The week that was

08 Sep 2012 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , ,

I have survived my week of induction and I have come through it very well. I expected to feel like I’d been run over by a bus this morning but apart from needing a short nap this afternoon, I’ve felt ok all day.

Most of the week was interesting, I met a lovely bunch of people and it felt fantastic to be part of an organisation again. I really loved having a purpose to my life again, I’ve even enjoyed catching the bus and people watching on the way.

But the best part of the week was finding out that my CRB clearance had arrived. So at last after months of waiting I can finally start my nurse practice hours for my return to nurse practice course. I am working a late shift tomorrow and I can’t wait to get stuck in.

I am now feeling very optimistic that I will complete the minimum hours by November and I will get my assignment written by next month.

After the last few months of waiting and stressing about being able to complete the course, I can now see an end in sight. I am getting closer to getting Hasan over here so that we can be together.

 

 

So close I can almost smell it

18 Aug 2012 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,

I had a phone call yesterday from Human Resources and my occupational health clearance is now ready.

So now the only thing standing in the way of getting on with the practical part of my Return to nurse practice course is my CRB.

I have to admit I’m fed up with saying I hope it doesn’t take long to come through, because I’ve been saying that for weeks now. At this rate I’ll be squeezing in all the 100 hours I need to complete in a couple of weeks, and run the risk of a relapse of my illness.

It’s very difficult at the moment to remain positive.

But I am encouraged that yesterday I helped my friend move out of her house, we were very busy cleaning, moving things and making many trips to and from the car. I was very tired when I got home last night and this morning when I woke up, but I didn’t feel like I was going to slip into a post exertion coma like I would have done normally when I overdid any activity.

So when my CRB is eventually ready I’m sure that I’ll be able to work without feeling like I’ve died after every shift, which is always a bonus!

One step forward and no steps back

27 Jul 2012 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , ,

Good news on my quest to get an honorary contract to do my nurse practice. My contract offer arrived in the post 2 days ago and today I went to the recruitment centre to hand in my completed paperwork to set the CRB checking machine in motion.

Hopefully it won’t take too long for them to check, for the second time in 4 months, that I don’t have a criminal record.

I don’t understand why recent CRB disclosures aren’t transferable between different organisations. It’s so frustrating for employers and employees to have to do the checks and wait for weeks for the results, even if the applicant has a valid recent CRB disclosure done elsewhere.

I learnt today that there is a part on the form that allows the applicant to get a personal number so they can be tracked in the system, negating the need for repeated checks. Apparently this part of the form is ignored by the CRB agency because the system is not active and never has been activated. One theory is that the agency has cottoned on that they will be missing out on the £43 it costs every time a check is done.

Great eh?

Fingers crossed I won’t wait too long to confirm what I already know.