geordiebloke

Hi,

Just wandering if anybody can clarify a couple of things for me ?
My Wife has just qualified after 3 years training and now finds herself in
the position of seeking employment. This after the trust she trained with told
her and all the other students to p**s off as they had no vacancies for any
of them.
Anyway, she's now expected to pay £86 for the honour of working within
this profession. So, my first question is, what does this £86 actually pay for ?
I know that it's supposed to be the admin charges for registration, but come on 86 quid She already knows what her PIN number is, so surely
it's just a case of adding this to a computer database.
Secondly, why on earth does it take so long to get this registration completed. My wife has been told that it will take around 8 weeks to come
through and she can't work as a qualified nurse until then. Is this so that employers can get the newly qualified nurses at health care rates, or am I
just cynical.
Oh, and finally, why is it that every application she submits requires another CRB check. Surely these could have a renewal date attached, say 6 months, or is this just another government money making scheme

Cheers

Steve

Grayling

Presumably you will now complain about all the costs involved in Registering and practising in Australia

...will that just be another government money making scheme?

tiredwithtwins

well, we all had to go through it im afraid ... and it doesnt get fairer as the years go by either.
when i qualified we had to go out and find jobs independantly ... there wasnt any of this job matching that seems to go on now - i think it will be a real show of character for her to say stuff the place that trained me, im off to get the job I want without their help!!!
on saying that, its highly unfair that newly qualified nurses are unable to get work, especially at a time when the profession is nearly on its knees as it is.

oh, and we had to wait months for our pin number to come through as well ... this was back in 1990!! but i seem to remember we got our staff nurses pay backdated to when we started the job.

the need for crb checks with every new employer is due to the high number of 'nurses' with criminal records who try to con the system ... they will have to be done yearly from next year (costing £43 each now!) and is simply a way of ensuring all criminal convictions are declared. You'd be surprised how many nurses get convictions and dont declare them ... this is against employment policy of most trusts .. and basically weeds out the unsavoury characters that seem to pervade some areas of the profession!!

welcome to the wonderful world of nursing, mrs geordiebloke!

geordiebloke

If nobody can explain why this is the case then.....yes

geordiebloke

As you say thing's are probably no worse now than they were years ago.
My mam has been qualified for over 30 years and my sister over 20 but neither seem to know what the registration fees actually cover.
I've heard other nurses say that it goes some way to covering the costs
of training the new students, but surely this cant be true, I mean what other job requires it's staff to pay for other's training.
I can sort of see the logic behind the CRB forms, but my Wife has had about
5 come through the door in the past three weeks, for different jobs that she's applied for, which seems eexcessive

Steve

Grayling

The NMB are also responsible for controlling the register and this includes investiagating complaints of which there are thousands every year.This may involve removing nurses from the register and dealing with appeals.

They are also involved in legislation changes etc.

The fee is to pay for all this....not just to add names to a list

rob&lucy

I agree that i seems expensive but in all honesty it really shouldn't be a surprise as throughout training this day was approaching re paying for registration. It should be seen as a positive outcome not a case of having to fork out more money. I personally feel honoured to be in this profession as both a nurse and a midwife doing what i love to do.
As for the hospital not employing her i had to go out myself and find work too. You used to be falling over yourself with choices for jobs but things change and that's within the last 10 years. It may mean not doing the ideal job to begin with but if you're wanting to migrate then reassess after a year. We all have to re-register here yearly and it's not a big deal. If it means keeping an eye on our fitness to practice, education and any personal litigation issues then so be it. Obviously opinions are different, however does she feel this way or is it just you?

geordiebloke

Hi rob&lucy,
as far as not getting a job is concerned, well, she and all the other students
were told at the start of their training, that although there was no guarantee
of a job, it was highly likely that the majority would be offered something.
The thing that has upset everybody is the fact that the trust allowed the students to think that this was still the case right up until a few weeks before
they qualified.
It turns out that there is in fact any amount of vacancies within the trust,
however, as they have been trying to get foundation status, they have to be shown to be balancing the books
With regard to the registration fee, I don't know of any other profession (that gets paid what nurses do ) be expected to pay for this. surely this
should be the responsibility of the NHS or employer. I'm surprised the unions/ RCN haven't done more in past about this.
Oh, and it's just me, she's far to busy looking for a job to be concerned about this

Steve.

mooncat

As a newly qualified RMN I can totally understand where you're coming from. All of us were told the trust we trained with would give us a job. I put 12 months into a particular area and was told the job on the ward I wanted would be mine.
I qualified in June. I got my pin number activated in July and had to work as a grade A nursing assistant in the mean time. I didn't get the job I was promised after all. A couple of weeks before my interview the trust froze all the jobs coming up (10 in my local hospital, one of 5 hospitals in the same trust) and sent a letter to all the seconded students telling them not to worry as they were guaranteed a post. It was a seconded student who got the job I was up for. I have since been told by a manager that there was no competition and that the seconded student had the job before any of us went to interview but that they have to be seen to doing the right thing as far as equal opps are concerned.

I went for an interview last week at Bupa and got offered the job on the spot. I have jumped ship and stuck two fingers up at the NHS.

It's unfortunate that your wife (and the rest of us) got told a load of bull. At the end of the day though you just have to get over it and find something else. You said it's you and not her that's doing the stressing. Well, what for? If you love being a nurse you put up with the crap that comes with it just like anybody else in any other job. (Including the registration fee, union fees etc) The NHS and the jobs situation here is appalling. Isn't that part of the reason we are wanting to emigrate? To your wife I say, congratulations, you will find something soon. To you I say, congratulate your wife and support her and be positive that she will find something soon.

annqldau

You pay your NMC or QNC fees to be registered on a list basically so employers can see you really or registered and are really supposed to be a nurse.

As for benefits there really are none just down sides...

They take dosh off you every year (an ever increasing sum)

Provide you with rules and regulations that make it easier for other people to sue you or sack you as you didn't follow them.

They can strike you off the register if you are convicted of something or someone complains about you.

They send you newletters full of their rules and regulations and very little else of value.

Personnally think the union fees are better value for money.

Gill and Rob

If you work for a District Health Board, they refund back to you your registration fee each year. This is part of the union agreement. Move to NZ, you are guarranteed work !!!

Cheers
Gill