Anyone gone from clinical nurse to non clinical work

RE: Anyone gone from clinical nurse to non clinical work

kiri Simone — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 19:05:13 GMT

I was also in the same predicament as you prior to the first Lockdown. I got furloughed last March which secretly came as a huge relief and I found I actually preferred life as a housewife. Then when it was time to go back to work after almost 6 months off I couldn't face it so left and started working in a pharmacy. I really struggled to adapt to working in a human pharmacy and I'm still not completely happy now. I feel stuck in all honesty because I became so unhappy nursing and struggled with anxiety, my confidence was so low that I couldn't bare the thought of moving practices. I recently attended an interview for a nursing position, it wasn't something I would have put myself forward for (I have been looking for non-clinical roles and have been getting nowhere) but a recruiter persuaded me to apply. I am scared of accepting the offer but the staff seemed so nice and understanding of my worries. I'm sorry I haven't been of much help.

RE: Anyone gone from clinical nurse to non clinical work

alice456 — Sun, 08 Aug 2021 22:55:07 GMT

Hi, This is a really interesting question and one I hope I can help with. I decided to leave the profession for similar reasons to you and it was a really tough decision to make but overall I could not handle the stress of nursing. I initially got a job as a trainee dental nurse, then moved back to being a veterinary receptionist before moving into the NHS in administration. From there I have worked my way up, due to the opportunities available. I think its really important to be honest about what is important to you, pinpoint exactly what is stressing you out and which parts of the job that you feel you are happy with. The pay was initially slightly less, but as I have become more skilled and experienced I have been able to earn more than I was as an RVN and the potential is there to increase my earnings if I want to. I do also think that being happy in your job does mean more than money though. If you need any advice I would be happy to help. Alice

RE: Anyone gone from clinical nurse to non clinical work

gemma83 — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 11:13:12 GMT

Great thank you for your help

RE: Anyone gone from clinical nurse to non clinical work

Ian M — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 22:44:31 GMT

Some are advertised, and some are through very good networking. I best give you some examples??

Adverts - if you are interested in charity jobs, then check Indeed, Charityjob.co.uk, ADCH, Animal Jobs Direct, Environment Job (used to be called StopDodo). You will need to use keyword searches and be inventive with your keywords. Indeed is by far and away the widest reach of jobs.

Local authority jobs tend to appear on LGJobs.com and Jobsgopublic as well as Indeed.

Networking: I'm the guy who does the humorous immediately after lunch conference presentation that people remember, or frequents the bar so a lot of those connections are really useful. My current role was connected by the owner of a veterinary related business who I knew for about 10 years just from bars at animal welfare conferences before I finally used his company a couple of times a few years ago. When some of his clients were possibly looking for someone, he thought of me and connected me to apply.

When I applied for my role with another charity, then, as now, they had a very rigorous and extremely fair and equal application process. But I had previously served as a volunteer on one of their working groups, so it meant one of the interviewers knew a bit about me, which I don't think led to any bias.... BUT more importantly I knew a whole lot about them which was very relevant to the role and helped me perform at interview.

And Probably one of the most interesting roles I've ever had, started with me doing random keyword googling for specific words, and approaching the charity concerned after something mentioned in a newspaper article about them that suggested they might be looking to recruit. I couldn't even find a secure email so basically managed to find the work address of the trustee board chairman, and email a CV to him through that route. It led to 2 amazing years of work and a lot of friendships.

The only risk with taking this approach is you do, sometimes end up in a brand new role that has not been done before and that means it can be a bit bumpy - for example being the first ever nurse at a rescue centre won't always be smooth sailing if the animal care team and the charity trustees really don't know what the role needs to be, or understands things like S3 and delegation. So those sorts of role are always a risk, I've been both lucky and unlucky.

Does that help?

