Emergency Nurse Novice

Whirlwind first month

2007-03-05T15:46:00.000+10:00

It has been an incredible journey this first month of work!

I have learnt a phenomenal amount, I have seen amazing things and I have really been nursing.

This week I did CPR for the first time. This was a truly amazing experience and the weight of attempting life saving measures was not lost on me.

I also began canulating and venepuncture this week. I was so nervous before my first attempt that I didnt sleep, I am feeling a bit better now that I have done a few.

For now I am on days off and am going to use them to catch up on sleep and do a few things for myself. I have been working weekends and I miss the family a bit, but I am trying to look on the bright side and find myself optimistically looking for all the good qualities of shift work. I am more available for my kids, I can usually drop them off or pick them up and I get to do homework with them. So even when I dont get to eat dinner with them, or tuck them in at night I am enjoying the time I have with them, and I feel like I have adjusted well to full time work.

The first 5 - clinical

2007-02-11T10:36:00.000+10:00

Well I have sucessfully completed my first week of actual nursing. Oh my what a thrill. It has been a turbulant week, with more ups and downs than a rollercoaster, but all in all I am very exctited to be 'on my own' next week with my own patient load and things to do.

I was boosted by how well I was able to get stuck into the work this week, and I was also touched that so many patients commented on how thoughtful, caring and nice I was.

I was able to nurse such a variety of patients this week from respiratory distress, to cuts and bruises, tetanus shots, abdo pain, chest pain to terminal cancer patients. It has been such a learning curve but I am confident that I handled myself well.

The only negative thing I have to say about the whole week is that some staff still insist on treating the new grads poorly. We were called students too many times to count, and were even referred to as left overs on one occasion. I know it is small stuff but these are times of very high sensitivity and feelings of inadequecy. - I can only hope that in time they will come around. I hope too that we will all learn to just let it go without taking it personally.

Looking forward to next week!!!

The First Five

2007-02-02T19:04:00.000+10:00

I have just completed the first five days of work as a registered nurse! Yeah!

We are now fully orientated to the workforce and have yet to see a patient. The department looks fantastic and over the next few months will be expanding dramatically. There are 9 graduates in the ED so the undertaking for all involved is huge. I have to say that the in house educators and clincial facilitators so far have been amazing. At the beginning of the week my stress levels were very high. All the paperwork and competencies that we have had to undertake this week along with the modules of work that is to be completed over the coming year really is overwhelming at times, but to their credit the hospital has put together a great team and we are all off to a great start.

I have leart a lot this week and my brain feels like mush. Most nights I have come home with a headache and a very high stress level, but now that it is all finished I feel excited to get into the real work next week. But for now at least I plan to enjoy the weekend off as it will be the last available for a while.

On the home stretch - or is it the downward spiral?

2007-01-23T08:22:00.000+10:00

With only 7 days till I start work I am getting both nervous and excited. It seems like forever since uni finished and even longer since I did any work in the hospitals. I have been catching up with all my friends this week and we all seem to be saying the same things and having the same feelings about starting and feeling unsure whether we are up to the challenge.

I guess it is normal to second guess yourself especially when you have got so much time on your hands. I keep telling myself, get started, be safe, be positive and it will all come back to you!!!

Well off to get the school supplies for the kids today as they start their new school the same day I start work.

Facelift for my website - tell me what you think!!

2007-01-15T14:11:00.000+10:00

I finally got my but into gear and gave my Student Nurse Web site a facelift. It has been a fair few months now since I have spent time updating the site, so I thought I would make use of the abundance of spare time I have at the moment as once I start work it will probably be a long way down on the "to do" list.

Anywho I would love some input into the content and layout. Tell me what you think, what is good, what isnt so good, do you have any suggestions or links to resources that you are willing to share with your fellow nurses and students? Here is the link http://home.iprimus.com.au/theboss6675/

Anyway my days have been consumed with making playdoh ( I have a great recipe which is below) taking the kids swimming (it has been a long hot summer), watching kids movies, organising school supplies and uniforms and trying to do a little reading before hitting the workforce with gusto!

Playdough

1 cup plain flour
1 cup salt
2 tbs cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 tbs oil
Colouring

Mix to thick paste in saucepan and cook until dough forms a large mass (3-5mins) stirring constantly. Cool and add colouring to desired effect while kneading through. Store in an airtight container.

