Of Crossroads and Pivots
To be at crossroads.
Most of us over the course of our lives have experienced some form of toxicity in a relationship be it at home, work, on a personal or professional level and have probably asked ourselves how did we get there or how can we leave or have recognised that we need to leave but are scared of what happens next! Fear of the unknown coupled with the uncomfortable comfort of the known. These concerns or thoughts become more profound when you have had a long relationship spanning years or even decades with whomever or whatever situation you are trying to leave behind. Most people when asked will tell you to just leave, but it is never that simple especially if it is all you have known as an adult and have a love/hate relationship. Over the last couple of years, I have found myself asking these same questions. How do I leave given the love/hate relationship I have, not to mention that my whole adult identity is tied to this very thing that is sucking the life and soul out of me? How do I leave the toxic profession that Nursing has become, when it is all that I have known but is no longer excited about, more so as a Black Nurse?
I have gained a lot in being a nurse and from nursing but at the same time nursing has taken a lot from me, sometimes I think more than I have gained. I recently came across a post on LinkedIn by a nurse, a proud one at that, who stated how nursing was and still is his whole identity and will forever be and I was conflicted because I understand his sentiment, as a nurse your whole life and identity revolves around nursing, how you act within and outside of work and how you are expected to live and interact with society. It's all consuming and the reason I am conflicted is because I currently have a love hate relationship with nursing. It's like that toxic partner that you are trying to leave but they keep reeling you back even though you know they are not good for you. Not good for your physical and mental health not to mention your financial health but they are comfortable, all you have known, familiar. Nursing doesn't love us Black nurses, be it our places of work, those we care for, our unions and even our governing body! That's a lot to deal with and one can't unsee the disdain and contempt and the appalling treatment we get. It's disheartening when you give 110%, when you look around and equitable healthcare, health services and work conditions are not afforded to those of us who are Black especially Black Women. Nurses be everywhere and that is a good thing given the diverse unique set of skills nurses have that are transferable to lots of industries. I can only be thankful for the opportunities, people and friends that I have had and met through my work as a nurse, the lives that have impacted mine and those that I have had the privilege of being a part of even though there have been days when I have questioned why I became a nurse. From the inequalities witnessed while training to the experience of racism and how widely it is embedded in everyday life, nursing notwithstanding.
Once again I find myself at a crossroad, needing to forge a new path ahead. I walk in grace and have faith that whatever path I choose at this season of my life, I will still advocate for nursing and nurses to be valued, especially Black nurses, as we are witnessing in real time the decline in health care services and patient outcomes due to how nursing and nurses and the brilliant work they do has been undervalued not only here in the UK but worldwide. As a service user myself having witnessed the health inequalities Black Patients experience firsthand, I will also still be a loud advocate for equity in healthcare for Black patients. Because racial weathering is a thing and racism does kill and should be a public health emergency, it's only fitting that I end with the words of Bossbabe.Inc:
“ I’m shifting from my hustle era to: My balanced era. My soft era. My ‘nervous system is calm’ era. My ‘work smarter, not harder’ era. My ‘know my worth, regardless of results’ era.”
WHAT'S IN A NAME? When being Kenyan saved my Nursing job!
I would be lying if i said i have never really given much thought to my name(s), after all they are me, my identity even during the times i have rebelled against said names! My whole life has been defined by my names so it came as no surprise when my career was about to be defined by them, even i did not see in what way.
I have ( and I know, many other Black people/ Nurses) lived and worked in a world where my name determined whether I got a job interview, whether I got a job, whether I got promoted or paid equally as my peers! You get it! My name seemed to be a barrier, so when the opposite happened and it became my saving grace, I was very surprised to say the least.
Working for an agency or the nurse bank gives you the flexibility to choose your working hours as well as where it is you would like to work. You also get to work with different teams on different wards and develop working relationships (or not), and this knowledge is often filtered through the various agency/trust bank grapevines. Which wards/units and teams were okay and which to avoid. This meant that there were wards/units that always struggled to get their vacancies filled and the ward and duty managers got clever. They devised ways to get these vacancies filled, unbeknown to us by creating false vacancies within the popular wards/units thus taking away choice, safety nets and in some cases putting patient safety at risk.
