Working In Health and Social Care

Leanne Ho

Working In Health and Social Care

A - Introduction

For this assignment I have been asked to research two contrasting job roles. The two roles I have chosen to research are an Accident and Emergency Children’s Nurse and an Occupational Therapist. I chose to research these as I would like to work in A+E nursing once I’m qualified and I thought it would be good to get a valuable insight to how this type of ward operates. With the Occupational Therapist I was interested to research this to find out more about it as it’s not an everyday job you hear about on the news, whereas nursing is.

A+E Children’s Nurse

This branch does not just involve nursing what people might think are “miniature adults”. Children have needs different from most adults and as they are children, they have different ways of letting someone know what is wrong with them.

Sector

A+E nurses usually work within the statutory sector and may sometimes work in the private sector, but the majority work in the public sector. They are employed by the NHS who are funded by the taxpayer and managed by the Government. The NHS is the responsibility of the Department of Health which provides health services for the public through the NHS.

http://www.nhs.uk/England/AboutTheNhs/History/Default.cmsx

Role of an A+E Children’s Nurse

To be successful in this role it is important to have various skills that will enable a nurse to face challenges that need key elements such as family care and support. As an A+E children’s nurse, most of the time the nurse will be dealing with distressed children and their relatives. This means there are going to be special demands that the nurse will have to exceed. The ability to interpret behaviour and reactions from young children is going to be a key factor in delivering effective care for patients. Because there will be many distressed parents on an A+E ward, it is important that the nurse shows intuition and immense reassuring abilities.

Typical work activities will vary according to the role, but they can include:

observing patients and reporting any changes in their condition
preparing patients for operations
keeping accurate records of patient’s observations such as pulse and blood pressure;
monitoring different functions of the body such as respiration
preparing materials such as blood transfusions and drips
maintaining and checking intravenous infusion
drug and injection administration
assisting with tests and evaluations
acting quickly during emergencies
implementation of regular investigations
gaining responsible adult’s consent for treatment
giving support, advice, reassurance and education to patients and close relatives
teaching skills to junior nurses and, occasionally, to junior doctors
organising staff and workload to ensure shift cover, possibly across more than one ward
engaging in and promoting multidisciplinary teamwork, including working alongside specialist doctors, health visitors, social workers, radiographers and physiotherapists
observing strict hygiene and safety rules and ensuring that visitors also observe any rules on the ward or unit
writing reports before completing a shift.

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Explore_types_of_jobs/Types_of_Job/p!eipaL?state=showocc&idno=185&pageno=1

Status

The level of public approval in this job role is above average. Nurses are there to keep you well and nurse you back to health. They play an important role in every day life. The public subconsciously know that if anything happened to them there will be a nurse there to nurse them back to health. This is obviously going to raise public approval and status of the job.

There are two routes to becoming a nurse, one being a degree course and the other a diploma course which is slowly being phased out. By April 2007, many Universities will not offer the diploma option. Qualifications needed to study at degree level are 5 GCSE’s at grade A*-C including Maths and English, 200 UCAS points at A2 level and the applicant has to be over 17.5 years. The course is a 3 years full time course and at the end the student is able to be registered as a professional nurse.

Career progression opportunities within this job are extremely high. If the degree course was taken at University, the individual can climb the career ladder much quicker into a managerial position than someone who has studied on the diploma course.

Career development is structured and, after qualification and with experience, there are opportunities to specialise in hospital and community areas such as burns and plastics, intensive care, cancer care, child protection, ambulatory care, asthma, fractures, diabetes, care of the new-born, learning disabilities, counselling, and challenging behaviour.

As with other branches of nursing, there are opportunities to progress your career in management, clinical specialisms, teaching, research or in a community-based role, for instance as a school nurse, practice nurse, occupational health nurse or health visitor.

Many changes have been taking place within The National Health Service (NHS), with new opportunities arising. For example, NHS Direct, the national, nurse-led telephone helpline, offers flexible opportunities outside hospital settings to nurses with post-registration experience. The first wave of new nurse consultant posts will soon be established across a wide range of services. Nurse consultants spend much of their time working directly with patients, but they are also responsible for developing personal practice, are involved in research and contribute to education, training and development.

