Career Progression In Nursing: Jonathan’s Journey

“After my first step up to a senior role, I was generally confused as to where my nursing was heading or where I could best use my skillset going forward.”

Jonathan talks us through his journey as a Nurse and explains how every step has helped him realise what he has wanted to do next.

Topics Covered In This Article

The Beginning

Exploring The Options

Taking A Different Direction

Dealing With Adversity

A New Challenge

The Present Day

The Beginning

Choosing a career in nursing is both rewarding and tough, however, finding where you fit into the industry can sometimes be a case of trial and error.

Coming up to three and a half years as a qualified Nurse, I’m looking back at my own path and where it might lead now going forward.

I was not one of those people who started life as a student knowing exactly what field of nursing I wanted to work in unlike some of my university classmates.

Progressing through as a Student Nurse I began to improve and learn more knowledge and skills and along the way deciding on fields of nursing I felt would not suit where I wanted to develop as a Nurse.

Exploring The Options

Year two I decided to explore the idea of joining the military and becoming a Nurse within the Army, however due to regulations around Asthma I was preventing from following through with this idea which at the time came as quite a blow.

In January 2018, with only a few months of student life left, I started to apply for jobs, most of which were rotation posts.

I applied and was offered an amazing opportunity of taking up a rotation post in one of my neighbouring trusts however the daily commute was weighing on my mind.

While undertaking my final managerial placement as a year three student, I was offered a job on the ward I was working and after much deliberation decided to stay where I knew the ward and the people working there.

Taking A Different Direction

Even to this day I wonder how my path may have been different has I taken the rotation post but that was the choice I made.

So, I had taken a job as a staff Nurse on my local Trust’s Trauma and Orthopaedic ward.

It was a relatively easy transition for me to make from student to qualified Nurse as I had built up good professional relationships with the staff and had a good understanding of the routines and needs of the ward.

I started on the ward in October 2018 and remained there until August 2020 almost completing two years in my first ever job as a Nurse.

During my time there I was able to develop my skillset largely due to the encouragement of senior staff and in particular the Matron of the department who was always encouraging me to get involved and learn new skills which I am sure has helped me in becoming the Nurse I am today.

My decision to leave was based on the fact that I felt I needed a change and ultimately was looking to take on a more senior role within nursing, as I has been working as a band 5 and having the responsibility of being Nurse in charge and really enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, there was unlikely to be that option within the ward I was working so I needed to look further afield.

After looking at more than one hundred different jobs I decided to apply for a role as homecare Nurse which would involve delivering intravenous medications, taking bloods, and eventually training up to administer chemotherapy treatment in people’s homes.

The job description identified areas that I did not quite meet regarding their requirements however I thought I would apply and see what happened.

I got an interview and was offered the job on the same day with a start day of 1st September 2020.

Dealing With Adversity

Although the role was a huge step up in responsibility the biggest decision was to leave the NHS to join a private company within the industry.

The initial couple of weeks were good however that soon changed as my contract and the actual job developing were very different.

At interview I had been informed of where my work location would be and may involve the occasional visit outside this area to cover the needs of the company.

However, although only covering one county, on a particular day and managed to visit four counties in a twelve-hour shift.

There seemed to be a lack of support and help despite me voicing concerns and I ended up leaving the same month I started.

A New Challenge

After my first step up to a senior role, I was generally confused as to where my nursing was heading or where I could best use my skillset going forward.

When I worked as a staff Nurse, I also worked for NHSP within my local trust working extra shifts to help and earn a little more money.

I decided to make a call to NHSP and explain my situation and determine whether I could go back and work for them while I decided my future.

They were so helpful and getting me through all the paperwork and training days meaning I eventually started working for them towards the end of October 2020.

Working for NHSP has many advantages such as flexibility around working hours, higher pay, and the option to try different areas of work without having to give a full-time commitment.

However, I don’t want to paint a false picture, there are negatives as with any job.

You don’t get sick pay; you can be moved to a different ward than you booked on trust needs/capacity require and you don’t get annual leave.

You do earn holiday hours pro rata to working shifts, but it can take time to build up a good holiday entitlement.

The Present Day

So, fast forwarding to now and I am still working for NHSP and do not have any full-time job, reasons include Covid 19, personal reasons and my own indecision of what I wanted to do.

However, I have become aware of a relatively new role with the ambulance service; Ambulance Nurses.

I have always had a keen interest in pre-hospital care and am now exploring the possibilities of using all my knowledge and skills I have obtained during my time as a registered Nurse and transferring them into the ambulance service.

I am also looking into doing event medics as an ad hoc role to further enhance my cv and broaden my horizons as a healthcare professional.

I have also started to use my knowledge and alongside other course qualifications teach CPR and AEDs to people of the public.

Currently I don’t know exactly where my next full-time job will take me but all I can guarantee is that I will remain in healthcare and hopefully be taking on a more senior role as I do so.

I will also continue in my role as a Nurse ambassador within the NHS to encourage more people to join this wonderful profession.