I got caught up in these ‘work houdiniships’ on a couple of occasions and apart of causing a of angst and disorientation, they also caused pay disputes with regards to who was meant to sign the timesheets and whose budget the pay would come from! you ended up chasing payments weeks after you had completed your shift. So, i tried to avoid them as much as possible, but oneday i got caught up in one houdiniship from hell.
I had booked a shift on a ward that i knew very well as i had worked on this particular ward as a permanent staff member before and knew the staff and the layout well. I turned up for my shift, bright and early only to be told that they were fully staffed and did not need me and had not booked me! I called the trust bank to let them know what was happening and was told that yes i was indeed booked in for that ward but was meant to work elsewhere to go help with washes and be the healthcare assistant for the day. The ward i was to be sent to was one everyone avoided due to how rude the staff there were making it a very unpleasant ward to work on, hence why they struggled to fill any vacancies. I declined and stated that i would rather go back home as the whole essence of agency/bank work was the freedom and ability to be able to choose when and where you worked, a point that neither the trust bank call handler nor the duty manager took kindly to and i was threatened with referral to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for breaking the patient safety code of conduct by leaving the hospital short staffed.
I left the ward after explaining the situation to the manager and matron and went home. On my way home, i received a call from the trust bank informing me that i had been suspended and all pending shifts cancelled pending an internal investigation, and that my return to working for the trust bank would be dependent on the outcome of the investigation. I was annoyed that they would do that and i was confident that nothing would come of the investigation as i had done nothing wrong! So i told her that while i felt it was unfair, their action, given that i was a full time bank worker, i would await the outcome of the investigation. I was then told to write a statement of events, which i did and emailed it to the head of the trust bank as requested.
Two weeks later i received an email from the head of the trust bank asking me to report to her office. Being summoned is never a pleasant experience but i was surprised this time. It was a friendly setting and a very relaxed chat. She said she wanted to meet me and talk to me face to face before she decided how the investigation was to proceed. She proceeded to ask me where i was from as my name reminded her of a brilliant Kenyan Doctor she had worked with years ago at a previous trust. We talked about all things Kenya and how while my name was similar to the Doctors, we were not related in anyway and that i had never met him, let alone met anyone with the same surname as mine professionally during my working career in the NHS.
She then asked me to narrate what happened on the day, which i did and i also told her how common these houdiniships were becoming especially when the duty manager was the same one who had been on shift on that day and how on many occasions, she had moved me to wards where i was way out of my depth, like surgical trauma and when i voiced concerns she had replied that i was a qualified nurse with a PIN. This is when, i was informed of the complaint the duty manager had written, claiming that she had requested me to go to a different ward to help cover due to a crash call and i had refused. It was the first time i was hearing of this false account of events. I told her that she could confirm with the ward manager who had taken the call and spoken to the duty manager and then relayed the message to me, that there was no crash call and that i would not have refused to go to that ward nor left if that was the case! I also got to hear of the letter of support from the ward manager and matron decrying the drastic measure that had been taken to suspend me.
She then told me she had wanted to look me in the eye when talking to me, as she could not believe that a Kenyan would behave in the way that the duty manager had described, because she had worked with Doctor Onyango and other Kenyans and they were all very good at their jobs, reliable,honest, hardworking and put patient safety above all else, so she could not believe that i had been negligent. She had also looked at my file and in the five plus years i worked for them and there had been no complaints made against me nor any caution on my file. She lifted my suspension but said she would keep a note on my file for two weeks and if no issues arose during the investigation, then my file would be wiped clean.
I later found out that the duty manager was sacked after complaints from other nurses about her attitude and false statements amongst other things. I would like to say that houdiniships are a thing of the past but that’s not the case, unfortunately and because the largest agency/bank workforce are from the Global Majority, they bear the brunt of vexatious complaints. I picked up a great assertive tip from (yes), a brilliant Kenyan Nurse for those times you find yourself in a houdiniship:
“State that your skills set do not apply on that ward that you are being moved to, however, if they are happy to guarantee a waiver in writing that they will take full responsibility for any clinical and safety shortcomings that could potentially or accidentally occur, then you are more than happy to work on the new ward!”