All nurses have a managerial element to their work, but some career paths are more management-orientated than others. As you become more senior, you can expect to have less hands-on nursing responsibility. For example, ward management may lead to managing a clinical unit and, in the future, to executive posts within a trust.

Outside the NHS, opportunities for experienced practitioners can be found in private healthcare organisations, social services, voluntary organisations, residential nursing homes and in health services overseas, both in paid and voluntary capacities.

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Explore_types_of_jobs/Types_of_Job/p!eipaL?state=showocc&idno=185&pageno=5

Due to less and less nurses being needed these days, as I mentioned earlier, the Diploma route is being phased out so it is going to be harder for people to train as they can only go through the Degree course, therefore lowering the amount of registered nurses coming out at the end of 3 years. There tend to be fewer job opportunities in rural areas compared to those in large cities. In areas which are primarily home to many older people than young, there will be many opportunities for working with elderly people.

Levels of resourcing can have a significant impact on the availability of jobs and on working conditions. Different political parties usually have contrasting attitudes and views to services provisions. For example, Labour governments and Labour-controlled councils have a history of providing more funding for health, social services and education, compared with Conservative ones, which have a history of spending lesson public services in order to reduce national and local taxation. A reduction in spending on public services tends to lead to fewer employment opportunities in health and social care as well as to more difficult working conditions.

A2 Health and Social Care, Oxfordshire: Philip Allan Updates, 2006

Conditions

Pay

Salaries are either based on the amount of hours worked, or at an hourly rate. Workers in higher positions tend to earn more than people that don’t have a senior position. For people who work in the NHS, they were introduced to a new pay structure in 2004. This is called the Agenda for Change. By the end of 2006 all NHS funded institutions will be expected to have their staff on the Agenda for Change.

Pay for newly qualified nurses are around £19,000. Range of typical salaries at senior level/with experience varies greatly, depending upon skills acquired and responsibilities of the post. Most experienced nurses will be working in Band 6 or 7, with salaries ranging from £27,000 to well over £30,000. Additional qualifications and experience may enhance salary and promotion prospects. Extra payments may be available for staff working at particular times or in high cost areas.

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Explore_types_of_jobs/Types_of_Job/p!eipaL?state=showocc&idno=185&pageno=2

Agenda for Change assimilates staff to a new salary according to an evaluation of their job weight under an NHS Job Evaluation Scheme. There are nine new numbered pay bands subdivided into points, similar to the old alphabetic Whitley Council 'grades' pay scales. A set of national job profiles has been agreed to assist in the process of matching posts to pay bands. All staff will either be matched to a national job profile, or their job will be evaluated locally.

Under AfC, all staff will have annual development reviews against the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF). Normal ...

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http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Explore_types_of_jobs/Types_of_Job/p!eipaL?state=showocc&idno=185&pageno=2

Under AfC, all staff will have annual development reviews against the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF). Normal pay progression is one point a year, but pay progression at specified 'gateway' points in each pay band will depend on how the individual matches the KSF outline for their post.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agenda_for_change

Hours of work

Full time employees typically work for around 40 hours per week. Part time employees usually work no more than 20 hours per week. Nurses work shift hours and regularly unsociable hours. There are obviously more opportunities for regular hours in community or specialised areas of work. Part-time, term-time and job-share arrangements have become more common and career breaks can often be taken. Freelance and agency nursing is a possibility

Opportunities for overtime

There are always opportunities for overtime within this job role. It might be that they need you on another ward due to sickness of another staff member. Or for an accident and emergency nurse, they might be asked to stay on for a few more hours if the A+E department becomes busier.

Pension arrangements

Every new employee automatically becomes a member of the NHS Pension Scheme and will get an excellent package of pension benefits, fully protected against inflation and guaranteed by the government. The pension scheme is currently under review. A pension is made up of contributions from the employer and the employee.

Holidays

The basic amount of holiday entitlement is 27 days and after 10 years rises to 33 days, which doesn’t include general public holidays. Typically, holiday entitlement increases depending on length of service.

Job security

With any job comes the chance of being physically or verbally assaulted, as does the chance of being made redundant. There is always a higher chance of being assaulted while working on an A+E ward. There are two types of contracts which are permanent and temporary. Obviously the permanent contract is more secure than the temporary contract.

