Job Advice Please!

[Smallpotato]

Any help would be great!

I’m a nurse and my background is ICU. 2020 has been hard, but really hard on me personally. I worked the first COVID wave in ICU, including my own hospital and others in the county. In the summer, my own hospitals ICU unit closed (our A&E was downgraded and therefore no need for an ICU), and I was moved to Theatres recovery department. I’ve enjoyed theatres, however the staff there have given me a hard time as I’m a “ward nurse” and been harassed quite badly (locker broken into, forced into impossible off duty etc). I’ve enjoyed the nursing but not the people so I looked to move jobs.

I’ve been really angry at my Trust; poor decisions mainly and poor attitude towards staff. I secured a role at another Trusts hospital in Theatres there, and handed in my notice a few weeks ago. I chose theatres purely as I’m doing it now, and after this year, it’s been physically and emotionally easy.

Last week I was redeployed at short notice (like 24hrs!) to my Trusts big hospitals ICU unit as the COVID wave has hit again. I’ve been told I’m there until my notice period ends. I have ended up absolutely loving ICU nursing again; the team are great, I’ve settled in well, I’m working with friends... it all seems to be working out well. The ICU sister has offered me a role if I want it.

I feel like I’m stuck in a dilemma. The pros of leaving is a fresh start in a more acclaimed Trust which has better progression, but the cons are that I will be working in an area which I’m not in love with in and I’m giving up benefits to go there such as my lease car.

help :-(

 

[Bobbleowl90]

Leave. You can get a new car with your new Trust. No job is worth it if it’s making you so unhappy.

 

[Onthehop]

Personally I would stay where I am in ICU. As you say you’re enjoying it, working with friends etc. Give it a go and reconsider later in the year.

 

[Bobbleowl90]

Leave. You can get a new car with your new Trust. No job is worth it if it’s making you so unhappy.

Sorry just read you’ve been offered a role in ICU - I’d take that so long as it’s permanent.

 

[Kim Mild]

I would stay for now . Good , experienced icu nurses are especially valuable at the moment .

It seemed like the problem in the theatre was your colleagues.

You may want to progress in your career, so I would keep an eye out for opportunities, whether in your trust or elsewhere.

 

[Smallpotato]

Sorry just read you’ve been offered a role in ICU - I’d take that so long as it’s permanent.

it is, I’m not a risk taker at all so when they offered me a role I was all “is it substantive???????”

I would stay for now . Good , experienced icu nurses are especially valuable at the moment .

It seemed like the problem in the theatre was your colleagues.

You may want to progress in your career, so I would keep an eye out for opportunities, whether in your trust or elsewhere.

it definitely was. I’m a band 6 icu nurse educator, and they would just call me “ward nurse”

 

[Belulah]

I would stay- you enjoyed your time in theatre but ICU seems to be your true passion.

 

[Lovebugx]

As you worked in the first wave of this nightmare in ICU
if I was you , I'd go for the new position and have a break , then perhaps look at other ICU openings .
Best of luck though , were on our knees where I work at the moment

 

[Smallpotato]

As you worked in the first wave of this nightmare in ICU
if I was you , I'd go for the new position and have a break , then perhaps look at other ICU openings .
Best of luck though , were on our knees where I work at the moment

part of the reason why I went to theatres is that my mental health was shocked by May/June time. When my unit closed I was offered to go to theatres or the ICU I’m at now. I took theatres for healing, but the staff were/are horrible. I worked 5 LDs before I was moved

Are you icu too?

 

[LennyBriscoe]

I don’t have any advice other than go with what makes you happy (if you’re unhappy in work it’s really not good) but I just want to say, I really hate people sometimes! The worst and hardest time known to the NHS and people still have the time and desire to harass a colleague. Appalling

Good luck with whatever you decide

 

[Smallpotato]

I don’t have any advice other than go with what makes you happy (if you’re unhappy in work it’s really not good) but I just want to say, I really hate people sometimes! The worst and hardest time known to the NHS and people still have the time and desire to harass a colleague. Appalling

Good luck with whatever you decide

honestly these grown women have made my life hell. I had my appraisal in which my manager said they can see the bullying “but they can’t do anything” okay hun sure

 

[Ohflogoff]

Take the job where arseholes don’t break into your locker. Sounds hideous - like high school bullying.

 

[Lovebugx]

part of the reason why I went to theatres is that my mental health was shocked by May/June time. When my unit closed I was offered to go to theatres or the ICU I’m at now. I took theatres for healing, but the staff were/are horrible. I worked 5 LDs before I was moved

Are you icu too?

No, I've been working in a nursing home for 3 years , I really do love it . I take my hat of to all of you working in hospitals especially ICU.
We have been extreamly lucky where I work up untill now we've managed to remain covid free. We have been taking a lot of paitients from the local hospitals because they're so over capacity. The inevitable has happened and we've had an outbreak of paitients and staff so were operating with pretty dangerously low levels of staff , everyone is exhausted. Were a nursing and dementia home and trying to contain it with demntia paitients is just not possible. My heart breaks every day I go into work at the moment
One this I will say about my colleagues is we pull together when it gets hard and try and support one another , so I can't imagine how much of burden that must have been for you going in to work feeling like it was you Vs them . I think I'd go for a fresh start , and if you miss ICU that much see what there is on offer

 

[Smallpotato]

Take the job where arseholes don’t break into your locker. Sounds hideous - like high school bullying.

my underwear was all on the floor as apparently “I was in someone’s locker”

how come I have the key??

 

[Ohflogoff]

my underwear was all on the floor as apparently “I was in someone’s locker”

how come I have the key??

This is so tit. I’m sorry you had to experience that nasty school girl behaviour. Good riddance.
I mean, I get you are all probably hanging by a thread and I can’t even imagine what you all witness and experience daily in your jobs, but there’s no need for that.

 

[Clickbait]

honestly these grown women have made my life hell. I had my appraisal in which my manager said they can see the bullying “but they can’t do anything” okay hun sure

Just wanted to say as a fellow NHS worker, I’m so sorry that you’ve experienced that. Sadly I’ve found that some people (managers, HR etc.) are too spineless to tackle bullying in organisations or see themselves as aligned to the organisation’s ‘best interests’ which is not to rock the boat. Actually the best interests of the organisation is to stamp out this behaviour, get rid of bullies and ensure they are not given a glowing reference (the other thing that is done to ‘fix’ a situation) so they become another team or organisation’s problem.

Once you are settled in the new team (defo think you should move) and you have a bit more resilience I’d recommend you give some thought to putting an official complaint on record. This means it could be on file to back up someone else should they join the team and go through something similar. I do appreciate you may want to put it all behind you and that is understandable. I just know that bullies like that keep on repeating the same behaviours particularly when they think they’ve got away with it.

 

[Hope77]

If its permanent and you are happy then I'd stay - if you find you want to move on in the future you can, but you know you enjoy this job and get on well with colleagues - this is what really makes a job! To enjoy a job is something a lot of people don't find so I'd say stay where you are happy (And thank you for all your work, must be pretty tough at the moment )