and people have more respect for teachers (nursing is a dirty job)
7. You get summers off, Christmas, holidays to spend with your family and go to any weekend social events.
8.its Monday to Friday like most jobs
9 you don't have to work with other staff who may be bullies (they're in different class rooms)

Am I crazy? One day I really want to do teaching. The next I'm on the fence about both careers . Help

Isn't nursing a degree course these days? You have to be academically smart if you want to nurse.

There's also a very good reason why you have to document every move a patient makes. It's called building a medical record/pattern of behaviour. It also covers the medical team (including nurses) in case of problems/queries.

I think you're projecting your own prejudices about your job on to other people. Nursing is poorly paid it's true, but I have never heard of people looking down on nurses - NEVER! Where did you get that from??

Yes - Nursing is a dirty job. Surely you knew this, when you started your course?

My mother was a nurse. Retired many years now, but she and others worked bloody hard to get where they got to. So I find your post somewhat insulting in parts.

TBH, I simply don't understand many of your assertions. I also know a few teachers at home in the UK, both primary and secondary. Trust me, it ain't the cushy number you seem to think it is. Oh - and it's poorly paid for the politics and aggro you get. You get bullies there too, you know. What if you work at a school where the head or senior staff don't like you? Bullies are everywhere. You have to develop a strategy for dealing with them

f you want to teach, then fine. Do it. But don't be putting down the nurses any more.

I hope it works out for you whatever you decide and wish you luck.

MissShihTzu

BTW - some of the parents as well as the kids can make Attila the Hun seem like a teddy bear!

You ready for that, OP?

retro:electro

From your post I feel like you don't really have a passion to teach you're just going down the list, so to speak. You need to have a passion for it to do it and not just because it ticks a few boxes.
I agree with Freshpopcorn, some of the worst bullying I've ever heard of was in the teaching profession.

Also I have to say but your comment about some people getting courses on the back of 200 points is awful. Plc courses are there for a reason and cater to those who have the suitability for the job but for whatever reason the LC didn't work out for them. Very close minded of you- and yet you want to be a teacher?!? Don't become a guidance counsellor anyway!

MissShihTzu

anna080 wrote: »

What about social work? You could easily apply for a masters in social work with a nursing degree, and it's still technically in the caring profession. From your post I feel like you don't really have a passion to teach you're just going down the list, so to speak. You need to have a passion for it to do it and not just because it ticks a few boxes.

I'm not sure social work would be the answer here either. Huge responsibilities, lots of legalese (which the OP doesn't seem comfortable with) and even worse bullies in store.

Maybe child-minding/nursery nursing might be the answer?

Airyfairy12

Theyre crying out for primary school teachers, you can do a masters in education in primary school teaching with any level 8 degree. Make sure your Irish is up to scratch and you're set.

retro:electro

MissShihTzu wrote: »

I'm not sure social work would be the answer here either. Huge responsibilities, lots of legalese (which the OP doesn't seem comfortable with) and even worse bullies in store.

Maybe child-minding/nursery nursing might be the answer?

Agree now that I think if it social work is like 80% paper work these days. Sounds like the op just wants a job she can be in and out of and not carry a load home with her, but I would say that most public sector jobs are scarcely actually ever 9-5, as in, there'll nearly always be something you have to hang around for/bring home with you.

pc7

What about a theatre nurse roll, isn't that more 9-5 Monday to Friday. Very hard get teaching jobs. Why don't you take a few months off when you qualify and think about what you want to do. I don't think teaching is a bed of roses either, can't think of any job that is!

December2012

Have you spoke with a career advisor? Maybe you could ask for this thread to be moved to the teaching forum.

Or what about moving into lab work?

Persephone kindness

You should live your life for you. The happiest people are those who go for their dreams and do what they want. I am starting to realize that. So if you want to be a rockstar do it. If you want to be a teacher DO IT.

Do what makes you happy and Live your life for you!

Nursetoteacher

Kablamo! wrote: »

To be honest it sounds like most jobs.

I can't see most jobs being like this. Most jobs are not 7.45-9.15 shifts . When I tell people I do them shifts they gasp at me.