Anti-discriminatory practice

Anti-discrimination legislation requires employers not to discriminate on the basis of sex, race or disability when recruiting workers in working conditions. Companies usually offer interviews to a range of people. They also offer arrangements to be made for wheelchair users. Males and females who are at the same level and do similar work are usually on the same pay band and are offered equivalent opportunities for training and promotion.

Presence of stressors

Stressors are what contribute towards a person feeling stressed. They can most certainly be present in most jobs but in an A+E department I think that there are going to be more chances of feeling stressed. Nursing can be physically and emotionally stressful, which requires the ability to manage stress and help others to manage their own feelings. Whether this is down to being busy, staff shortage or not feeling that you are supported in your job role, it is physically and mentally grinding, which can effect how a person works. If an employee is looking after vulnerable people or someone who is in an intensive care unit, this can contribute to them feeling stressed outside of work as they may feel guilt and anxiety and maybe constantly worried about them.

Job satisfaction

Client outcomes effect whether this job role is satisfying. In an A+E ward, the nurse is on hand to handle any emergency situations and to stabilise a client. From then the client is then moved to another ward to recover. Satisfaction maybe sought through seeing a minor emergency client walk out of hospital free of pain and healthy.

Feedback

For any company it is necessary to give the public a way of telling how things can be improved or if they want to give compliments. This way the company can receive feedback and either better their services they provide or they can receive compliments therefore giving them an overall moral boost. This can also add to job satisfaction.

Level of responsibility

Within an A+E unit, the amount of responsibility that a person carries is high. They may be working or leading a team but each and every person will have some level of responsibility. Obviously a person co-ordinating a trauma unit will have more responsibility than that of a person on the team. Triage workers have a high level of responsibility as it is up to them who are at high risk of fatality and to prioritise care as per the colour guide of minor to major accidents.

Autonomy

Autonomy differs within an A+E ward. A band 5 nurse will have more autonomy than a healthcare assistant as there are some actions that healthcare assistants don’t have the authority to do such as intravenous needles, whereas the nurse is able to carry out this procedure. But autonomous decisions are always in best interest of the patient.

Social Factors

For some people, work is satisfying because there are chances to meet new people and clients. Within an A+E ward, there are new and different clients everyday. Social contact therefore is moderate as they can’t build relationships with these people as they are in and then usually referred to a different ward. Social contact with colleagues depends if you share the same shift each week, which means there are chances to build a friendship.

Nursing and Midwifery Council

All UK nurses are registered and regulated by the NMC. They have to re-register every year, which has been in effect from the beginning of 2006. They have to demonstrate that they have continued professional development for 35 hours in the last 3 years and within the last 5 years, 750 hours of nursing practice. The register has been split into 3 parts, those being,

Nurse
Midwife
Specialist community public health nurses

There are also sub-parts that the nurse or midwife is registered to practice in.

A Registered Sick Children’s Nurse (RSCN) is on the nurse part of the NMC.

“The NMC protects the public from registrants whose fitness to practice is impaired and whose situation cannot be managed locally.”

http://www.nmc-uk.org/aArticle.aspx?ArticleID=1538

Below is a fee summary of how much the NMC charges to register as a qualified nurse including renewal fees, overseas and registrable qualifications.

http://www.nmc-uk.org/aArticle.aspx?ArticleID=54

Royal College of Nursing

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a membership organisation with over 395,000 members in the United Kingdom. The RCN represents nurses and nursing, promotes excellence in practice and shapes health policies.

Their mission is to:

Represent nurses and nursing and be their voice, locally, nationally and internationally
Influence and lobby governments and others to develop and implement policy that improves the quality of patient care, and builds on the importance of nurses, health care assistants and nursing students to health outcomes
Support and protect the value of nurses and nursing staff in all their diversity, their terms and conditions of employment in all employment sectors and the interests of nurses professionally
Develop and educate nurses professionally and academically, building our resource of professional expertise and leadership and also develop the science and art of nursing and its professional practice
Build a sustainable, member led, organisation with the capacity to deliver our mission effectively, efficiently and in accordance with our values and build the systems, attitudes and resources to offer the best possible support and development to our staff

Royal College of Nursing. (2003) Strategic Plan 2003-2008 Royal College of Nursing 001

A professional may need to be represented by the union if they happen to be part of legal proceedings where they would have to go to court and the judge would then determine and enforce legal rights.