Christmas, New years and getting ready to start work

2007-01-10T13:18:00.000+10:00

Christmas and New years was awesome, and I was especially appreciative that I wasn't working (maybe for the last time in a couple of years) and that I could relax and enjoy my family. We moved house 2 weeks before Christmas which made this a particularly busy time of year for me, but looking back I am so happy to be settled and ready for new schools (for the kids) and close to my new work. We have spent the last 7 years in townhouses - due mainly to budgetary constraints, and now we are living in a fabulous 4 bedroom house with a separate family area for the children and we have adjusted beautifully.

Christmas was lovely - for the first time since moving to Brisbane we have had enough room to host Christmas for our family, and although some of my husbands siblings were out of town we had a lovely day, we did Breakfast (a fav of mine) then had a swim and a quiet afternoon. New years was very pleasant, we joined our family for a celebration and everyone (including the kids) lasted till midnight (just) and we had a quiet recovery day.

Monday this week (just about up to date now!) I went to work and picked up my uniforms (look remarkably like a tampon packet yuk!) got my payroll number and staff ID, and got my roster for the first couple of weeks, it is getting very exciting now, it is so close I can almost taste it!! Anyway just a few more weeks, time to get the kids ready for school, looking foward to covering all those books (NOT) and get into some sort of routine.

Graduation Ceremony

2007-01-10T12:59:00.000+10:00

The week before Christmas we had our graduation ceremony. In previous years our Uni has held these ceremonies in the April of the following year (would have been 2007) but someone actually thought that it would be nice for us to all "graduate" when we actually finish uni instead of 6 months later!!! So we were lucky enough to have our ceremony early last month.

The ceremony and proceedings were amazing. Typically it was a hot day and we were sweltering under the cap and gown but even so the feeling of triumph and achievement was overwhelming. I got enough tickets for my husband, 2 kids, best friend and parents to all attend and I have to say this was one of the best days of my life. I was so utterly proud to have finished. To top it off I was awarded the Nursing Medal for the highest academic achievement in a bachelors degree - which was a total surprise and I didn't know about it until one of my classmates pointed it out to me. Anyway the whole night was stunning and I am so grateful to have been able to share it with the people I love the most.

Grad Ball - Retrospective

2007-01-10T12:52:00.000+10:00

It has been a pretty hectic couple of months, so much so that I only just realised how long it has been since I blogged! We had our amazing Grad ball in early November which was awesome. This is a picture of all the "girls" with their partners ( I am 2nd from the left with my hubby). We had an absolutely fantastic time and consumed alltogether too much alcohol - exactly the point of the night I think! We all celebrated our victorious completion of our bachelors degrees and patted ourselves on the back many times. It was really nice for our partners to join in the festivities and someone even had a slide show detailing our journey over the last 3/4 years. Yeah for us!!!

Where is the 'delete blog' button?

2006-10-28T14:12:00.000+10:00

A funny thing happened yesterday. I have been remis in my posting, and thought to myself, whats the point? I pretty much resigned myself to deleting my blog - but I couldn't find the button!! after searching around for a while another thought crossed my mind. What if my blog is an opportunity to reach out to the cyber nurse community - something which I may well cherish when I start work in the big bad world of nursing? So I made a decision. Keep the blog, but think of a new name (not theoretically a nurse anymore - not once the registration arrives) and give it a facelift. So here goes - this is the last post of the theortical nurse, next time the blog will look different and will have a different name too!

It's All Over!

2006-10-08T20:25:00.000+10:00

Well it feels somewhat surreal. I feel like I am dancing on a continium between laughing and crying. Yesterday was my last day as an undergraduate! I dont think it has really set in yet. No more assignments, no more tests, lectures, tutorials, treks to the library, no more study days, last minute edits, scouring though journals for references, no more......

Strangely apart from feeling very relieved, I am quite sad. I have been doing this for 4 years now, and I don't know if I know how to be not a student nurse.

I am very much looking forward to starting work, but it seems like eons away. Like something so far in the distance that it is intagible. So for now I will concerntrate on spending time with my beautiful children, taking time for myself to relax and enjoy my time off and I might even get a chance to spend some time with my husband, who has taken up so much of the slack over the past 4 years.

Final Preparations!!!

