Anyone working in the NHS?

[smile]

Hi everyone, not been around for a while, hope you're all well.

Does anybody know who exactly the NHS 'bare below the elbow' rule applies to? I'm aware that some professionals in the NHS have to abide by this and some don't, I have some fairly major career decisions hanging on this and I'm afraid to ask anyone at uni as it would undoubtably lead to akward questions!

Thanks for reading.

[split]

Porters, doctors, nurses. I think it is any one who comes into contact with the patients that isn't purely in a receptionist role...

[smile]

Yeah I had a suspicion - I reckon that if I go the in the lab monkey direction I should be ok, but it kind of closes other doors for me, which makes me a bit  . Maybe I'll avoid it alltogether and find a nice big lab belonging to a private company where nobody cares if I'm a nutter as long as I do my job!

Thanks!

[split]

I used to work for a international contract research organisation and most people are nutters that work there. And if they weren't when they started they went that way. X

[willow]

hey x I work in the nhs and like split said if you are coming into contact with patients then you should be bear from the elbow down. I'm not sure if i interpreted your post right but if you're planning to work in a lab then don't they have to wear white coats which have long sleeves? The labs in our hospital have clear windows so whenever i've looked in people are always wearing white coats x
 
I have to be bear from the elbow down and have always found people supportive about scars etc even fresh ones tho i do tend to avoid doing it there or showing it. I have always found people supportive in general.,maybe because if you're working with patients you tend to hopefully be a caring person and if you are working in the nhs you're working because you want to do that job because you care rather than for money lol   

[hidden tears]

+1 to willow

I have worked in the nhs, and do kind of now (I'm a student atm). I work with patients, and so have to be bare below the elbows. I've found people to be supportive too despite having obvious scarring which has on occasion (after a crisis) been recent. A few (minimal number really) ask....most of whom really are truly blissfully oblivious, and remain so! If you are *wanting* to go the lab route you should be fine. However I would say please, please don't let scars stop you from doing something you want to do. I almost let the fear of having to show my arms stop me......but I am sooooo glad I didn't.....I love my job so it was worth the battle.

[dark_chick]

Bare below the elbow applies to anyone who comes into contact withh patients. However, I have visited several hospitals throughout the course of my studying and very few places acctually enforce this rule. Also the rule can be changed according to individual circumstances, for example if someones religion requested that they were long sleeves then it would be OK to do so. And I have seen another member of staff who had one prosthetic arm and they were allowed to wear long sleeves. As for not wanting to ask anyone at uni, have you thought about approaching the disibility service. Having a mental illness means that they are able to help you and put in place stratergies to aid you in your learning and to ensure that you are not disadvantaged in any way. At my uni they are not allowed to tell your department anything without my specific consent, but of course check with them first. It may be that they say it is a reasonable adjustment for you to wear long sleeves whilst on placement in a hospital. They could then tell your department (without telling them the reason why) and wearing short sleeves no longer is a problem.

[Jess]

I work for the NHS and I'm bare below the elbows, to be honest most people don't ask questions, now and again they do but it isn't really often, but I wouldn't let it put you off doing what you really want to do just because of your scars. I was worried before I started but like I say it's only a handful or so of people that have asked and I've been working there for 2 years in this role.