I still haven’t met this Doctor Onyango but if he ever reads this, i would like to say a big thank you/erokamano and also a very big thank you to all my fellow Kenyan Healthcare Workers out there.
x
Shamim aka The Wandering Nurse.
The Importance of Grieving!
I came across a post ( link at end of post) on my timeline on X ( formerly twitter), by a Kenyan Nurse in the U.K talking about her nursing experience in Kenya especially with the managers, which was mostly negative in terms of their support for anything progress related as compared to her experience at an NHS hospital on a ICU unit, where the leadership encouraged progress and supported it. According to her, this latter experience cured her fear and insecurities around sharing her nursing career goals and dreams. From the replies to her post, it seems that she is not alone in having this fear of nurse managers in Kenya. While i can understand where she is coming from and i am happy that she found healing and a positive leadership style at this NHS ICU, unfortunately this is not the case all over, especially from the point of view and experiences of alot of Black Nurses working across NHS hospitals and even beyond.
What Nurse Cate had done was significant and in those series of tweets ( or Xers), she had demonstrated that she had grieved her past job experiences and resulting traums, healed from the traumas and celebrated her victory in her journey towards her nursing career. In her podcast episode( link at end of post) titled ‘How long can you grieve a job’, Dr Monica Cox talks about how much we can lose from our jobs, in terms of how we enter our workspaces full of high hopes and great expectations to grow and thrive, only for the opposite to happen, and we end up leaving, full of disappointment and disenfranchisement. She talks about how these loses are profound for People of Colour (POC) and those from maginalised communities, and how grieving for those loses ( job satisfaction, promotions, safe working places etc) is important to both mental and physical wellbeing, and is something that should be encouraged and acknowledged.
I was reminded how as Black Nurses, we come into nursing full of hopes and expectations to grow and thrive in our workplaces. We enter the workplace in all innocence, giving our all and, more often than not twice as everyone else, shrinking ourselves to fit into places, institutions and structures that are hell bent on drowning our voices and keep us out. We are forced out of jobs and with it out of our careers, growth, seeing through our work and projects we started. We do not get to bear the fruits of our labour, for the workplace is structured to reward hardwork with progress in relation to climbing ladders, one we do not get to do. It is not by accident that we make up the largest agency workforce, because leaving our jobs and working on our own terms is the only way we can survive, provide and protect our peace. We carry with us all of this trauma of loss, loss of identity, loss of self and loss of security. We carry on best we can and rarely do we stop, take stalk and grieve, to heal.
According to Dr. Cox, we need to grieve our work losses and also celebrate the victories no matter how small. When we allow ourselves to grieve, we start on the healing path. Just remember the saying ‘ grief is not linear’ , there is no timeline. Grieve the loss of a stable workplace but also celebrate the reclamation of your peace, working on your terms and protecting your peace.
Tell me what you think. Is grieving for your job important?
The Wandering Nurse X
"CALLING IN BLACK": Affirming my humanity as a Black Woman at work.
“If you are silent about your pain, they will kill you and say you enjoyed it” - Zora Neale Hurston.
“10”! A high or low number, depending on how you look at it or the circumstances. It was a number i was proud of, a badge of honour of sorts, a vision and reality of how “strong”, “resilient”, “efficient” and “dependable” i was. I mean i was a put -your -head -and -work- kind of person, just get on with it. What i didn’t realise was that, perfect number 10 was killing me, taking it’s toll on me and was in some ways, rooted in racism! You see, for 15 years working as a qualified nurse, i had only taken 10 sick off days! i had a near perfect sickness record, but my mind and body were falling apart!( I write about this in a previous blog post: https://www.ayiechoodembiconsultancy.com/about-healthcare/racism-in-health-a-patient-safety-issue-navigating-healthcare-while-black-part-2
“Calling - in - Black” to work was journalist and social media satirist,Evelyn Ngugi’s way of affirming her humanity to herself by staying home from work to deal with the feelings of grief and it’s emotional toll after being overwhelmed by traumatic events around violence and trauma fueled by racism faced by Black/ African American persons in the U.S.A, according to Byers et al who wrote about her work in their paper: -Giving while grieving: Racism-related stress and psychological resilience in Black/African American registered nurses. Their paper looked at race related stress in the healthcare system and how Racism-related stress can affect nurses’ engagement, performance and practice. It is a great read and worthwhile read
Byers et al are not alone in looking at how racism affects the mental health of Black Nurses, according to a study conducted by Nursing Outlook, cited by Portia Wofford in her post : - Black Nurses’ Mental Health Matters, Black nurses perceived that they had low psychological resilience in stressful situations and were affected by both lived and vicarious racism. Portia also includes this quote below in her post which resonated deeply with me about my previous and current experiences within my workplace and how i now choose to respond to them.