2006-09-19T19:09:00.000+10:00

This final semester has just zoomed by. I feel guilty for not taking the time to put some of my thoughts down and keeping up with all the nursey blogs I love to read, I have been flat out, and really felt that I didnt have the clarity to get writing - funnily enough probably when I could have used the blogging the most!!!

Well what has happened so far this semester? I went to school for the first 2 weeks, then I had 3 weeks full time in a Medical ward of a local hospital. I chose the ward that my mentor was the Nurse Unit Manager of, so that I could combine my commitments to both my prac and my mentor program. The ward work was so-so. I learnt plenty and eventually the staff acknowledged our prescence but I have to say my heart wasn't in it. The ability to time manage has never been a problem, and I have always had confidence in my ability to link pathophysiology to clinical presentation so that was good practice, I just dont particularly enjoy knowing what is coming up around the corner, what to expect out of each day. Even when the unexpected crops up it just doesnt feel the same as in the ED!!

So after 3 weeks on the Medical wards it is back to Uni for 2 weeks. Finish off and hand in 2 assignments, work on 2 more and now it is back to the hospital system for 3 more weeks. Oh did I forget to mention that job applications also closed the week we went back to uni, so there is all the preparations for interviews, resume stuff and criteria to answer? Phew, it sure has been a hectic time.

I put my applications in and held my breath in anticipation. I heard from my first choice first who offered my an interview (I had it today) Then nothing...... After what seemed like an eternity I finally heard from my 2nd choice offering an interview for ED!! I was stoked as I was told my 2nd choice wouldnt be considered as I was aiming for such a popular specialty. Late last week I also heard from my 3rd choice. So last friday I went to my 2nd and 3rd choices for interviews which was really humbling and quite difficult. Complicating the matter is the fact that I have been battling a cold for several days now. The 3 choice interview went ok, then I was off to my 2nd choice. The interview seemed to go ok, but it is really hard to tell sometimes!

So I turn up to my first day of prac yesterday and nearly everyone seems to have job offers already. Eventhough nothing can be done officially many hospitals make 'unofficial' job offers to students so that they can start to think about and plan where they will accept. I was starting to get bummed, and doubting my ability to get any job, let alone a highly sought after job in the ED of one of the bigger hospitals!! Anyway my 2nd choice said they would let us know early this week. Lunchtime yesterday I had a message waiting - with anticipation getting the better of me I returned to call the the NUM and amazingly I had got the job!!! I was thrilled, at the same time I was a little sad as my 2 best friends who had also gone for those positions had not yet heard!

Today I had the interview for my 1st choice (reconsidering that now) and my 2 friends also got offered positions at the ED of my 2nd choice!!! we are all so excited, there were only 4 positions available and the 3 of us all got one, we are all thrilled!! It will be amazing to have the support of each other as we transition to registered nurses.

It is my birthday tomorrow and I cant think of a better present than to have been offered a job I have wanted for so long, and to be doing it with 2 of my best uni mates!!!

Well it is getting late now, and it will be an early start on prac tomorrow. Till next time.

Results, Recovery & Resting

2006-07-08T19:04:00.000+10:00

Got all of my results and I have to say that I am pretty happy. Eventhough I really didn't put in enough effort into this semester I still managed 2 distinctions and 1 high distinction. At least my GPA didn't slip too much! Sigh - I just feel like I have had enough, and at the same time I feel like I am far from ready to enter the workforce as a fully fledged RN. I suppose it is normal to feel this way???? I will head out to cyber nurse world and look around for some support and reassurance.

Things on the personal front continue to move along, my best friend is handling her cancer very well and I am using the time off to help her as much as I can.

I am knee deep in preparations for my final semester of work. I have already been to one pre interview meet and greet with a potential employer in a very busy emergency department close to home so that is very exciting. My resume is all prepared and I am just in the process of finalising my referees. My next placement is in general med surg ward so it will be a good opportunity to get some of my work done and get prepared for job hunting.

Final Exam is over

2006-06-20T18:35:00.000+10:00

Today was my final exam for my Bachelor of Nursing. I can't believe that it is finished!!! Next semester is all coursework, prac and assignments but for the meantime it is holidays for me!

Reflecting on this semester I see that I have found the work easier to do but I have also put in far less effort than I usually do. I have had the consistant feeling that I am bored and anxious about finishing off after 13 more weeks of school.

