Why I like working at NHS 24
Case Studies
We firmly believe that NHS 24 is a great place to work. However don’t just take our word for it! Here, a number of our colleagues give you their views on why they work at NHS 24 and what their roles here mean to them.
Frazer Anderson
Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
Frazer was the first Mental Health Nurse Practitioner to go live at NHS24. Eight months on, Frazer tells us why he has never looked back.
"In a way I felt quite privileged being a trailblazer, and in another way, quite apprehensive at what I had got myself into! The training was good and I look back fondly on it. I had the personal tuition of two very gifted colleagues for six weeks on a subject that interests me immensely. The grand finale was going live on the phone, first with a buddy listening in and then, after the allotted number of flying hours, going solo. I admit this was nerve wracking, almost like the first time you drive a car after your test. However, confidence came quickly and competence tried valiantly to keep up. December was marching on and NHS24 was getting increasingly busy.
Mental Health Nurses are certainly needed as lots of people's problems can come to a head over the festive season. In the first few weeks I became immersed in all forms of human distress. Some of these you can help with immediately, but most need the patient to be put in contact with the appropriate person who can best help. Although it is one of the most demanding jobs I have ever done, it is also the most enjoyable. I enjoy patient contact and this post is one of the few mental health posts at Band 6 that does not involve ward/team management, bringing with it a higher level of clinical autonomy and infinite variety. It may be cynical for me to say this, but in this job, patients only come one at a time and you don't need a personal alarm on your belt.
One of the things that made the biggest impression on me was how welcome I was made to feel. There was a genuine gratitude that Mental Health Nurses were being taken on. The frontline staff do all they can to support newcomers - it's almost an instinctive reaction. Early in January I was assigned to Anne Dunne's team. Anne is someone I can approach with any problems, and with her feedback and coaching this role is becoming second nature. The bottom line is, this is an interesting job and good practitioners of mental heath are needed, welcomed and appreciated here. It is a challenge, but in the words of JFK, "We do these things, not because they are easy."
