Nurse! Nurse! I'm getting worse!

Because of the disaster at the Mid-Staffordshire N.H.S. Trust, there are a number of suggestions on how to 'fix' the problem.  On the Beeb this morning there was an 'ex-nurse', a gentleman who had lost his son as the result of a medical accident, and someone from an organisation called A.M.A. The 'M.A.' stood for 'medical accidents', but I can't remember what the first 'A' stood for.  They were calling for the creation of a duty of 'honesty' i.e. when you made a mistake you confessed rather than try and sweep it under the carpet.  Good luck with that one unless you do something about the countless firms that will help you get the compensation 'you deserve' after medical negligence.  What has happened that 'accidents' no longer happen?

The point that I wish to make is one that is not mine, but I think that it has enough merit for it to be repeated.  Since I trained as a nurse, nurse training has undergone several changes, and still things happen that make people want to change nurse training again.  The latest is to make people work in hospital wards for a year before they can apply for training, a kind of internship.  But the idea I want to put forward is to have nurses licensed.  The license will be awarded as long as nurses can carry out 'basic nursing care' to an acceptable standard.  This is not as easy as it sounds.  The license will also cover them to administer medication safely (you only need to get five things right: the right patient; the right time; the right drug; the right dose; and the right route of administration.).  To get a job in Cardio-Thoracic Care, for example, you would have to complete a conversion course, where the specifics of cardio-thoacic care are dealt with.  Years ago the English National Board ran loads of these courses, and I think that they should be extended into the normal pattern of nursing qualifications.  The result of this is that when your relative is admitted to the Heart Unit after having a 'Heart Attack' there will be nurses there who are licensed to care for your relative, and have been trained in the specific needs that their condition presents.  Like I say, not my idea, but I think that it has merit.

Job Hunt

Rather brazenly, I applied for a para-legal job with a firm in Hull.  I have no qualifications in Law so I really had to pull the finger out to even get them to look at my C.V.  this is the cover letter that I wrote:

"Please accept this letter as my application for the post as Legal Assistant/Para-legal at your firm. There is no doubt, from looking at my C.V., that my chances of getting an interview are very slim. (That ticks the 'sense of humour' box, I think.) However, in the next few sentences, I have to persuade you to give me a chance. Yes, I am on the wrong side of 50, but that brings life experience that people with “no snow on the roof” will not have. Unusually, for my age, I have quite good computer skills, and run web sites, one for a community group that I am a member of. I am well educated, I have a degree from the University of Aberdeen, and I have trained as a nurse, and I can explain to anyone that will listen how fridges and air-conditioners work. I have a thirst for new knowledge that is, sadly, not being exploited to the full, and I would like that to change before I become old and decrepit.

So, how have I done? Will I get the chance to further persuade you of my suitability for the post, or are my documents shredded and sent off with the re-cycling? I will, no doubt, find out in the fullness of time."

I enclosed a copy of my C.V., obviously, and waited, expecting to hear not a peep.  However, a reply did come, and here it is........

 "Thank you for your application for our paralegal post.  I am sorry to have to tell you that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful.  We did very much enjoy your covering letter and for the record I shall myself very shortly be radically altering my own opinion as to which side of fifty is the right side to be.  We were also very impressed by your CV and the range of life experience you have had.

Unfortunately, however we received nearly fifty applications and many of those people had very relevant HR experience which really was the sort of background we were looking for.  we had toyed with the idea of inviting you to an interview merely on the basis that it would probably be quite interesting to meet you but that in reality would probably not be fair!"

If I come across anyone who is interested in Employment Law, I would, in the strongest terms possible, advise them to work for the author of the reply.  In my search for work, it is the norm. not to receive even an acknowledgement that my application has been received, but the author here has not only replied, but has taken the time to think about what to write in reply to my frankly outrageous application.

The firm?  GOSSCHALKS