Our Health, Our Care, Our Say

The Our health, our care, our say White Paper sets out a vision to provide people with good quality social care and NHS services in the communities where they live. NHS services are half way through a 10 year plan to become more responsive to patient needs and prevent ill health by the promotion of healthy lifestyles. Social care services are also changing to give service users more independence, choice and control.

Nearly 143,000 people contributed their views on what they expected from their local social care and NHS services. People wanted their local services to:

Support them to live healthier lives and to understand how they live
Encourage independent living if they have ongoing health or social care needs
Be easier to get to an convenient to use
To be easily available and nearer to where they live

The proposals in the White Paper, Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services, aim to:

Make these services flexible and change the way the services are provided in the community
Be more individual with services and tailoring for specific needs of individuals
Allow patients and service users control over their treatment
Work with health and social care professionals and services to get the most appropriate treatment or care for their needs.

To achieve these aims family doctors, primary care trusts and local authorities who have direct contact with patients and service users will have more say in how best to plan and buy services for local communities. Public, private, voluntary and charitable organisations will need to work in partnership to put the interests of the public first, ensure health and social care staff receive the right training and make good health and social care services an essential part of local communities.

http://www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/OrganisationPolicy/Modernisation/OurHealthOurCareOurSay/OurHealthOurCareOurSayArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4127375&chk=Eq%2BTr5

Occupational Therapist

An occupational therapist (OT) helps people of all ages who have any physical, mental health or social problems that will affect how they live in everyday life. This can help their confidence, control and help them live their lives more independently.

Sector

Occupational therapists are found under the statutory sector but can be found in the private sector. They are employed by the NHS and therefore funded by the taxpayer and managed by the Government. If employed by a private company, they are paid by whoever owns the business.

Role of an Occupational Therapist

OTs will assess a client’s ability to perform tasks and design a treatment programme to increase their ability to tackle future difficulties. Course completion is then followed by the OT analysing how effective the programme has been. They may also visit clients at home to monitor progress.

OTs work activities are likely to include:

liaising with a wide variety of other professionals, such as doctors, physiotherapists, social workers, voluntary workers and equipment suppliers, as well as patients' families, carers and employers;
attending multidisciplinary case conferences to plan and review ongoing treatment;
organising support and rehabilitation groups for carers and clients;
training students and supervising the work of occupational therapy assistants;
managing your own caseload and prioritising needs;
completing client and patient records, budgetary records, equipment reviews and other administrative tasks.

Because of the strong person-centred approach and the broad range of service users, occupational therapy offers an extremely wide variety of potential work activities. The key functions of assessment, treatment and review, however, are always central to the role.

In broad terms, the interventions supported by OTs may cover:

everyday activities, such as washing, preparing and eating meals, shopping or transport;
the use of equipment or adaptations to help with daily living or getting around inside and outside the home;
leisure and social activities;
coping skills, such as relaxation techniques, assertiveness or positive thinking;
social skills in dealing with others;
work and study skills.

Examples of typical service users include:

people suffering from a physical condition (eg, stroke or heart disease);
people recovering from operations or other hospital treatments (eg, hip replacements or burns);
a wide variety of physically disabled people (eg, wheelchair users or people who have suffered head injuries);
people suffering from mental health problems (eg, anxiety, schizophrenia);
people with learning disabilities who have difficulties with activities (eg, handling money or relating to other people);
substance abusers who have difficulty controlling their own behaviour.

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Explore_types_of_jobs/Types_of_Job/p!eipaL?state=showocc&idno=114&pageno=1

Status

Some people see occupational therapists as pointless. I believe that they have a very low public approval. Some people think that they are just there to teach people how to live, and to people who don’t know much about the job occupational therapists are looked on lower than nurses. Newly qualified OTs and nurses both start on the same pay band and range therefore not making them any better or worse than each other.

To be considered for the degree course 5 GCSE’s at grade A*-C and at least 2 A-levels are required. A-level in a Science subject is sometimes required.