Ian

RE: Anyone gone from clinical nurse to non clinical work

gemma83 — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 21:49:04 GMT

Hi Ian, how did you find these jobs to apply for? Where their adverts on there website or elsewhere

RE: Anyone gone from clinical nurse to non clinical work

Ian M — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 23:40:32 GMT

Hi Olivia. I was a svn>rvn in charity practice for 10 years before diversifying into management and welfare. I've had all sorts of roles in the animal welfare sector including shelter management, SPCA Inspector and running CP's cat neutering programme. All of these have been still related to animal welfare, in many cases working with animals now and again but not in practice and it's been great TBH. I am currently Executive Director of an animal charity in the Caribbean which is a senior management role but we have our own clinic so I still get to help with management and development of this facility and do things like taking blood and giving pain relief jabs at night sometimes. I'm still an RVN on the register and keep my CPD up to date. I throughly recommend welfare or shelters because unlike teaching, repping, and all the other alternatives, you get to use your training, get to hang out with kittens, and your training gets put to really good use.

RE: Anyone gone from clinical nurse to non clinical work

Sal the 1st — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 14:45:54 GMT

if it helps I have just swapped practices, was a difficult decision as I had been there for 11 yrs - but in the finish new management behaviour made the decision so much easier. I spite of being told I would never find anywhere better I have done exactly that on hours , wage and working conditions. Don't ever be afraid to look around

RE: Anyone gone from clinical nurse to non clinical work

Olivia Coulton — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 13:10:50 GMT

Thank you so much for your insight everyone it has been super helpful! it is hard balance to keep, either stay in profession but take pay cut and or possibly not enjoy it or leave entirely for the time being.

RE: Anyone gone from clinical nurse to non clinical work

Sal the 1st — Sun, 11 Jul 2021 09:14:56 GMT

longest timeI have managed to stay away from nursing has been 9 months. I have trained alongside the nursing in counselling/hypnotherapy/NLP and the plan has always been when my body is too knackered I will swap over to therapy (which means at the minute I am doing two lots of CPD). I find counselling very fulfilling (just doing volunteer shifts various charities currently) but I know others make a decent living from it.

RE: Anyone gone from clinical nurse to non clinical work

Megan Green — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 23:58:33 GMT

I went through this exactly. It is a tough decision to make but not the be all and end all, I promise!

I left the profession altogether and now do something entirely different by retraining. I have remained registered with the RCVS (although must get in some CPD!) and it's a comfort to know that you can fall back into practice if you change your mind. RVN's will always be needed and there are so many other options such as food companies, lab work, charities etc.

I get paid a lot more in my new job but the enjoyment and job satisfaction is far less, you have to weigh up what is best for you! Not to mention I now do shifts, I would reconsider the idea of nightshifts if I were you haha..........

Life is too short.

If you are stressed at the moment and not enjoying your job, what about giving something else a try before it gets too much. But at the same time keeping your options open.

RE: Anyone gone from clinical nurse to non clinical work

Rachel Woodcock — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 17:43:50 GMT

Money isn't everything though! The job satisfaction I now get outweighs the cut in pay. I know not everyone can afford to take a pay cut but I'm so glad I changed to reception

RE: Anyone gone from clinical nurse to non clinical work

Helen Ager — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 11:41:44 GMT

I’m in a similar situation and don’t really know what to do for the best. Certainly veterinary receptionist jobs etc. don’t pay anything like as well. I’m also considering night work but a bit scared by the amount of ECC cases. My friend left nursing to do technical support for lab machines and it worked out for her so you could look into that or sales rep for drug or food company.

RE: Anyone gone from clinical nurse to non clinical work

Rachel Woodcock — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 22:35:14 GMT

I was super stressed around 2 years ago and wasn't enjoying nursing at all. I worked a mixture of days and nights (nights are defo more stressful imo!) and after every shift I'd beat myself up thinking I'd not been able to do a very good job because there wasn't enough time or people to help with the mountain of inpatients.

I've switched to reception and it's the best thing I've ever done and I absolutely love my job now and look forward to going in to work again. I still pay my rcvs fees and keep my cpd up to date so the doors always open in case I ever change my mind and want to give nursing another go. Yes I've taken a paycut but life's way too short to be unhappy and stressed at work! If the pandemic has taught us something it's to appreciate how precious life is!