According to psychotherapist Megan Watson, "Microaggressions and macroaggressions in the workplace, that stem from patients, colleges, supervisors, management, and the institution itself might be rooted in racist ideology and can put a heavy burden on the work that you do and ultimately impacts your burnout."
How does all this relate to me and my sickness record? Well after years of enduring pain and illness, showing up to work regardless of how i was feeling, because taking time off sick was (and is still) frowned upon, more so for us Black Nurses in the NHS, COVID19 happened and finally there were conversations happening around workload, racism, mental health and burnout especially around and about Black healthcare workers. For the first time, it was laid bare the unfair and uneven system and bias with regards to all four and more that had been placed on Black healthcare workers and the toll it had taken. Conversations around and about change were happening. Organisations promised to do better, be better, but words without actions are just that, words!
Fast forward to 2022, and i am working at a new organisation, a global one at that, with branches worldwide and nothing has changed. The racist ‘Strong Black Woman’ myth is still firmly in place. The myth that as a Black Woman/Nurse, you can do it all, you can manage the heavy workload without help at all and you will be more than fine, since you are a Black Woman and a strong one at that! It is coated in fake accolades, that tell you how efficient you are, how capable you are, how you just ‘get on’ with it, while more work is piled on and you dig in, carry on, because, as a Black Woman, you know you have to do the work or else you and your work will be called into question. You carry the load even as it breaks your back and mind. Do not be fooled by the accolades, the false praises that are slowly sending you to your grave, eating at your soul. Do not be fooled, no one is coming to save you!
So while, nothing seems to have changed, I have. It’s business as usual on the ‘trample on Black folks/Women’ street. So i am glad that i learned from my past mistakes, my betrayal of self and body. I learnt not to be taken in by the accolades. To see the situation for what it was, exploitation, rooted in racist ideologies. I learnt to listen to my soul and body. So next time the myth of the ‘Strong Black Woman’ came calling, and tried to break my body and soul, I listened to my soul and body and I Called in Black! I mean what is a perfect score worth, if you are not around to enjoy it because your body is totally broken or you are 6 feet under? Like Zora Neale Hurston said: “ If you are silent about your pain, they will kill you and say you enjoyed it!”
Do not suffer in silence, there are steps you can take to safeguard yourself:
Talk to your manager about your work conditions and if your manger is the problem, find out who your HR person and what your workplace policy is around raising grievances and complaints and escalate the issue. Write a letter/email highlighting the issues you face and who you have raised it with and when and what was the outcome. That way there is a record and not just a word of mouth scenario. See also https://www.gov.uk/raise-grievance-at-work of how it should work and what to expect.
Ask about your organisations Occupational Health Policy. Occupational health can help establish a safe working environment for you by providing a range of services which could include recommendations around safe work loads and safe working spaces with correct equipment. You can read more at: https://www.acas.org.uk/using-occupational-health-at-work
Further reading/resources:
Harder, better, faster, stronger? Work intensity and ‘good work’ in the United Kingdom https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/irj.12364
RCN Nursing Whilst Black Podcast Series: https://www.rcn.org.uk/About-us/Diversity-and-inclusion/Nursing-whilst-black
Celebrating Black Nurses’ Impact on UK Healthcare: https://www.florence.co.uk/posts/black-nurses
New anti-racism resource for NHS nursing and midwifery professionals: https://www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-and-updates/new-anti-racism-resource-for-nhs-nursing-and-midwifery-professionals/
Combatting racial discrimination against minority ethnic nurses, midwives and nursing associates: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/combatting-racial-discrimination-against-minority-ethnic-nurses-midwives-and-nursing-associates/
A Point of View: Calling in Black: https://www.theinclusionsolution.me/a-point-of-view-calling-in-black/
Black Fatigue by Mary-Frances Winters: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Fatigue-Racism-Erodes-Spirit/dp/1523091304/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=black+fatigue&qid=1592415015&sr=8-1 https://www.wintersgroup.com/black-fatigue-is-available-now/?__hstc=201086513.b0b4ad3e2d6f8cb2ac5c1fbd0bfcdd30.1667634858234.1667634858234.1667634858234.1&__hssc=201086513.2.1667634858236&__hsfp=638492305
Calling in Black by Nicholle Ramsey: https://www.amazon.co.uk/calling-black-Nicholle-Ramsey/dp/173607461X
A QUICK & HANDY GUIDE TO SETTLING IN THE U.K: FOR KENYAN NURSES!