The BSc (Hons) in Occupational Therapy (three or four years full-time, or at least four years part-time) is the principal entry route. An accelerated two-year degree (or postgraduate diploma) is available for recent graduates (within the last five years) with relevant degrees and some health or social care experience. Relevant subjects include:

biological or medical sciences;
other health-related subjects;
psychology;
sociology.

Career progression opportunities are very high within occupational therapy. There are 4 main areas which OTs can expect to progress in after training and qualification. The 4 main areas are:

management of staff, usually after completing a management qualification;
research into new techniques in occupational therapy or the efficiency of current provision ('clinical audit');
specialisation in particular areas of occupational therapy;
education, either in a training department or, after further qualification, as a university lecturer.

Demand for occupational therapists in health and social services is strong and growing. This profession is still currently dominated by females. After a number of years' experience, there are opportunities to work in industry or set up in private practice.

The budget difficulties faced by NHS Trusts in 2006 have led to a recent slowdown in recruitment. Job prospects for OTs have become variable according to location but are generally more buoyant in the South.

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Explore_types_of_jobs/Types_of_Job/p!eipaL?state=showocc&idno=114&pageno=5

Conditions

Pay

Occupational therapy is also a profession that has been introduced into the Agenda for Change. Just like newly qualified nurses, OTs that have recently graduated are placed into band 5. The employee is put into a pay band based on their knowledge and skills and is able to progress each year up the scale.

Different salary scales apply for those working for local authorities or other employers. Progression within the new NHS pay scales is also dependent on achievement of 'gateways' within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF).

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Explore_types_of_jobs/Types_of_Job/p!eipaL?state=showocc&idno=114&pageno=2

Hours of work

Full time OTs work 37.5 hours per week. This might be in a community or hospital setting. Some centres are open 12 hours a day and it is unusual for an OT to be working unsociable hours. Many employers offer flexible working hours and part time work is common. Some evening or weekend work may be involved.

Opportunities for overtime

There may not be as many opportunities for overtime in this job as there might be on a ward. I think this is because an OT works individually to assess people and make the right decisions to aid a client. They don’t really work with people above or below them and are highly autonomous.

Pension arrangements

As mentioned before, every NHS employee is entitled to join the pension scheme for when they retire. This money is not taxed and it fully supported by the Government. It is made up of contributions from the employers and employee.

Holidays

Job security

There are high risks of being attacked in this job role. I think if you are working closely with a person who can’t do things for themselves, they might display signs of pent up frustration and may become aggressive. In terms of feeling safe in the way that you have a job and are going to keep it, I think it is highly unlikely that you are going to be made redundant. The only way a person is going to lose their job is if they seriously breach the rules of the contract.

Anti-discriminatory practice

I think that within this job role, there are many types of people that the OT is going to come into contact with and therefore won’t be a discriminating person. OT positions are offered to both genders, all races and disabilities.

Presence of stressors

Some areas of work within this job role may be emotionally and physically draining and may require mental stamina. Hostility within clients may cause stress and the tasks around the job may be stressful.

Job satisfaction potential

This job to me seems to offer much more satisfaction than the other job role. As an OT you are helping a person to live out their life as normal as possible considering their disability. To be able to see a person living happily and healthy, I think would make a person feel like they have succeeded in what they set out to do and motivated to help more people.

Feedback

With the knowledge that the task an OT has set out to do has been successful will increase their job satisfaction and make them feel the need to do more to help more people.

Level of responsibility

OTs have a highly responsible job role. Their actions affect their client usually for the better. As they are responsible for helping people live their lives as full as possible, it is important that the OT makes the best decision possible.

Autonomy

OTs have a high level of autonomy. They usually work one on one with a client with little supervision and therefore have to make an autonomous in best interest of the client.

Social Factors

An OT will work with many people on a one to one basis. This can be for as long as the client needs adjustments around them to live their life as normal as possible. Socially, the OT meets different people but alone and therefore might be able to build a trusting relationship with the client, which is vital towards the client’s care.

B – Evidence: Subsection 1

I am now going to describe my investigation which took place on 17th October 2006. The interview lasted approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. As I know my interviewee through a friend, I was able to conduct the interview in her house, which she suggested. My interviewee was a female aged approximately between 30-40 years old. She is currently an accident and emergency children’s nurse at a local hospital. She has been a registered nurse since spring of 2005 and before her current job role she worked with children who were in danger of abuse. For the purpose of this report my interviewee shall be named Miss Smith. This is so my report remains confidential.

