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Nurses' Strike

3 Things To Note On Impending Nurses’ Strike

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The impending UK Nurses’ strike has dominated internet searches for weeks on end. As unions try to get the government to grant them double digits pay rise to curtail inflation which has reached its 4-decade all-time high, the highest pay rise given by the UK government in a long time according to Reuters. 

The nurses’ strike which will start this week amid a harsh winter characterised by walk-outs the first-ever industrial action of this kind in the NHS, will see nurses walking out of their jobs on Thursday the 15th of December and on 20 December 2022. 

Here are some statistics listed by Reuters about the strike: 

  • Union estimates forecast more than 1 million working days will be lost in December
  • 1 million working days expected to be lost to strikes this December compares to the 12 million lost in September 1979

Here are a few things you probably should keep in mind about the impending Nurses’ Strike:

  1. The unions are refusing the government’s pay rise offer citing the fact that many have gone for close to a decade without their wages being increased. They said the 4% increment offered by the government is too little in contrast to inflation which rose to about 11% after the onset of the pandemic. 
  2. The strike has caused non-urgent surgeries to be cancelled and in some cases, ambulances are now waiting longer than before. This might cause the government to shift from its previous position and offer as pressure mounts from the public over the strike. 
  3. The government has refused to move from its position and 4% pay rise and they are looking for ways to tighten laws to prevent strikes like these to disrupt healthcare, especially during winter. 

What are your thoughts about the nurses’ strike? While at it, check out our other blogs on various topics. If you need agency shifts in Birmingham call 03300300031 or send an email to info@myshifts.work

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

3 Things Nurses Should Know About Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

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According to Google, the search for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy has increased over the last few weeks. This probably means multiple people are genuinely interested in knowing about this therapy. As trained caregivers, nurses are supposed to educate themselves about subjects that might help their patients to better serve them whenever possible.

Since multiple people in the UK are asking about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, we have taken the liberty to make a few basic things known about the therapy. According to Healthline:

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a treatment approach that helps you recognize negative or unhelpful thoughts and behaviour patterns. CBT aims to help you identify and explore the ways your emotions and thoughts can affect your actions. Once you notice these patterns, you can begin learning how to change your behaviours and develop new coping strategies.

Healthline

In case you are asked about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy as a caregiver, here are three basic things you should know about the therapy:

  1. CBT can help mental disorders that include but are not limited to PTSD, OCD, panic disorders, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, substance abuse and depression.
  2. CBT is not a cure, it will help address the issues you are facing but it will not probably eliminate them completely and they could still persist after you stop the therapy. Also bear in mind, it is not a quick fix, results will take time.
  3. CBT can also be used to help overcome grief, loss, insomnia, chronic pain, serious health diagnosis, relationship issues, divorce or breakups and general stress.

Remember to take care of yourself first at all times. If you are looking for part-time nurses to staff your establishment call us on 03300300031 or send us an email at infor@myshifts.work

Self Care

5 Self Care Tips For Nurses

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Over the years, nurses who by virtue of their jobs are trained caregivers, have effortlessly taken care of generations. Nurses have taken care of societies, communities, generations and families, and they continue to do so to this day. However, nursing in 1939 where the district nurse would ride a bicycle to do community visits is now different from nursing in the 21st century.

Nurses nowadays have a lot to juggle since today’s life demands more from us with very little help coming from any direction. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the situation and many nurses have put aside self-care in order to carry out their duties faithfully. Self-care by definition as defined by the Global Self-Care Federation is:

Self-care is the practice of individuals looking after their own health using the knowledge and information available to them…. It involves making healthy lifestyle choices, avoiding unhealthy lifestyle habits, making responsible use of prescription and non-prescription medicines, self-recognition of symptoms, self-monitoring and self-management 

Global Self-Care Federation

it is imperative for nurses to prioritise self-care because a lack of adequate self-care will lead to outcomes like burnouts which will lead to mistakes, and in the nursing field, a mistake can result in a fatality. These 5 tips will help nurses in our communities take care of themselves so that they prolong their lives and other services to humankind in need of them:

  1. Try to avoid mental strain. If you feel you have mental fatigue rest for a while.
  2. Do not compare your capabilities and abilities to those of your neighbour, if your neighbour can manage 5 long days and 2 short days in a row, do not compare their strength to yours. Pick a schedule you can manage.
  3. Prioritise your mental health, if anything has the ability to temper with your sanity even by a small fraction, find a way to cut it off.
  4. Try by all means to avoid an unhealthy lifestyle.
  5. Rest, whenever possible take some time off and rest your mind and body.