Part 1: LOOKING AFTER YOURSELF - Physically & Mentally.
After months and weeks of frantic preparation, you have finally made it to the U.K to begin the next chapter in your Nursing journey. Congratulations on making it this and best wishes in all your endeavours.
The Covid-19 Pandemic has shown us now more than ever that ‘health is wealth’ and by health i mean overall health( physical and mental). Moving to the U.K might not seem like a big change in terms of things like jet lag etc because there isn’t such a huge time difference like with other countries e.g USA and also being that Kenya was former British Colony, some things are familiar, but it is a big change weather wise, culturally, food wise, socially and even accommodation. Once the excitement of moving to a new place dies down and everyone gets back to the daily grind, it can all seem overwhelming causing anxiety and loneliness in some cases.
That is why looking after yourself and knowing what to look out for and where to get help/ resources when needed is so important. When i first came to the UK, the only serious illness that i had ever experienced was Malaria. So months later i was in bed not able to get up, whole body aches and pains, sore throat and running nose. I genuinely felt like i was dying and having no family or friends around to lean or look after me only made it worse. I was staying at a hostel at the time, where meals were served at set times downstairs in the canteen. I managed to drag myself on day 2 of being ill downstairs and the security guy at the desk took one look at me and said ‘ i see you have finally got the welcome FLU’! He asked if i had any supplies, i had no clue what he was talking about? it was summer, how did i have the flu? He helped me get some food, got me some Lemsip, tins of soup and multivitamins. He then went on to explain to me what he meant by the ‘welcome FLU’! He was from South Africa and over the years he had noticed that those who migrated to the UK, got this one bout of very strong flu within weeks or months of them migrating. I know it is not scientifically backed but then i started noticing the trend amongst friends and colleagues who had migrated as well. So i pass on this tale to you as a forewarning to be prepared and have some supplies, just in case you get hit with this ‘Welcome FLU’. Thanks to him and his rescue pack i was on the mend and back to work.
You can buy your much needed rescue supplies from any pharmacy over the counter or from most supermarkets, but i would recommend BOOTS: https://www.boots.com/ over all the others like Superdrug, Lloyds or Supermarket pharmacies. My tried and tested reasons being:
Their points/ rewards system is the best out of all of them like Superdrug, Holland&Barrett and signing up for their points card is a great way to save money, earn points which you can use to pay for products.
Their own brand products are just a good sometimes if not better than branded ones.
They have a wide variety of products and lines from baby stuff, cosmetics, skincare and alot more especially at their bigger stores, so you can do all your toiletry shopping as well as pick up essential medicines all in one go and have i mentioned while earning rewards. it a win - win for me.
They also offer a wide range of other services depending on store.
So if you have not already done so, get yourself a boots card and thank me later!
You may have come with your friends as a group or have family here in the UK which is great as having loved ones nearby can be a blessing when adjusting to new settings and scenarios. Technology has also made it easy for us to stay connected to those who are far away. Sometimes due to work commitments or time differences it may not be possible to stay in touch with friends and family that you have left behind as much as you would like to or even at all.
You are not alone and there are support networks you can plug into. Most NHS Trusts provide some sort of counselling/ therapy services for staff that you can self refer to or call if you feel overwhelmed and need help, be it work or home related. I am not sure about provisions in other settings like Care Homes or Private Hospitals.