Things on the job front are starting to come along nicely. I am gathering all my information and getting prepared for the graduate job market.

After a few celebratory drinks today I am in the midst of planning what to do with my holidays especially when the kids return to school.

I am so relieved it is over for another semester!

Nurse Expo - Exams!! - I need a break

2006-06-08T17:34:00.000+10:00

I went to the Nurse Expo last weekend. It is a open house exibition run by the Royal College of Nursing Australia. All the local hospitals, Universities and Nursing recruiting agencies have stalls where you can pick up loads of information and more importantly freebies like pens, bags etc. It was great to see all the different options out there just waiting for us to graduate. It is so overwhelming at the moment, it seems like we are a few deep breaths away from being RN's, it seems unbelievable - and so long coming.

My final exams are coming up next week. I mean Final exams, there are no exams next semester, just group presentations, a work book and a couple of written assignments. This is it!! It seems almost surreal. I really should start thinking about studying, but in all honesty I know that the study I do on the day of the exam is much more beneificial to me than any study I do this far out.

I spent today indulging in my passion for second hand shopping. I do love to browse around 2nd hand stores looking for treasures and then going to antique shops and seeing what unreal prices everything has on it! My feet are sore but I had a great day by myself, just me and myself and I had a great time, hardly thought about Uni and exams and working at all.

After exams (3) it is a month off for me, than down to the last couple of months. I am nervous, excited, anxious and giddy with anticipation.

Procrastinating, I must have an assignment due

2006-05-17T14:46:00.000+10:00

Yep what better time to write in my blog than when I have an essay due!!! Yesterday instead of writing my essay I rearranged furniture in my house. Today I cleaned, cooked a nice pot of homemade soup, played with my son and got the heater out in preparation for the recent onset of cold weather. The topic is quite interesting - Maggot debridement therapy, the word limit is acheivable, yet still I am bored and cant seem to finish the damn thing off.

I still have mixed feelings about my final year at Uni. I am really starting to feel like a real nurse, and I actually feel like I could handle myself well in the workplace. I just have so much apprehension about getting the graduate position I want because I just cant imagine myself on a general ward for any length of time, I can honestly admit I dont have it in me!

The government has announced 1800 more nursing positions for our state, one of our lecturers assured us all yesterday that we would all be offered several positions. This really helped ease my concerns, I just wish I knew what was coming, the uncertainty is torture.

Well have to go pick up my kids from school and then I will force myself to get back to the essay.

Post Practicum blues

2006-05-16T07:48:00.000+10:00

I have just gone back to Uni after another two weeks full time on prac. I was lucky to get an Emergency Department Placement which was awesome. I loved it. The staff were wonderful (nearly all of them) and I felt useful and challenged and I felt rewarded for my time. Anyway it certainly cemented my desire to get into Emergency Nursing.

Next semester we will have 2 more 3 week pracs which will be interesting. I believe I will have to do a surgical placement and I am hoping that I will be able to organise another 3 weeks in an Emergency Department hopefully the hospital where I want my grad program. Anyway fingers crossed and wish me luck......

Back to Uni and everything feels like a shambles... This semester has been so disjointed and disorganised, 2 weeks school 2 weeks prac 2 weeks school, it has been really difficult to maintain momentum, stay focussed and be positive. The workload is crazy and everyone seems exhausted from trying to get assignments in when we are working fulltime on prac....

Anyway only 2.5 more weeks and we will be into exams then a break!!! I am looking forward to what the next 6 months will bring....

More bad news.... and back on prac

2006-04-29T16:38:00.000+10:00

Well this past two weeks has been shocking. My best friend who is also my sister in law was diagnosed with breast cancer last week and had her breast and lymph nodes removed on Wednesday morning. It has been pretty busy with visits to the hospital, being with her for tests and helping with her 2 kids. Her family and friends have been awesome. I stayed with her yesterday while she had bone scans. She had had her organs scanned that morning. After the bone scan which took about an hour, they redid the scan of her knee and then took her off for xrays of the knee, by this stage I was getting pretty worried but the specialist said she was all clear apart from the breast and lymph nodes. She is scheduled for Chemo and radiation later this month so fingers crossed she is on the up and up.