Nursetoteacher

anna080 wrote: »

From your post I feel like you don't really have a passion to teach you're just going down the list, so to speak. You need to have a passion for it to do it and not just because it ticks a few boxes.
I agree with Freshpopcorn, some of the worst bullying I've ever heard of was in the teaching profession.

Also I have to say but your comment about some people getting courses on the back of 200 points is awful. Plc courses are there for a reason and cater to those who have the suitability for the job but for whatever reason the LC didn't work out for them. Very close minded of you- and yet you want to be a teacher?!? Don't become a guidance counsellor anyway!

Most of the nurses I know around my age (25) were not smart in school they were C, D students . Teachers on the other hand were A,B students

laotg

Do they also gasp at you when they tell you you do three of those shifts a week and have 4 days off?

I jest but you need to consider that aspect too. Plenty of free time there to do what you want on your days off.

Count yourself lucky btw. My wife is a nurse and rarely finishes her shift after 13 hours. More like 15. She really earns her days off but at least they are her days off.

I have teacher friends who have to do work on their days off. No matter how well they plan ahead something always comes up where they end up doing work at home. At least with nursing your work stays in work.

freshpopcorn

Nursetoteacher wrote: »

Most of the nurses I know around my age (25) were not smart in school they were C, D students . Teachers on the other hand were A,B students

You've to stop focusing on school. School is in the past. Theirs loads of people out their teaching in primary schools who did bad leaving cert by your standards. They went off to college and graduated with a level eight degree in something and went to Hibernia to become a primary teacher.

I'm a bit lost by your post to be honest. Do you think because somebody got A & B in their leaving cert their nicer people and won't bully you or is it a class thing?

bee06

freshpopcorn wrote: »

<Snip>

Completely agree. OP, you are making it sound like you want to be a teacher because people will think you are smart and got good grades.

To me, nursing is not a job. It's a calling. It's hard, depressing, soul destroying at times but the nurses I know love it because it's what they are meant to do despite all the challenges. If you don't feel like this then you should move onto something else. The poster who suggested you go get some career advice was spot on. Better to talk to someone now rather than move to teaching and have the same regrets in a couple of years.

Nursetoteacher

laotg wrote: »

Do they also gasp at you when they tell you you do three of those shifts a week and have 4 days off?

I jest but you need to consider that aspect too. Plenty of free time there to do what you want on your days off.

Count yourself lucky btw. My wife is a nurse and rarely finishes her shift after 13 hours. More like 15. She really earns her days off but at least they are her days off.

I have teacher friends who have to do work on their days off. No matter how well they plan ahead something always comes up where they end up doing work at home. At least with nursing your work stays in work.

Not when your days off are spent worrying about going back to work and my god the day before you go back after 4 days off is a day filled with depression. The days you have off you are so tired from your 15 hour days u are able to do nothing.. yes teachers do work long hours planning but do they go to school at 7.30 and stay in the school till 9.30 at night? Not a chance . I don't mind doing the work and long hours AT HOME

Nursetoteacher

laotg wrote: »

Do they also gasp at you when they tell you you do three of those shifts a week and have 4 days off?

I jest but you need to consider that aspect too. Plenty of free time there to do what you want on your days off.

Count yourself lucky btw. My wife is a nurse and rarely finishes her shift after 13 hours. More like 15. She really earns her days off but at least they are her days off.

I have teacher friends who have to do work on their days off. No matter how well they plan ahead something always comes up where they end up doing work at home. At least with nursing your work stays in work.

And for your information it's not only 3 long days. Where I am it's 4 making it DOUBLE the hours a teacher works. Understand teachers work more hours planning etc , but litreally teaching children is less than 6 hrs a day

laotg

Nursetoteacher wrote:

And for your information it's not only 3 long days. Where I am it's 4 making it DOUBLE the hours a teacher works. Understand teachers work more hours planning etc , but litreally teaching children is less than 6 hrs a day

4 x 13 hours is 52 hours. Mandatory overtime?

laotg

Nursetoteacher wrote:

Not when your days off are spent worrying about going back to work and my god the day before you go back after 4 days off is a day filled with depression. The days you have off you are so tired from your 15 hour days u are able to do nothing.. yes teachers do work long hours planning but do they go to school at 7.30 and stay in the school till 9.30 at night? Not a chance . I don't mind doing the work and long hours AT HOME

Im yet to meet anyone who likes to go back to work after a few days off. Im not arguing btw, i just think things need to be weighed up. Clearly if you're THAT anxious about going into work everyday then you're not in the right place. Before taking the plunge though I'd personally maybe try another aspect of nursing. Change of hospital etc could be great for you and maybe you wouldn't be bullied elsewhere. I'd just be cautious about thinking teaching is the antidote to your problem. Even if the work is to your liking you could end up with not so nice colleagues and be back to square one.

Nursetoteacher

laotg wrote: »

4 x 13 hours is 52 hours. Mandatory overtime?

When you take out breaks . People think nurses have it great with all the days off. I spend my days off worrying about going back and recooperating my neck pains from utter tension and stress

Xaracatz

Nursetoteacher wrote: »

Not when your days off are spent worrying about going back to work and my god the day before you go back after 4 days off is a day filled with depression. The days you have off you are so tired from your 15 hour days u are able to do nothing.. yes teachers do work long hours planning but do they go to school at 7.30 and stay in the school till 9.30 at night? Not a chance . I don't mind doing the work and long hours AT HOME

Ah - you seem stressed to bits. When you're dreading going into work, something has to change.

I'd echo what others have said in that teaching isn't necessarily the right path for you (it may be, but who knows) - so it would be good if you could have a talk with some career guidance person and figure out what's the next best step.

I know the frustration of spending ages getting to one career and then it isn't quite the right one. You'll get there though if you keep on working for it. And you're gaining a load of experience in the meantime - hard and soft skills - which will stand to you in the future.

I wish you all the best!

Nursetoteacher

laotg wrote: »

Im yet to meet anyone who likes to go back to work after a few days off. Im not arguing btw, i just think things need to be weighed up. Clearly if you're THAT anxious about going into work everyday then you're not in the right place. Before taking the plunge though I'd personally maybe try another aspect of nursing. Change of hospital etc could be great for you and maybe you wouldn't be bullied elsewhere. I'd just be cautious about thinking teaching is the antidote to your problem. Even if the work is to your liking you could end up with not so nice colleagues and be back to square one.

I wouldn't mind going back if it were a 6 hour day

bee06

Nursetoteacher wrote: »

Not when your days off are spent worrying about going back to work and my god the day before you go back after 4 days off is a day filled with depression. The days you have off you are so tired from your 15 hour days u are able to do nothing.. yes teachers do work long hours planning but do they go to school at 7.30 and stay in the school till 9.30 at night? Not a chance . I don't mind doing the work and long hours AT HOME

Life is way too short to be dealing with this kind of reaction to going somewhere you have to spend so much time. I've been there myself in a previous job and was a mental mess by the time I left. Good luck with whatever you decide anyway.

laotg

Nursetoteacher wrote:

When you take out breaks . People think nurses have it great with all the days off. I spend my days off worrying about going back and recooperating my neck pains from utter tension and stress

Ah okay. You definitely need to get out of there if its affecting you that much. I'll echo previous comments and say a career advice person would be best to speak to.

My wife has her bad days, she has come.home in tears many times but she always tells me that the good outweighs the bad. It's definitely a "calling" rather than a job and some people just aren't suited to it.

laotg

Nursetoteacher wrote:

I wouldn't mind going back if it were a 6 hour day

Do you know any recently qualified teachers? Ask them what the job is like. It's not all mid term breaks and visits to the zoo.

retro:electro

Nursetoteacher wrote: »

Most of the nurses I know around my age (25) were not smart in school they were C, D students . Teachers on the other hand were A,B students

So what? I'm not sure you mean to but you're coming across terribly here. Someone could have gotten a load of C's in their leaving but be the most caring person with the best bed side manner and want to make a difference in the world. Someone could have gotten an A in every subject and have not an ounce of compassion or empathy in them and are in it for the money- sound familiar? Do you think that people who get A's can not be bullies and horrible people?