If you are based in the West Midlands and looking for extra shifts, call us at 03300300031 or send us an email at info@myshifts.works

Toxic Work Environment

Nurses, Is Your Work Environment Toxic?

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Toxic Work Environments, one of the topics less discussed on the web, no employer would ever want their workplace to be described as toxic right? Research has cited that over the years, a toxic work culture is one of the most cited reasons why people quit their jobs. A lot of us do not even realise that the environment is not ideal, because of various reasons, however a survey on the internet by Conductor discovered that web searches for “toxic work environment quiz “increased by over 500% this year.

What is a Toxic Work environment?

According to Forbes:

..toxic means “poisonous” and/or “causing unpleasant feelings; harmful or malicious. ClearForce CEO Tom Miller says it can be anything from bullying or harassment to a company that engages in unethical practices and is dishonest with its employees

Forbes

There are many reasons why many will stay in a not-so-ideal workplace. Some are not really aware that the traits exuded by their superiors or co-workers are toxic until they leave that environment and start working elsewhere. Not to mention the fact that some employers have adopted the “take it or leave it phenomenon” of letting employees know in one way or the other that if they think this environment is not ideal, they are free to leave.

In the African country of Zimbabwe, a woman shared her toxic work environment story and she said she stayed because she was afraid she would not get another job. Unemployment is rife in that country and a lot of people are qualified to do most jobs. For every vacancy, there are thousands if not tens of thousands of applicants. In Scotland, a lady endured in a toxic work environment for years because she needed to gain expereience in her field.

What Can Be Done About Toxic Work Environment?

A week ago, The Guardian published a story that said, the Royal College of Nursing was marred with allegations of:

..bullying, misogyny and a sex_ual culture where women are at risk of “alcohol and power-related exploitation

The Guardian

Given the fact that the Royal College of Nursing is one of the biggest Nurses Union in the world, this further alludes to the fact that, many envrionemnts are probably toxic to many people and the superiors are probaly not aware of it.

Now that we know, its possible to be in a toxic enveronment and not know it, or endure because of various reasons, what can we as nurses do?

  1. Take the toxic work envronment quiz on the web and see if you are working in an toxic environment
  2. Stand up against any toxic traits you do not like
  3. In some cases, switch to agency nursing, you will be working in different work stations and envrionments, you have a chance to cherry pick which place you can go to and which ones to avoid.

In case you need help transitioning to agency nursing, call us on 03300300031 or email info@myshifts.work and we will help you.

Unmotivated employee

Feeling Unmotivated At Work? These 3 Tips Will Help

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Are you feeling tired or unmotivated at your workplace? An Instagram post popped up on my smartphone. Yes, I opened the slide hoping to see a magic trick that would help my mental fatigue. The post went on to suggest that I probably was just a burnout and I wasn’t going through mild depression, as per the results of my self-diagnosis.

In as much as I did not get what I was hoping to get on that Instagram post, I discovered that I needed to be mentally strong and find my motivation on a daily basis. However, I also did not dismiss the thought that I might be unmotivated because of a serious burnout and I worked on my schedule and the truth is things drastically changed. In their 2016 paper titled Burnout Syndrome and Demotivation Among Health Care Personnel. Managing Stressful Situations: The Importance of Teamwork J. García-Campayo and his team reiterates that, work-related stress may actually have dire consequences and it’s no surprise that demotivation can be one of them.

Having a fulfilling career in this life where others struggle to find themselves is an absolute privilege. Over the years many have struggled to find fulfilment, contentment and even happiness, especially in their work. If you are one of the content, fulfilled, happy ones, you have a reason to celebrate.

However, if you are struggling to get through the mandatory work hours, if you are feeling grumpy, maybe it’s high time you sit down and take stock of your life. If you still want to be a nurse or that health professional that you are but feel unmotivated, these 3 tips might help you. 

  1. Try and find a working equilibrium between your work and your personal life. Sometimes you are not unmotivated, you are just struggling to find that work-life balance. 
  2. Try and manage your stress levels. Sometimes fixing this one thing, keeping your stress levels low might actually help you in more ways than one. 
  3. Try and create/maintain a healthy working environment. We are all aware of the things that make our working environment toxic. It’s high time you tackle that elephant in the room and find a way to ensure your workplace is not a dreary place you hate going to every day. Chat to colleagues, make friends, don’t talk back, be considerate, help out and try to be at peace with as many coworkers as you can. 

In case you want to pick extra shifts from us, contact us via email at info@myshifts.work or call 03300300031. Check out our other blogs on work-related content.