Others that might be interest and are worth noting down/joining are:
KENYA NURSES/MIDWIVES- UK( KENMA UK) : http://knmuk.org/ They aim to bring together all UK Kenyan nurses and midwives for common good and to help collaborate with like-minded organisations across the world.
Equality 4 Balck Nurses: A great organisation that can support you when you are experiencing racism or discrimination at work. They also have a weekly zoom session that you can join as and when for support. https://www.equality4blacknurses.com/
Part 2: LOOKING AFTER YOURSELF - Money Saving/Work/Food/Shopping Tips
You would have to be on another planet, if you are not feeling the pinch or have been affected in someway or another with the global cost of living crisis! Lets just say that even before the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, nursing pay has not been that great and that we have been feeling the economic downturn shift for a while now.
I remember going shopping for food or anything and converting the cost into Kenya Shillings and almost fainting. I still do it even now, 20 something years later! I refuse to buy an avocado for £1! You’ve got to draw the line somewhere. As a Nurse working within the NHS or Social Care sector, you can get discounts across many high-street stores by just showing your Work ID badge, or via your local NHS Staff discount pages that your has managed to negotiate on your behalf as part of their staff benefits, or you can sign up for Discount Cards, that you can use to get money off your shopping, phone deals, home gadgets and much more. Some come with an initial fee to join, but are worth it in the long run. Two that i can think of are:
Blue Light Card: For just £4.99, members of the Blue Light community can register for 2-years access to more than 15,000 discounts from large national retailers to local businesses across categories such as holidays, cars, days out, fashion, gifts, insurance, phones, and many more. https://www.bluelightcard.co.uk/index.php
COSTCO: Great for if you prefer to shop in bulk. https://www.costco.co.uk/
FOOD
If you like eating out and are craving that Kenyan feel to going out, then you are in luck if you are in London, mainly East London, as most Kenyan Restaurants/ Eateries are based there.
If you happen to be based in Swindon then Masai Choma House on 131 Ferndale Road is your place. Other places can be found via Google or word of mouth but remember not all those that use our Kenyan Heritage actually cater for them.
When it comes to food shopping, it is worth shopping around but time to do that is rarely available so my go to supermarkets are: Lidl and Aldi. They are pocket friendly and most of their stuff are own brand and actually taste way better than the branded stuff! In fact buying Supermarket own branded stuff not only saves you money most times, they actually taste better most times ( Think Panadol/Paracetamol).
For Spices and stuff like Maize meal and Chapati flour or even greens and fruits, then its cheaper and better to buy them from your local South Asian store which are mostly branded as Halal stores as opposed to the World foods section that have now popped up in most major supermarkets. I tend to get my Meat/chicken and fish from there as well.
PHONE/SIM CARD PROVIDERS
Calling home( Kenya) used to be a problem, one had to buy a calling card or use access codes to call home. Calling home has never been easier especially with apps like Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger etc, the only problem is that they require the party that you are calling to be online and we all know how expensive bundles in Kenya can be. While you can roam with your Kenyan numbers and use them to call home, you will need a local UK number for day to day use. If roaming, i find that Safaricom is cheaper that the rest.
Most service providers conduct a credit check before you sign up for a monthly/ post paid deal. If a pay monthly deal is not your thing then there are great pay as you go Sim only deals out there. remember to check coverage in your area, you do not want to get a deal where you can only use in certain spots! If you want a UK line that you can also use to call Kenya on then my go to one is LYCA: https://www.lycamobile.co.uk/en/rates/#/international , it has great low rates when calling Kenya and also free Lyca-Lyca calls.
Whatever provider you are looking for, do not forget to check what savings you can make using your Blue Light Card. Usually you can save more on top of discounts already provided by your selected provider.
CLOTHES & OTHER STUFF.
I am not much of a clothes shopping person as most of my time is spent either in my work uniform or in my pyjamas once i am home, so i would be utterly useless at telling you where you can get the latest fashions etc. I also hate shopping so i tend to go to one store and that is it and for 20 or so years Primark has served me well, especially when it comes to essentials needed for work and new items and for other stuff like coats and jackets or seasonal wear, Charity or thrift shops are my go to places. But those are just my preferences.
