My Angel Nurse

Posted on May 15, 2012 by

I am determined to identify all the areas of nursing that I do and don’t like by the end of this placement. I feel I am accomplishing the identification of the areas I don’t like, with rationale to support this, however I am struggling to find the areas I do have interest in or passion for. Then today it dawned on me….. As so frequently often I am finding I don’t fit the mold, any mold, so today after having one of the most moving experiences of my degree I realized perhaps I can research the feasibility and need for a new, custom made role that would suit me perfectly. So firstly i will take you along my two year journey of elimination….

Not long after a year into our studies we were asked to submit specialty preferences for our third year… Yes extremely premature and ridiculous as one would only hope that 18 months after we would have grown in our identity as a nurse and with this would come enlightenment and a change in interests. Anyway choose one was….. ED; why? Well I love the go, go, go… I need fast and challenge and variety. In case you haven’t picked that up in my other posts of seven horses, dogs, kids, jobs etc. second was paeds as I am good with kids and surely having 4 helps and I really want to make balloon animals and blow bubbles (daily inspired by the real patch Adams). Three palliative care; because I couldn’t choose a third and my friend said I’d be good at it… So… Here I am almost 18 months later and a lot more insightful into what makes me tick. Continue reading →

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Professional Practice or Tittle Tattling?

Posted on May 9, 2012 by

I feel like a little child, lost in a crowd. I am trying to find my way and run, hugging jean leg after jean leg, only to feel an instantaneous relief as I share my concerns, bleed my experiences and then a moment of panic and regret as I take a breathe, look up and realise I have yet again clutched at the wrong leg. This pretty much depicts where I am at in my placement. The only difference is everyone would feel sorrow for the little lost child and hopefully compassion prevailing would mean even if they were not the child’s mother, they would without question take the child under their wing until they were safe and sound. Alternatively I keep running in circles, the leg shakes me off, labels me as problematic as if I’m a devious runaway, and then avoids contact with the hope that I will just wander in another direction. 

At first I found it amusing, just to see how far my concerns would go. I patiently and very passively mentioned things to other students that had been in the venue for a while, sniffed around other wards, checked policies, current evidence, best practice, then I became less amused. This was now on my shoulders, I had patients eating when they were nil by mouth, meds written up with incorrect or absent doses, BP falling to 90/54 and being under the instruction to not record it and just check again a while later. I was even given pills to take for my sudden onset of sickness, no packaging, no five rights, just a pill handed to me in the hall. Well now I had progressed way beyond slight nausea, I was close to passing out. Continue reading →

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Knock, Knock, Knock

Posted on May 8, 2012 by

I have to apologize for my lack of posts, they sit here in my queue of drafts, yet the politics of my workplace evoke a fear of being identified. If I have learned little in my hobby on the side as a budding writer I have had the warnings of defamation drilled into me. Further, nearing the end of a degree that gives me something I can lose so easily and welcomes me into such an interconnected industry the consequence of publishing live accounts of my experiences scares me.

In saying that, here I am, I thought I’d provide a general reflection on things as 130 hours into my second last placement. I have been doing A LOT of reflecting. Over the past 130 hours I am surprised to report I have not had a single headache. I have however cried numerous times to myself, once to my dear friends on the phone, lost many tears throughout the hours I spent on respite at home, considered not being a hospital nurse, considered not being a nurse at all and been VERY hesitant to return to placement. Continue reading →

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When All Goes Wrong

Posted on April 30, 2012 by

Here I was, fully competent AIN in my comfort zone where I’d spent numerous shifts before. I had made the commitment to the universal health care gods that I would be the best nurse that I could be during this shift. I had discovered a while before that if I made a commitment to myself to be the best nurse on shift that I could be that my shift would usually start and end with happy patients and a satisfied self. So another night shift almost complete, placebo effect had taken effect and I had had an awesome shift. I had not stopped for nine hours, yet felt satisfaction overriding my exhaustion as I knew I had been a great nurse to some great patients.

I had half an hour to go and was looking forward to getting home and maximizing the three hours I had before I headed to my next shift, shower and bed here I come. I turned and looked up the hall where the RN was striding towards me. She asked if I was going to be finished early. I answered with slight pride and confidence that yes, I was tracing  for an early finish. With anticipatory stance I watched, I always loved it when RN s knew I was a student and would get me to do meds etc with them when I had time. But instead I was asked to go help the AIN upstairs. Continue reading →

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Clouds Of Guilt

Posted on April 25, 2012 by

Well with the start day sneaking up on me I remained extremely disorganised, yet calm. Eight weeks of 40 hour weeks in another state, 5 hours and a tank of petrol from home.

Once I hit the freeway my excitement and anticipation turned to guilt. What was I thinking? Leaving 4 kids with my husband, my horses, Mr. Beagle with his big puppy eyes. Perhaps I should waited until I was a more mature mature aged student, with slightly less attached strings.. Is it fair that I am out with a passion to save the world and become all things to all people while my kids sit at home and wait for my return only on weekends?

The feeling to turn around and head home and just decide to stop it all was so strong, yet it was like when they have bags of chips for $1:50 each or 2 for $2:00, you will always see me with 2. Well this was kind of the same, no matter how much guilt I felt, to turn back would have meant the past 2 years of guilt was worthless so I need to wade through a bit longer to make it all worth while. So I drove on. Continue reading →

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Never Too Old

Posted on April 25, 2012 by

One question I have been asked a few times is how hard it is to study, you know, as an older person ;-) . I find that the majority of emails and messages I get from people considering a new career in nursing are more doubtful of their ability to cope with jumping the hoops within the academic world, than their ability to be a great nurse. Hopefully I can convince you in this post, that if you are one of these people, that you have the base and the drive and the passion to be a GREAT nurse then you will be a GREAT nurse and you should not let the study side get in your way.

I believe, and especially through my experiences in my studies with a large group of AMAZING mature aged students, that mature aged back to study students are of superior nursing quality. By the time you have pondered the idea of nursing and decided to do it, whether you are new to the industry or up-skilling from an AIN/ PCA or EN, you have made every sacrifice possible to get to this point of commitment. Once you start and you multi-skill and prioritise grizzly kids, messy houses, aerobically deprived canines, assignments and study; you are already one of the most deserving future nurses that will, once you get there appreciate your journey so much that it will show in your nursing for the rest of your career. Continue reading →

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No Gloves On Me

Posted on April 14, 2012 by

One thing has been annoying me for some time. Okay, for those that know me, there have been many more than just one thing, but let me introduce one of the things. The art of toileting. Again, speaking aged care specifically here, as the hospital system probably doesn’t see quite as many patients requiring toileting assistance, I have no hesitation in claiming that no-one toilets residents/ patients in a proper hygienic manner. 

Any fellow RN’s, EN’s, Cert IV’s, AIN’s. PCA’s know the skill and style that comes with a proper hand wash. I am convinced that after you seeing the fluorescent germs climbing all over your hands after your very best hand wash that you have made sure that you scrub, alco wipe and glove up for anything that involves penis, vagina, faeces and urine, just to state a few. So I am not here to challenge hand hygiene for nurses, although I also have some stories about that…. I am here to ask, what about hand hygiene for residents????? Continue reading →

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