During my clinic one day, I recall feeling mildly insulted when an ageing patient was surprised to learn that nurses are required to attend universities for their education. I remember thinking to myself , it was not by sheer luck that I was in my role, it was years of study and learning. Some while later it dawned on me how nursing has changed, the more we have learnt about health and medicine over the last few decades, nursing has had to adapt with it, including the level of education. Nurses were only taught in universities since the late 1980’s (before I was born) it was not until 2002 that nurses could prescribe their own medication (as I commenced high school) and it was not until 2009 that nurses were educated at degree level (as I entered university).
Nursing education has been a journey, that has intertwined with my own journey. I’ve been in this gig for about 10 years now, before I entered healthcare, I really wanted to be a journalist. I loved writing, and researching facts, and was so set on this goal that I had selected my college education based on the idea that this was where I was heading. Somewhere and somehow, this did not transpire, unsurprisingly, as making career decision at the young age of 16 is not exactly wise.
I was ambitious enough to know that I wanted more than my waitressing role at the local pub, and had decided I would look for a job as an office administrator. I envisaged myself chatting away on the phone (I was good at talking) and I liked the idea of my acrylic nails going tap, tap, tapping on the keyboard as I would frantically type important stuff.
There was an advertisement for an apprenticeship reception position in a GP surgery, the pay was terrible, but it meant I could complete a qualification alongside working, so I went for that. It turned out to be a good move, you might even say life changing, as this swayed me in a completely different direction. At 17 years old, I had a lot to learn, and looking back now, it was a huge responsibility for a young person, I had access to thousands of pieces of confidential data and held the keys to the public in their ability to reach a healthcare professional. I loved it! The team that I worked with were wonderfully kind.
For the first time, I found myself fascinated by the nurses working there, all the skills and knowledge they possessed blew my young mind. The doctors were great, don’t mistake me, but I loved that nurses could equally prescribe medicines, I loved the diversity of the role, I was so enthused by them, I found myself sitting around the family dinner table, talking about what I was observing. My mum, being an awesome mum, really encouraged me to take a role at the local community hospital as a Healthcare Assistant (Nurse’s Aide/ Auxiliary Nurse). At first, I was a bit reluctant having no experience, but finally I applied.
At the Hospital, the Sister in charge conducted the interview, it was reasonably short, I remember her looking me up and down, I was wearing false eyelashes, fake nails, fake tan, everything all a bit fake, with lots of makeup on. Hardly the sort of impression she was expecting of a budding nurse. After studying me for a couple of moments, I think she may have even sighed at the sight of me, or at least she might as well of. “Look,” She said, “if you are willing to remove all the nails, and make up, then there is a role here for you”. And that was it- A journey began.
I will tell you now, that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I sometimes feel like that now, when I look around for the more nursier nurse, the senior one, then I realise as of present day, that that is me. Luckily for me, back then, I shadowed a woman who’s name completely escapes me, but I remember how she looked. She was a stout woman, short hair, and probably in her late 40’s. She gave me a 5-day induction inside the hospital before I was left to my own devises.
On day 1, I had turned up at the early shift, it started around 7am, so I ensured I was there a little before that. The woman supervising me had be talking with hushed tones to another colleague before approaching me. “Stephanie”, she began “Have you ever seen a dead body before? Maybe a relative?” I had not. “One of the patients has died. About an hour or so ago. The night staff have not had the time to see to the body, I wondered how you felt about assisting me to perform the last offices?”. Last offices, or laying out of the body, is an incredibly respectful practice of caring for the body after death, which usually includes cleaning, dressing, and positioning the body ready to be transported to the funeral directors. Of course, back then I had no idea what that entailed and simply replied “okay”.