The UK is a place where you can have four seasons in one day! I have also discovered that an Umbrella is much of a hindrance than help when it is raining as it rarely rains without wind or in a straight fashion! rather, as one friend put it ‘ it rains in a diagonal way’ and half the time you spend trying to stop the umbrella from flying away! Investing in a couple of waterproof good coats is essential. A thick one for winter, a slightly lighter one for Autumn and Spring and a general light rain coat for summer. I would also add a fleece sweater for work, if your work place does not provide one. They are much more comfortable and less bulky to wear when at work.
It would also be a good idea to buy some leggings or thermals that you can wear under your uniform, especially during the cold months as you have to bear below elbow when in a clinical setting, so wearing a sweater on the ward is a no-no. I tend to buy the long sleeved basic tshirts and leggings at Primark, not forgetting a couple of long thick socks.
You will quickly find out how expensive anything Black hairdressing is with varying quality at every turn, so if you have that friend who knows how to braid, plait or style hair then keep them close or else you better learn fast how to look after your own hair and how to make a hairstyle last that bit longer. All things Black hair are a tad expensive and hard to find unless you are in a town that has a Black Hair Store. If you happen to find one in your town, ask them if they have an in house hairdressing place. Most of them do. You can also find a limited amount of Black Hair Products in Boots, Superdrug, Amazon, online stores and some select supermarkets.
These are just some tips that i hope will help. I know it is not at all exhaustive but i hope it can be start into getting you settled. If there is anything else you would like me to touch or expound on, please let me know. Please share with friends or anyone who you think would benefit.
Wishing you all the best in all your current and future endeavours.
WHAT IS BLOCKING YOUR CAREER PROGRESSION?
“The days when NHS staff can progress at equal level is the day NHS can say they are truly inclusive and equal. If newly graduated nurses can reach to Band 8 within 3 years and non-clinical support staff to Band 6 but ethnic minority staff have to wait atleast minimum 10-20 years”. Mushtag
@mskahin1 (Twitter)
The above tweet from Mushtag was as usual a ‘pause for thought’ read and it reminded me of something a couple of Nurses from an ethnic minority background told me when i asked them why they had not applied for the Band 7 post in their department? Their answer was sad, but not shocking and was one i had heard several times, including from myself- They did not want the added stress and lack of support that came with moving up and that they were comfortable where they were, not happy or content but comfortable. A put your invisible head down and get on with the work, kind of situation. Get your pay and maintain the status quo!
As a Black Nurse, i understood this all too well. When opportunities seem like traps, not because you are not qualified, (in fact you are most likely overqualified, given that we always have to put in twice the work!). But because, you have witnessed those before you, who worked hard, climbed the ladder only to find that there is no support whatsoever at the top. That you would be expected to take on much more and often for much less. That the brick walls you will encounter will knock you so hard that you will end up being a shell of the person you once were and that finally you will pay heavily with your health, only to realise that even in sickness/illness, we are still not the same!
At one former workplace, Black Nurses were terrified of promotions. They told me that it was because they had witnessed their colleagues being sacked right after being promoted. To them a promotion to either Ward Sister or Manager = a P45. There was this one ward that seemed to have problems and no manager had ever survived once they were moved to that ward, most had to be redeployed elsewhere. So when one of the Black senior Nurses on our ward, after years of applying, got given the post of ward sister and moved to that ward, instead of celebrating her promotion, all the Black Nurses were sad, a mourning of sorts, because they were sure she was on her way out. That is how messed up this whole situation was.
This whole situation is also reflected in the Ethnicity Pay Gap as is evident in the research paper below ⬇️ . One may say, that Agenda for Change(AFC) has eliminated inequality and the pay gap or that within the NHS it is not common for there to be pay gaps amongst Nurses due to banding. But even within those banding, there are different pay-points and your moving up a pay-point is dependent on your managers assessment during your PDR, also on what progresses you have made. If you have not been given those opportunities to better yourself, to improve your practice, access to training which is not just the run of the mill mandatory training! If you have not been afforded those opportunities but instead have had your workload increased, as a warped way of rewarding your hard work, that you have proved that you can handle more responsibility, but without the correct pay, then a pay gap ensues and inequality is at play, do not be fooled.
