The Biggest Decision of my Life...

‘Eeny Meeny Miney Mo, catch a nursey by the toe. If she squeals let her go, Eeny meeny miney mo’. Not the ideal way to choose between two epic job offers but that’s the position I find myself in! Who’d have thought it – little old me being in demand!!

I’m still on cloud nine and I haven’t even spoken to my buddy at Recruitment Panda yet to tell her the good news. She will be made up for me, I’m sure. After the hours of preparation that she put into me to give me the confidence to even go along, she will be delighted that her hard work has paid off – and I will have a proper job.

Both of them were quite tough interviews. There was none of that ‘pin, pulse, you’ll do’ attitude, they were proper in depth. The hospital role really explored my knowledge of what it meant to be a nurse but thankfully my angel from Recruitment Panda had advised me to revisit the NMC Code of Practice and I knew it cover to cover. When they asked me about being accountable for my actions and omissions, they asked me to give an example of what omissions that could mean.

 I thought back to one of the Home Managers who I had worked for last year who had told me about an experience she had had, so I gave that example. Basically, she’d been a night nurse for years while her kids were growing up and had gone in one night to be told one of the ladies who had unstable diabetes had been very drowsy all day and they hadn’t managed to get her to eat very much at all. She needed to be monitored throughout the night and obviously diet and fluids encouraged if possible. 

My manager had made the clinical decision to omit her night sedation to be able to better assess any signs of hypoglycaemia. Her insulin had been administered on the advice of the GP who didn’t seem overly concerned about her at that point and the last reading had been 3.6 mmol/l, which was low enough. Anyway, to cut a long story short, the team had managed to get some sugary fluids into her and she had wanted to go to bed so they set up thirty minute observations. At some point between checks the lady had been found on the floor and seemed to have fallen. The nurse checked her over and it wasn’t evident until the next day that she had sustained a head injury. A few months later, the lady died from a bleed on the brain and the Coroner reviewed the documentation and put it down to that night. My former Manager had been called to give evidence at Coroner’s court and had to justify her omission of prescribed medication.

The interview panel seemed to hang on my every word, nodding encouragingly and asking me more questions. I’ve never been to Coroner’s but I felt quite sweaty through their questioning. Big patches of sweat formed under my pits and I was glad of the double dose of deodorant I’d applied that morning.

The other interview focused very much on my leadership style. I’d given it a little thought before but didn’t think that they would be impressed if I said I was impatient and bad-tempered if things weren’t going my way. I’ve learnt over the past few months that verbally laying into someone when times are tough doesn’t work! So, I answered that by reflecting on how my leadership style has changed over the past year and that I’ve learnt a lot about how my personality affects my leadership which means I have to consciously put some of my more negative traits to the back when I’m trying to guide someone or lead a situation. I was impressed with my own maturity if I’m honest – almost didn’t recognise myself! Even better though, they were suitably impressed and offered me the position.

So what do I do?

I’m determined not to ring my friend at Recruitment Panda because she’s done so much for me already. It would be unfair for me to ask her to choose for me and I know that’s what I’ll end up doing. I’m definitely not going to ring my mother and ask her advice – she would tell me that should take both jobs and fit them around each other!

I’ve written a list of pros and cons for both of the positions and there’s very little in it, to be fair. They’ve both got such a lot of potential for development and my career would have a really positive start if I took either of them. There’s more money in the Clinical Lead role but it comes with more responsibility. There’s also more flexibility around the hours too, and I would have some supernumerary time, but I would also be expected to stand in for the Registered Manager when she was on leave and I’m not sure I’m ready for that either.

The hospital role is the one that seems to get my pulse racing, with both excitement and trepidation. It would be really, really new. I know I spent three years mainly in the hospital during my training but that seems like an age ago. Also, the status of real life Staff Nurse rather than Student Nurse would make it very different. But am I up to it? Have I forgotten everything I was taught and will they think I’m a fraud. Maybe I’m best suited to what I know and go for the Clinical Lead role?

 It’s definitely a toffee crisp moment. Sugar is what I need to make such a momentous decision.

Three bars later I’ve made up my mind and with trembling hands I pick up my phone. Someone answers really quickly and before I have chance to hesitate or change my mind I say ‘Hi, this is Florence Writingale. You offered me a position earlier and I’d really love to accept it’…..