Ethical Precautions

Maintaining confidentiality

To maintain confidentiality, I have blacked out my interviewee’s name on the consent form. I have also changed her name throughout this report. I made sure she knew that the report would only be read by my tutor, maybe an external examiner and myself. She was happy to take part in my interview. I have included minimal details about Miss Smith, to give an idea of the type of person I interviewed.

Seeking informed consent

When I decided to interview Miss Smith I asked her in person if she was willing to take part in my interview, which she agreed to. I then sent out my letter of consent and I mentioned on it that the interview could take place when and where was suitable for Miss Smith. I contacted her subsequent to this and we arranged a date and time. In my consent letter (see appendix) I outlined that I basically want to conduct an interview with a healthcare professional for a unit on my A2 Health and Social Care course. I included that questions might include about her pay and work hours. When I met with Miss Smith to start the interview, I emphasised the fact that she could withdraw if she felt uncomfortable and if she didn’t want to take part anymore.

The right to withdraw

At the start of the interview as I said above I emphasised to my interviewee is that she could withdraw at anytime. During the interview I offered her the chance to stop the interview if she wanted to, but she was happy to go on.

Avoiding embarrassment and distress

I conducted a semi-structured interview with open and closed questions to give Miss Smith an opportunity to give more details if she wanted to while also giving her a chance to just give one worded answers if she preferred to. I offered Miss Smith the right to not answer any questions if she didn’t want to, during the interview. I avoided distress while asking about her pay by not directly asking how much she earns. I asked what pay band she was in and if she was happy to share what band she was in, which she did. Anything she contributed which I had not asked her about I asked her if she was happy that I included it in my report, she agreed. I was constantly checking her body language and facial expressions for embarrassment and any signs of her feeling uncomfortable. She did not display any of these actions, but if she had of I would of ensured that I change the question or move onto another topic. I asked open and closed questions to give Miss Smith the opportunity to elaborate on anything she had said while also keeping her comfortable.

Summary of Interview

I started my interview (see notes in appendix) by asking Miss Smith what her main duties were as an A+E children’s nurse. She gave me a list of these which included prioritising patients, checking equipment, control drugs and oxygen, nurse escorts, adhering to Government guidelines. I then asked her about qualifications required to study paediatric nursing and she mentioned she studied the Diploma at university. When I asked about her job offering in-service training, she gave me a range of sources which help her in-service training:

Life long learning
Reflective thinking
Portfolios
Intranet
Nursing journals
Documentaries
RCN
Preceptorship

When asked what band she was in she said she was in band 5, which is average as she had only been qualified for over a year. She said that the Agenda for Change never really affected her as she signed into it. She works a minimum of 37.5 hours and there are always opportunities for overtime. When asked about shift work she said,

“I don’t enjoy shift work but I knew that is what I would be doing when I was training. A+E is worse for shift work because if you have a distressed parent wanting you to be there with them, you can’t just leave and go home so there might be times when you have to stay an extra 2 hours or so. It affects the way I work if I don’t get 11 hours rest. Tend to feel tired and get easily stressed.”

She is with just the one pension scheme which is with the NHS. She gets a minimum of 6 weeks holiday entitlement. She said that she doesn’t feel secure in her job role all the time.

“I was once threatened to be punched in the face by an intoxicated parent who demanded that I accompany her to the toilet while I was caring for another person’s child.”

Things that make her feel stressed are:

Understaffed
Underpaid
Bad communication
Lazy staff and lazy senior staff

She said that she is allowed to be autonomous as long as it is in the best interest of the child. She said that she wouldn’t change her job for the world as she likes to see a healthy patient walk out of the hospital.

“Although death is not nice, it is nice in a way that you can make it a nice death. Putting the client’s favourite music on and just generally making them feel comfortable.”

She believes her job has a high level of responsibility as long as limitations are recognised. She thinks that the public status of nurses depends on what kind of experience they have had with hospitals. When asked about her transferability into the community she said that she thinks it would be easier for her to transfer to the community with working in A+E. She believes that her job is likely to change more and more over the years due to life long learning, new interventions and more change from the Government. She has a very active social life outside of work.