Despite an unusual first day, it had not put me off, and after another 8 months at the community Hospital, I applied to do the Diploma of Higher Education in Adult Nursing. At the time, the Degree program was new and not very popular, the Diploma was fully funded by the Government, meaning I could study without incurring lots of tuition fees. I recall so little of my student nursing days because it was so hectic. We spent 7 weeks inside the hospitals and clinics, trying to grasp what felt like this mystifying world, followed by 7 weeks in the university having lectures and seminar all day, every day. We were required to write assignment after assignment and perform in assessments at least once a year.
For the first year, I was completely bewildered, but gratified with all that I learnt. By the second year, I thought I knew stuff, I had made it through a whole year after all, but rarely understood how to apply my newfound knowledge into practice. Knowing the statistical data of the prognosis of lung cancer off by heart was very little use on my respiratory ward placement. Instead, what I took from that ward was that holding the hand of the person dying of lung cancer, to ensure they would not die alone, was far more important. By the third year, I had accepted that I knew very little in the grand scale of things, there was so much more to continue learning, and I was eager to have it all, I spent much more time with my head in books and research papers. There was little time to rest, or even to pause, then finally I qualified in the summer, still feeling like I knew more than I did but not enough to enter the world of a registered nurse. I was ready whilst still being so unprepared.
I proceeded to register with the nursing and midwifery council, a professional body that protects the public by enforcing standards upon nurses. I took my first role on a nursing district team, visiting those at home. The first 12 months of my career I really learnt at a speed like never before! I encountered porta catheters for chemotherapy for the first time, inserted Catheters into the bladder without a mentor to guide me, and did post-graduation courses in blood sampling, wound care compression therapy, and intravenous drug therapy. I worked with a team of fantastic nurses (many who I call my friends today) and we worked hard, often visiting 30 homes in a single day, it was unrelenting and constantly busy.
After 2 years, I left the Nursing team on the district and I ventured into many other roles in the years that followed, maintaining my place as a community nurse. One of my favourite positions was as a General practice nurse in GP surgeries, the same nurses that had inspired me 10 years before.
The passion for nursing becomes addictive, despite the work being exhausting both physically and mentally. You are constantly analysing and assessing often complex situations, while on your feet all day. No time to pee, no time to drink. The demand is huge, patients often vulnerable and relying on your abilities. Your feet will hurt. Your brain will ache. Yet you will go back and do it all again the next day because its somehow still so satisfying.
Today, all nurses are required to have a degree, and I welcome this, with the view that nurses are not the handmaids of the doctor, but autonomous practitioners in their own rights, who call upon their own knowledge and expertise to help shape the care of patients. To do so, they are required to be educated to a much higher level than ever before, the skills they perform are far too advanced in today’s modern healthcare system to be anything but highly educated. Many have poopooed this idea away, saying it will scare off those who have the other qualities of a good nurse ,such as caring, empathy and kindness, but who are not academic enough to complete the course. I disagree, everyone can be taught, but its hard work, that requires a huge commitment both emotionally and financially. Those that possess these nursing attributes would be perfectly suited to health care assistant roles. These are much needed to bridge the gaps in care provided.
More recently, the introduction of the nursing associate saw a position arise that sat between a health care assistant and a registered nurse, which provides another opportunity to progress into nursing, without perhaps such a large commitment of the 3 years degree programme, and often is fully funded for those who put off the higher education due to cost implications.
I do not feel educating nurses contributes to the nursing shortage, it only makes care safer and more efficient, what is probably more realistic is that there is a shortage of degree level professionals who are willing to work for much less than the national average salary. Especially when they have forked out over £ 14,000 in tuition fees (not including accommodation, books, and other equipment) to study to become a nurse in the first place (not to mention that they will continue to pay £120 a year to maintain their nursing registration for as long as they practice). There is also a shortage of those who will put themselves through a gruelling and hard level of study to be undervalued in their role.
Despite this, anyone looking for a lifelong career that will bring great job satisfaction, diversity in your role, and opportunities to progress and develop, then a Nursing career is waiting for you.
Growing Nurses 