For someone who wants to be a teacher, your attitude about grades is not very inspiring. You have no clue how the system outside of the LC can help people reach their potential. You sound like the kind of teacher who would box student off as clever and stupid due to their grades. The worst kind of teacher.

Conor Bourke

I'm a nurse, my sister is a teacher.

I loved almost every second of my training. I was one of the first degree intake and while the road was bumpy, I had a ball for the most part. The only time I didn't enjoy was the placement in one particular department where the nurses were notorious for treating students like shït on their shoe. I'm so sorry to hear that where you're training isn't supportive and you're not enjoying it. Unfortunately I couldn't get work in the hospital I trained in after I qualified. I went to another place and hated the time I spent there. 18 solid months of drudgery. I really wondered if I was cut out for an entire career of that and eventually left for something wildly different but still technically nursing. In the end I missed clinical practice so returned to the floor but not in the acute setting. It was a stab in the dark but I finally felt I'd found my niche and have since done my postgrad, gotten a "dream" job in the community.


My sister worked in lots of different schools subbing and when she was doing her dip she would sometimes be in the classroom at 07:30 and still there at 9:15pm working. There were evenings where I even called up to spend an hour or two trying to help her in any way I could. She had plenty of legal work to do, was subject to attempts of intimidation from peers and parents, ended up taking days off sick with stress. She also had much happier days in other schools but I fear that the transition to teaching wouldn't automatically be the walk in the park that you're looking for.

Can I ask why you chose to do nursing if you look down on it with so much disdain. Why didn't you just go straight into primary school teaching? If you have any shred of love for nursing at all, I'd urge you to stick it out for a year and then consider perhaps pursuing Public Health Nursing for example. It gets you out of the ward, no nights or weekends, no long shifts. If it's any consolation, many of my classmates had similar wobbles right before qualifying. It's an intimidating time but if you get any enjoyment from your work at all, I promise you it can and will get better. A friend of mine realised after 2nd year that she just didn't want to be a nurse but she kept going, then did her MSc in Speech Therapy in UL and after a rocky first year post-qualification is after landing a great job in a community setting.

If you hate every single aspect of the job or are so consumed with self-consciousness that the job is somehow beneath you, then I urge you to just walk away once you're qualified. Patients deserve someone who wants to care for them, they and all your colleagues can pick it up off you from a mile away if you're hating being there.

Tom Mann Centuria

I wonder if the OP attitude adds to what they perceive as not very nice colleagues. Clearly doesn't want to be there. Goodness knows what it is about people who think the two job options are Primary School teacher or nurse. If they aren't imaginative or intelligent enough to think outside that narrow box I doubt they'll ever be happy.

alibab

Cornelius Crow wrote: »

I'm a nurse, my sister is a teacher.

I loved almost every second of my training. I was one of the first degree intake and while the road was bumpy, I had a ball for the most part. The only time I didn't enjoy was the placement in one particular department where the nurses were notorious for treating students like shït on their shoe. I'm so sorry to hear that where you're training isn't supportive and you're not enjoying it. Unfortunately I couldn't get work in the hospital I trained in after I qualified. I went to another place and hated the time I spent there. 18 solid months of drudgery. I really wondered if I was cut out for an entire career of that and eventually left for something wildly different but still technically nursing. In the end I missed clinical practice so returned to the floor but not in the acute setting. It was a stab in the dark but I finally felt I'd found my niche and have since done my postgrad, gotten a "dream" job in the community.


My sister worked in lots of different schools subbing and when she was doing her dip she would sometimes be in the classroom at 07:30 and still there at 9:15pm working. There were evenings where I even called up to spend an hour or two trying to help her in any way I could. She had plenty of legal work to do, was subject to attempts of intimidation from peers and parents, ended up taking days off sick with stress. She also had much happier days in other schools but I fear that the transition to teaching wouldn't automatically be the walk in the park that you're looking for.

