Advice needed on helping out the young uns

[Wally]

I've been tossing this idea around for a few weeks now and have finally acted on it. I'm volunteering at the local NHS funded out reach programme for young people with mental health issues and learning disabilities. It's only going to be a couple of days a week but I guess it's something.
I'll be visiting some at home on a regular basis, helping out at there social centre and with group outings, now this is mildy nerve racking for obvious reasons, not least the fact that I used to be an out patient not that long ago the chances of running into someone I shared a ward with is going to be raised and frankly that's a period of my life I've tried to forget (the time on the ward rather the problems which led me there). So there's that.

The other thing is that whilst voluntry work is fine in and of itself, I'd also like to gain some academic training in this field. I've brought this up with the ladies who run the programme and due to there insanely hectic schedule they don't really have the time to offer up much guidance and I get the impression they're a little sniffy of the courses that do specialise in youth care prefering instead allround nurse training. Problem is I honestly I can't see myself being able to deal with the physical demands and general suffering (the patients not mine) which comes with working in a medical enviroments. that's not to say I don't realise that just as much as sufering is caused by mental health problems it's just I think I'll be able to deal with that a little better.

So my rambling queery boils down to thsi, should I just spend the next year or two taking on as many courses in the fields I feel I can realistically cope with or should I just suck it up and follow the lead of the wonderful women whose work I admire and will now be my de facto bossses?

Any advice even cross-continent would be gratefully heard.

[coldforge]

Dude, my advice is that you definitely need to see a doctor about those rambling queery boils.

[diesel_powered]

So since I took two psych courses in school, I feel that I am horribly unqualified to give you advice, therefore I will:

I'd say do both if you can. I mean, psych courses are fun anyway. And nursing whatnot can't hurt you either. But I think doing one or the other won't really help you nearly as much as both.

I mean, all these wonderful ladies that are helping you out learned everything the hard way which works in an abstract sense, but some book work will help you out too. All those books and studies and stuff weren't all for crap.

What's NHS stand for?

[Wally]

Cheers diesel, the NHS stands for National Health Service which in theory provides Medical care for everyone for free, Although private medical companies have been opening up more and more hospitals in recent years, taking the best and most qualified doctors and nurses, leaving the NHS in a rather noble but struggling situation. Nothing to be suprised about really if you have money in your bank account you can pay for better service and if you don't well you can get your ass in line.

As for your advice, well I've kinda gone in that direction, doing some practical voluteering for the NHS Trust, which is going to involve visiting wards, running a creative writing programme for people with long term difficulties and a mentoring programme. And doing some theory by going back to sixth form college to get a biology, psychology and chemistry A- level in a year, which is weird becasue I left school at sixteen and now nearly ten years later I'm back and the rest of the class have stayed the same age. I'll do all this for a year before next september going to Nursing school, which will probably returing to London, so that'll be nice.

[diesel_powered]

Schweet!

I was thinking maybe it was Nebraska Health Systems but then I saw your britishness.

And oh yeah, way to take an interest in helping out the kids. They need it more than ever these days.