Changing Peoples Lives by becoming a Nurse
A career in Nursing is a challenging yet rewarding one. There are many benefits to nursing, one of the greatest feelings you could have is knowing that you have helped change someone’s life for the better whilst in your care. Not only will you be able to put the skills you have been taught into practice, there are many areas of nursing in which you could pursue, whether it is in a hospital, clinic or doctors practice. The role does have its downfalls, with long hours and short staffing, but these downfalls are easily out weighed by the satisfaction you get of helping improve peoples lives on a daily basis. There are a high number of jobs in nursing available, so it is up to you to find the right one for you.
The requirements to land a job in nursing within the UK
There are currently an approximate of 660,000 registered nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom, and to this day, there are still hundreds (if not thousands) of nursing jobs available. Just as anywhere else in the world (or even more so,) one cannot simply declare oneself a “registered nurse” in the United Kingdom. To be considered a registered nurse, one must be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), which would come with a number of requirements and responsibilities.
Becoming a Nurse in the UK
To become a nurse in the UK, one must have a degree in pre-registration nursing, and as mentioned above, be registered with the NMC. There are four branches of Nursing being adult, children (or paediatric), learning disability and mental health. However, there are some universities that offer dual-branch courses wherein one can study two branches of nursing stated above at the same time. An example of this would be the combination of adult nursing and mental health nursing. Clinical placement is usually applied to nursing students during the course to allow them to learn from experience. In this stage, a student would be placed in an actual hospital or health institutions to practice and gain hands-on experience with the job.
The NMC’s role in the field of Nursing and Midwifery in the United Kingdom is mainly regulating the nursing workforce and setting standards for nurses and midwives to ensure quality service and well-being of the public. The NMC also ensures the public’s safety by guiding nurses and midwives to proper practices, offering trainings to hone skills and regularly educating its members.
Nurse’s pay-grade and income
As for the pay, as a nurse, there are two criteria as to how one is paid. Clinical grading is one of the methods, wherein nurses are “graded” between A and I. Nurses graded A are usually the most junior while nurses graded I are the most senior. Thus, clinical grading has become the basis of a nurse’s status in the UK.
On the other hand, Agenda for Change system offers a less traditional view to how nurses should be rewarded. It identifies nurses’ positions and responsibilities, separate them into brackets or bands, and pay them according to the bands. The lowest band which is band 1 would pay its members £13,653 – £14,364 annually while the highest band (band 9) members would receive an annual sum of £77,079 – £97,478. In this sense, the nurses are paid equal to the value of their work instead of according to seniority, which some may perceive as a bit too traditional. Agenda for Change system is now being implemented in the most part of the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom offers a large volume of opening jobs in nursing for registered nurses and other clinical support professionals. One may seek applications over the internet, job postings from the National Health Service, or directly from hospitals of choice.
Being a nurse does not only offer financial stability, but also the fulfillment of being able to help others who are in need of help and support.
Social Nursing Care 