Why You Should Think Of Working As A Nurse In Social Care

Keynote speaker, and British Care Award Winner, Ian Donaghy, talks to Nurses working in Social Care on how they began their careers, and what makes the job so special.

Topics covered in this article

I Wasn't Going To Be A Nurse, I Was Going To Be A Police Officer

What About Nursing Associates?

I Have To Be A Different Nurse With Every Different Person I See

Not All Nurses Wear Uniform.

I Wasn't Going To Be A Nurse, I Was Going To Be A Police Officer

“I wasn't going to be a Nurse. I was going to be a police officer, but I was only five foot six. So I've been a nurse for 40 years and around me now I've got an amazing team of Nurses. And we can grow our own.”

“I trained as a Nurse and then I was a mom. And then I went to work as a postie, and lots of people kept telling me Maddie, you're a Nurse.”

“I started working with people with learning difficulties when I was about 13 years old, I just came in and talked to people. It just feels natural.”

“I got offered a college placement to go to a nursing home to look after the elderly. Nobody in the class wants to go. I said I'll try it and I am still there 20 years later.”

“I came into care with nothing. No qualifications, never worked at a nursing home. I learnt on the job.”

“I was a hairdresser, dancer and did drama. I was not going to be a Nurse.”

“I went from being a Care Assistant to do my Nurse training, to be a Senior Nurse. And to now be in a Clinical Lead Nurse, managing a team of Nurses, looking after young adults with disabilities.”

“When we see potential in our care staff, we support them to become our Nursing Associates and Nurses.”

What About Nursing Associates?

“So, what is the Nursing Associates role? Where are the bridge between Care Assistants and Registered Nurses. And we can use our knowledge of both to promote real quality of life.”

“There's an extra layer of communication, understanding, belief.”

“With the knowledge that we've been given, we're here to make a difference to the people that we care for.”

“I hope I make a difference in somebody's life every day.”

“The decisions that I make daily enhance people's quality of life.”

“So there's nothing better than making somebody's day. Getting that smile that laugh, that flicker in their eye.”

“I get paid in smiles every single day.”“They look after you like you were one of their own family. They do everything that you want doing.”

“He may feel a lifetime older than me, but we have that connection between each other. And that same heart that beat in them at 20 is still beating in them now.”

“The Nurses make a vast difference. They're a great asset to the place. They will do anything to help you.”

"We just bounce off each other. We support each other, troubleshoot, but have fun at the same time.”

“Not only do you look after the people that we care for, but we look after each other.”

“The joy of this job is that everybody learns something from everybody, every single day.”

“I care about them as individuals. I know their family background, I know that previous occupations, I can talk to them about the holidays that they enjoy.”

“Making those people feel safe in that nice circle of security. It's better for them, it's better for us because we're not having to take them to hospital every time a crisis arises.”

“Knowing and understanding the people we support gives us the ability to make the best decisions by working closely as part of a multidisciplinary team of GPs and other healthcare professionals in the community.”

“My previous experiences, 22 years, working in the NHS and I've brought all of those skills with me into the care home setting.”

“It's about bringing the clinical side and the emotional side together. Using our clinical expertise with the people we are experts in.”

“You get and I get a fantastic value from that personal relationship.”

“They are my family and I want to be here for them.”

“I know what's right with them and I know what's wrong with them. And I know how to get the best out of them.”

“Which is why I love my job and why I love being a Nursing associate."

I Have To Be A Different Nurse With Every Different Person I See

“I am not just one Nurse. I have to be a different Nurse with every different person I see."

“Some people will need to be more tactile; some people need to be more formal. I have to adapt myself to each different person from what they want from me.”

“Lots of people say, Oh, you've retired, you're not a Nurse anymore, it's a soft option, easy life, wrong.”“I haven't come here to take it easy.”

“It's not just dishing out paracetamol and making cups of tea every day.”

“We use the full gambit of our clinical expertise every single day to look after to people with really complex medical needs.”

“And as well as that, we also make the tea.”

“What we do is not just nursing in social care, it's nursing. Some days, this job hurts.”

“But sometimes it's good to hurt because he shows that it matters.”

“And they care where their hearts and I'm so grateful they are absolutely first class.”

Not All Nurses Wear Uniform.

“And my mom says only ruffians and sailors have tattoos.”

"It doesn't matter if you work in a hospital, the community or the care home.”

“We're all part of the same team. And we're all kicking the same way.”

“Nursing is not a job, it's the way of life.”

“It's about being there at four o'clock in the morning, it's about being there at dinner time, it's about being there at night time. It's about them being heard.”

“For me, nursing is all about being the best person that I can be to help other people be the best person they can be.”

“I used to have a spanner in my hand every day as a mechanic, I never thought I could do this.”

“It's not just care, it's our career.”

“So we need people with the skills and the character that maybe don't realise are great and amazing they can be to be tomorrow's Nurses.”

“And if you've not thought about nursing in social care, think about it.”

“So why me? Why not me?”

“You can train on the job earn while you learn through the apprenticeship scheme.”

“I'm proud to work in social care.”

“I'm proud to be a Nurse.”

“I love it when people ask what I do, because I can say I'm a nurse and I thoroughly enjoy it. I love being a nurse."

“I'd been a rubbish police officer.”

“These are the things I love, not just giving out tablets.”

Let me know in the comments your thoughts on becoming a Nurse in Social Care and the video above - let's chat there!

Oh, and please Like this article to let me know you enjoyed it - thank you!