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Hca

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Have two main career considerations at the mo (well these are the two from years and years of thinking) A Midwife or a Teacher (of secondary school english).

At the moment I am taking A levels in English literature, Psychology, Sociology and General Studies; and I am predicted A's across the board (so far!)

I turn 17 in February and I am looking for a job I've recently seen some advertisements for NHS bank staff- some posts being Health Care Assistants- which state that 'no experience is needed as full trainning will be given' and they are particularly interested in hearing from people who are able to work evenings and/or weekends.

The scheme is bank staff/temporary staff to cover staff sickness, holidays and general absence- and says it works flexibley with you when you want to work etc.

Not sure if this might be too taxing a job? Or just the thing I'm loooking for (tried shop work twice- but hated it as I just don't see the point...)

Am also looking into some creche work; but already know alot about this.

Wondering if anyone has done HCA work? Is doing so? Knows friends/family etc who has done? Is it totally awful? Is it a good p/t job for a student?

All feedback is really appreciated!!!!

Cheers

:)

P.S Just thought I'd add in here- I've looked into the voluntary work in the hosptial- but concluded I cant give up alot of time volunatrily as It would cost me £3 to get there and back- I am living off roughly £20 pocket money a month (sometimes a few babysitting jobs) and if I went every week it would be a large dent in my income!!

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    hey im currently working as a bank auxiliary and it is hard work. It may be different in the hospital your looking at, but although they told me the hours were flexible you still have shifts to stick to which are usually either starting early (7am) or finsihing late. Have you any previous healthcare experience? If not, its hard but depending on how much you want to do it youl get there in the end, so maybe not a good idea for a stop gap.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Definitely hard work, and often with little instant reward. You get a lot of 'difficult' patients (although not all), a hell of a lot of menial and often unpleasant tasks and not a whole lot of thanks in my experience. I spent two months as a HCA before I applied for the Nursing degree I'm currently in the middle of, and I found it arduous and a lot to manage on top of study. However, if you do decide to pursue a career in Midwifery, it is invaluable experience of the mechanics of a hospital ward. You can even get some experience of Personal Care, depending on the ward and circumstances. Obviously there's the bonus of pay, rather than doing a voluntary work experience placement, like you said.

    If I were you I would definitely go down to the hospital/care home/wherever you want to work and talk to them about duties, hours, flexibility. They are always keen for people who can work the evenings and nights, and weekends too, as those are the times the full time staff are less eager to cover in many places. Don't commit to too much if you do decide to do this, just take on a couple of shifts to begin with - it'll help you to ease into the routine and added workload (it will wear you out, at first anyway) and see if you enjoy it! After that you can always take on extra shifts and bulk up the ones you already have by adding an hour here are there. If you get the balance right you should be able to get some really good insight without jeopardising your school work and social life. I'm not saying it'll be a barrel of laughs, but you might meet some very interesting people, and at least you'll be that little bit more informed and experienced.

    Feel free to PM me if you need anymore advice, and good luck :)
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