Subsection 2

I believe I am a good communicator, responsible and caring person. For these two job roles I believe that academically I am capable of studying either paediatric nursing or occupational therapy. I have 5+ GCSEs that are above C and I am currently working at a CC in my A2 studies. I took a careers interest questionnaire and no definite strong matches came up. I had many possible matches which included physiotherapist, reflexologist and adult nurse. I gained valuable leader qualities at my current job where I train staff and lead a team to deliver quality customer service. I gained the same type of qualities by helping at local summer schemes and creating activities for children. Ultimately my goal is to become an adult nurse and I think with my leader qualities and altruistic nature I will be successful in this area.

To map my skills against that of an OT and a children’s nurse I will include a table mapping out skills and how developed each of us are in those areas.

Since I am studying full time, the only chance I have to implement some care is at home with my grandmother. I am therefore working towards making that overall better by applying for university to study adult nursing. On my personality test it also says that I have a high empathy/sensitivity level, which shows that I am able to be empathetic through questions that I have answered.

C – Evaluation: Subsection 1

In this section of the report I am going to compare the two contrasting job roles I chose. The roles are an accident and emergency children’s nurse and an occupational therapist. Both of these jobs roles are different in so many ways. While a nurse is working with many different people each day, an occupational therapy may work with only a small amount of clients on a one to one basis.

There are advantages in working in both roles as there are many disadvantages. It seems harder to get onto the degree programme of occupational therapy than it does with nursing. Both newly qualified job roles are on the same pay when they graduate. Progression of careers is probably easier within the nursing sector. I think this because there are many specialisms that can a person can “branch” off into. With occupational therapy there are very few specialisms. Working as a nurse, night work and early morning work are regular, but in occupational therapy it’s very unlikely for them to be absent from the house at night, although some weekends are worked. Both are signed onto the NHS Pension Scheme and they both schemes work in exactly the same way. Both job roles are entitled to the same holidays.

Job security is probably the same within these job roles, but I think if you were to work in the private sector as an OT, there maybe more chance of becoming redundant. I think this because the NHS if constantly funded by the Government and so the NHS will be around as long as the Government. In regards to job safety, I think either role can put you at risk to be attacked either physically or verbally which is why the NHS offers zero tolerance towards violence.

The stressors of each job are the same but on different scales. Within nursing there are life saving situations which can be stressful, whereas in occupational therapy it is very unlikely to be caught up in a medical emergency. Job satisfaction is different as an OT is seeing a final result, an A+E nurse is most of the time treating major emergencies and then the client is referred to a different ward to recover so the nurse doesn’t see the end result. Therefore an OT might get more job satisfaction than a nurse.

Occupational therapists carry more autonomy than A+E nurses as they are working as one unit and don’t have any supervision while out working with clients. They are able to make more decisions about a client’s well-being than a nurse can. Although a nurse may carry some autonomy, professions which work alone are likely to be more autonomous.

Working as an OT might be very lonely. Working as a single unit without many colleagues round might be good for someone who likes to do things alone and not in a team. OTs are able to build trusting relationships with the clients as they see them on a one to one basis regularly. Nurses on the other hand, especially in the A+E department, treat a patient and then they are moved to another ward, next patient gets treated and so on. They can only really form relationships with other members of staff as they are the people they see the most.

Subsection 2

Because I am responsible, hard working and caring I believe that I am more suited to a nursing role. Although I don’t think that I would be suited to work with children as I prefer to work with adults and elderly people. I don’t think that a job as an occupational therapist would suit me as it wouldn’t fulfil my need for social contact. I think am a very out going and lively individual that loves to have people round her all the time. It is quite likely that after my A-Levels I will study adult nursing at degree level as I feel that I have much to give within the nursing profession. I am considerate of the needs of others and I am sympathetic and empathetic when I need to be. I also have excellent communication skills. I want to meet many different people from different places and I think if I was to work as an OT this would bore me because of the lack of social contact. I am a fair team leader and given the chance to lead a team within the nursing profession I think I would strive for the autonomy and level of responsibility I will receive. I enjoy reading the Nursing Times to keep up with the nursing news and also enjoy watching documentaries on healthcare.

Working In Health and Social Care