working in a hospital

[joelhall]

hello again everyone.

first ill update you of my progress...

im still going ahead with my degree, with some small changes. basically the core of my bsc is life sciences (human biology, molecular cell biology, study of diseases, etc), with sections of organic chemistry from the molecular science bsc. basically id like to start as prepared and knowledgeable as possible. still pretty certain ill gain a first too, as i spend just about all my free time as i have for years - reading science for pleasure.

right, now for my question...

this is mainly for those working in a hospital already, or who have researched into it. id ideally like to do something which has a good element of patient contact and involves me in something related to hospital work (rather than porters or cleaners jobs).

so, if anyone could give suggestions, or share what they do (or plan to), id love to hear it

thanks guys,

joel

[f_debelder]

Health Care Assistant

[joelhall]

have you done this personally? id be interested also in hearing about personal experiences.

as an aside, i saw there was an opening at our hospital for a radiology assistant but i cant make the deadline pity because it looked ideal on paper.

[..::Iona::..]

Yeah, healthcare assistant is probably the best thing you can do. Shows commitment and that you're not afraid to get your hands dirty and you get a real idea of how the hospital works. I'm working as a HCA full time on my gap year, which is pretty hard going. Things you'd have to do would be weighing people, serving meals, helping patients eat, making beds, washing and dressing patients, observations, documenting food/fluid intake and output, turning patients to relieve pressure areas, helping patients go to the toilet, removing cannulae and catheters (my favourite jobs!), applying dressing to pressure sores, admission/risk assessments, ordering medical equipment like special matresses/cushions, doing MRSA swabs....

I have to admit, while it was exciting to be working in a hospital initially, it's a bit dull now cause you're not constantly learning and it's hardly brain-taxing. Either way, you get lots of exposure to various conditions and diseases you probably wouldn't have heard of otherwise, and if you pay attention, you find out what the treatment is and how long it's likely to take for the patient to recover. It's a good way of getting in with the docs and if you ask nicely, they might let you shadow them or watch procedures.

Alternatively, you could get a job as a phlebotomist, but there probably isn't so much of a chance to get to know the patients and find out their stories...

[ra49]

Definitely HCA!

Also, you can expand on your knowledge by going on phlebotomy courses and things like that, there's some on strokes and diabetes too, and a general HCA development course (this probably depends on what trust you're with though!), all of which are relatively useful and interesting and give you a broader range of skills and opportunities in a job that is, in truth, mostly taking people to the toilet and washing and dressing people...

It does give you a brilliant amount of patient contact, though. And I generally enjoy it as a job much more than when I worked in market research, even though I earned 7 grand more a year doing that...

[Zedd]

Basically anything under a registered nurse but above a porter then? HCA is the obvious choice but I would keep my eye open for other roles (For example I have just applied for a Theatre Support Worker position in a critical care unit).

[Rachel_bluesky]

Also, you can expand on your knowledge by going on phlebotomy courses and things like that,

I have not been able to find any info on courses on phebotomy...Can you shed some light on this for me please?

[joelhall]

thanks for the replies. ill definitely be looking into this. i would have loved the radiology job from the description, but thats out of my hands now.

the prospect of patient contact is very appealing along with the care elements, and of course the opportunities mentioned to learn a little extra 'on the job'.

once again, thank you all for your time and replies

joel

[latestarter]

I have been working as an HCA for over a year now, and although I am only p/time I have just been asked to take over responsibility for the fire safety checks in our 8 bedded unit.
In additon to the tasks above, I get to carry out a dual role of rehabilitation assistant in my neuro rehab unit - so I have learned so much more about head/spinal injury and stroke.

just a word of warning though.. it took 35 applications and 10 interviews before I got my first post on a surgical ward.

[icecream]

im on a gap year after a biochemistry degree, and currently working full time as a HCA at a hospital... in terms of work load its pretty much similar to what iona has described.

i would reccomend it, its been really tiring and sometimes a bit dull (night shifts), but on a whole i've gained a far better understanding of a medical career, and the roles of other healthcare professionals at the hospital in comparrison to any other experience ive had in the past.. so i do reccomend it!