Can I ask why you chose to do nursing if you look down on it with so much disdain. Why didn't you just go straight into primary school teaching? If you have any shred of love for nursing at all, I'd urge you to stick it out for a year and then consider perhaps pursuing Public Health Nursing for example. It gets you out of the ward, no nights or weekends, no long shifts. If it's any consolation, many of my classmates had similar wobbles right before qualifying. It's an intimidating time but if you get any enjoyment from your work at all, I promise you it can and will get better. A friend of mine realised after 2nd year that she just didn't want to be a nurse but she kept going, then did her MSc in Speech Therapy in UL and after a rocky first year post-qualification is after landing a great job in a community setting.

If you hate every single aspect of the job or are so consumed with self-consciousness that the job is somehow beneath you, then I urge you to just walk away once you're qualified. Patients deserve someone who wants to care for them, they and all your colleagues can pick it up off you from a mile away if you're hating being there.

This is a great post . I came back as I felt I was a little harsh last night and not constructive . The above post explains exactly what I would have like to have said as have a lot of other posters .

If you have any inclination to stay look at postgrads that will give you the work / life balance you want to achieve. There are so many options in nursing. I am 23 years nursing. I am still in the frontline but I do not work nights or weekends and I work 4 days a week with 2 late shifts and 2 early finishes .

If you have no love left for nursing I would advise a complete change but I would not simply jump to teaching I have friends teachers at primary level who are a lot more stressed professionally than I am . I walk out and no work comes home with me but I see them doing extra hours unpaid at home etc . As others have said maybe some career guidance is needed .

After 23 years I still love nursing and there is no other job I would do . I will never be rich but the day I hate it is the day I know to leave .

Nursetoteacher

Unfortunately a lot of this is the fact I am a psychiatric nurse. I have so much respect for general nurses. They have so much skills and so much knowledge. I don't have this. All I can do is talk ****e to mentally unwell individuals and hope 9.15 comes around faster. However I would never do general it is so complicated and I personally wouldn't like it. I essentially cannot save lives. If someone faints in a shopping centre I can not run to assist them because I don't feel I am a nurse everyone thinks I am. Psychiatric nurses shouldn't be called "nurses" because a nurse to me is someone who makes a patient physically well again. People say to me "have I got oedema on my leg" , "what is cancer?", "what's the best antibiotic i should tAke" . When I say "I don't know, I haven't a clue" , they say "and you're supposed to be a nurse". We don't learn these things in psyc nursing

Conor Bourke

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

I wonder if the OP attitude adds to what they perceive as not very nice colleagues. Clearly doesn't want to be there. Goodness knows what it is about people who think the two job options are Primary School teacher or nurse. If they aren't imaginative or intelligent enough to think outside that narrow box I doubt they'll ever be happy.

OP I don't wish to venture into victim-blaming, and I alluded to this in my post but as above, your attitude has a lot to do with how you are received when you work anywhere. If you are giving off the vibe on the wards that it's beneath you/only for non-academic people/you don't want to be there, you can't expect the people who do love the job and have pride in it not to be offended or less than warm towards you.

I'd bet the farm that if you pursue a career in teaching and make it plainly known that you chose it as a (relatively) easy option, or that you're only in it for the time off, you're not exactly going to be getting warm receptions all round in the school staff rooms either.

retro:electro

Nursetoteacher wrote: »

Unfortunately a lot of this is the fact I am a psychiatric nurse. I have so much respect for general nurses. They have so much skills and so much knowledge. I don't have this. All I can do is talk ****e to mentally unwell individuals and hope 9.15 comes around faster. However I would never do general it is so complicated and I personally wouldn't like it. I essentially cannot save lives. If someone faints in a shopping centre I can not run to assist them because I don't feel I am a nurse everyone thinks I am. Psychiatric nurses shouldn't be called "nurses" because a nurse to me is someone who makes a patient physically well again.

Talk sh!te to mentally unwell individuals?
You clearly don't have an ounce of respect for either the profession you're in or the patients you are meant to be caring for. You are right to second guess your suitability for it. Sorry but I wouldn't want someone with your attitude looking after a loved one of mine.
Am thinking this is a wind up. Surely nobody can lack this much self awareness.

Lady is a tramp

Nursetoteacher wrote: »

Unfortunately a lot of this is the fact I am a psychiatric nurse. I have so much respect for general nurses. They have so much skills and so much knowledge. I don't have this. All I can do is talk ****e to mentally unwell individuals and hope 9.15 comes around faster. However I would never do general it is so complicated and I personally wouldn't like it. I essentially cannot save lives. If someone faints in a shopping centre I can not run to assist them because I don't feel I am a nurse everyone thinks I am. Psychiatric nurses shouldn't be called "nurses" because a nurse to me is someone who makes a patient physically well again.

Ah here ... I've had extensive dealing with psychiatric nurses, and I have utmost respect for them, and it involves a hell of a lot more than talking ****e to people.

It definitely sounds like it's not the right career for you, but to be honest I'm not convinced that teaching or anything people-focussed is either.

Scraggs

I think you should see a professional to discuss the stress and anxiety you're experiencing. Addressing that will help you with your future career decisions.

Nursetoteacher

Cornelius Crow wrote: »

OP I don't wish to venture into victim-blaming, and I alluded to this in my post but as above, your attitude has a lot to do with how you are received when you work anywhere. If you are giving off the vibe on the wards that it's beneath you/only for non-academic people/you don't want to be there, you can't expect the people who do love the job and have pride in it not to be offended or less than warm towards you.

I'd bet the farm that if you pursue a career in teaching and make it plainly known that you chose it as a (relatively) easy option, or that you're only in it for the time off, you're not exactly going to be getting warm receptions all round in the school staff rooms either.

I don't give off these vibes at all. I do think nurses are horrendous bullies

Conor Bourke

Nursetoteacher wrote: »

Unfortunately a lot of this is the fact I am a psychiatric nurse. I have so much respect for general nurses. They have so much skills and so much knowledge. I don't have this. All I can do is talk ****e to mentally unwell individuals and hope 9.15 comes around faster. However I would never do general it is so complicated and I personally wouldn't like it. I essentially cannot save lives. If someone faints in a shopping centre I can not run to assist them because I don't feel I am a nurse everyone thinks I am. Psychiatric nurses shouldn't be called "nurses" because a nurse to me is someone who makes a patient physically well again.

Why did you chose to pursue this type of nursing? Not asking to put you down, I'm genuinely curious. If you can look back to why you started and remind yourself of what you hoped to achieve, you might actually be able to regain some focus. There's plenty of non-acute/community nursing within the psychiatric realm, or perhaps you could use the skills you've learned in another similar but less intense setting (a post-grad in OT for example)

The overwhelming feeling I'm getting from your posts is that you want an easy option and you see primary teaching as such but I fear you're being somewhat unrealistic. Instead of desire to work with young people or a thirst for education you're more preoccupied with time off and not killing anyone. Not exactly the inspiring kind of teacher people would hope for to be honest.

Penny Tration

Nursetoteacher wrote: »

Unfortunately a lot of this is the fact I am a psychiatric nurse. I have so much respect for general nurses. They have so much skills and so much knowledge. I don't have this. All I can do is talk ****e to mentally unwell individuals and hope 9.15 comes around faster. However I would never do general it is so complicated and I personally wouldn't like it. I essentially cannot save lives. If someone faints in a shopping centre I can not run to assist them because I don't feel I am a nurse everyone thinks I am. Psychiatric nurses shouldn't be called "nurses" because a nurse to me is someone who makes a patient physically well again. People say to me "have I got oedema on my leg" , "what is cancer?", "what's the best antibiotic i should tAke" . When I say "I don't know, I haven't a clue" , they say "and you're supposed to be a nurse". We don't learn these things in psyc nursing

I don't mean to be harsh in the slightest here, but the utter disdain you show for people with mental illness is shocking and I think for that reason, you should absolutely change career paths.


You say you don't feel like a nurse because you don't fix physical illness - mental illness is still illness, and to imply otherwise is nothing but ignorance.


As for not saving lives - my old psychiatrist saved mine. You may not believe mental illness is as real as physical illness, but many, many people die yearly because of it and to even imagine some people thought they just had to talk ****e to me when I was ill is a horrible thought.

retro:electro

Nursetoteacher wrote: »

I don't give off these vibes at all. I do think nurses are horrendous bullies

That's an awful generalisation, and it's not true.
Tou may work alongside bullies but I have to tell you you're not coming across great yourself here either.