Uni has been a bit so so. I finally finished and handed in 2 of my major essays. One of them was ok, the other was a total waste of time, glad to say I am certainly not the only one who felt that way. A couple of my mates were struggling so I helped them finish off their assignments too. I am out on prac next week at one of the semi-local hospitals. There is a possibility of an Emergency Department placement but I know that lots of my colleagues also want the ED so fingers crossed I am lucky. I look forward to getting into the swing of things again.

Feeling a bit ho hum so will go do some reading I think

Clinical Prac, More Clinical Prac and back to Uni

2006-04-05T13:52:00.000+10:00

Well I have just finished my first 2 weeks of clinical prac for my final year. I have to admit that apart from the initial apprehension about my abilities as an RN I am really starting to feel like a nurse.

I have spent the past 2 weeks community nursing with one of the more prominent community nurisng providers. I certainly got some great exposure to different patients and especially some interesting wounds. I really didn't know how I would handle dressing my first fungating malignant tumor but I handled it fine, I just kept thinking to myself, I am really helping this patient and if nurses weren't willing to do it who would? and ofcourse I breathed through my mouth!!! I did lots of interesting patient cares, for lots of interesting patients.

Whilst I never imagined that community nursing would be what I would like to do when I graduate I am grateful for the experience and for the wonderful preceptors who treated me with respect and shared their knowledge and experiences.

I am back at Uni now and have tried to settle into research for my next 4 essays. I have practically got one of them done now, and have moved onto the next one with gusto. I feel totally lost with the topic which is all about communities and the Jakarta declaration etc and I feel uninspired and can't really imagine how it all relates to the reality of nursing practice.

The year is really flying by and easter is just around the corner. The kids are on holidays at the end of this week which by the way I am not on my uni holidays till they go back to school - Hooray for family friendly studies!!!!! NOT.

Well best get back to researching this rediculously complex paper.

Emotional Week

2006-03-05T11:20:00.000+10:00

This week has been full of ups and downs. I returned to Uni which was very exciting. I have dilligently started on all of my assessment items and am getting prepared for commencing prac in 2 weeks time. My first placement is in the Community with the local community nurses which should be very interesting and different. My second placement will be at a medium sized hospital about 30mins drive away. There will be 8 of us there and the wards will be ED, ICU, OT and Pallative care. Funnily I used to want to work in Pal care when I finished but my goals have changed so much that I think that is the place I would least like to be on prac. I would love to be at ED but I know for sure that at least 6 of the 8 of us want ED so it might get messy.

Whilst chatting with one of my lecturers he indicated that I could do some sessional work at Uni next year, teaching labs and marking assessments etc. I am absolutely wrapt, very excited. I will be doing my Masters there also and hope to get a grad program with the local feeder hospital which works very closely with the University so it looks like with a bit of hard work this year I could be looking at a very exciting, scary and busy year in 2007.

On Tuesday I got a phone call at Uni and had to miss a couple of lectures. My Grandmother had taken a turn for the worst and was not expected to live through the night. I organised to pick up my kids and go for a visit to say goodbye. We all made it out there in time and spent a little time saying goodbye then my husband took my kids home. My Mum and I stayed with Grandma through the night and her condition slowly deteriorated. The next morning she was struggling for each breath and I was trying to get the doctor to consider more effective pain relief. Unfortunately the nursing homes policy is no IV meds so that was difficult. At about 11.00am we left the room so the nurses could turn her and she slipped away. I can't say that it was peaceful or painless but at least all her children had a chance to say goodbye and she had the opportunity to be in her own room.

So all in all it has been a difficult week, but of joy, bit of sadness, lots to do. I am finally feeling like I have caught up on the loss of sleep and Mum is taking the loss well.

Thanks for stopping in

Orientation, Tutoring and Graduation Ceremony

2006-02-24T17:05:00.000+10:00

Well this week at Uni has been very interesting. I have adored being the big kid as I walked the newbies through orientation. My campus and library tours were very sucessful and I had questions and comments galore about how helpful I was. Yeah! I surprised myself with the wealth of information I have accumulated over the last three years and really enjoyed the ability to share it with the students who were all so attentive and responsive!!! This is the reason for the blog update and new page on my website dedicated to top tips for newbie students!

I got a call the other morning whilst I was cleaning house to see if I wanted to be a tutor for an Aboriginal student who was seeking help. The pay is pretty good but that wasn't why I was so excited about the prospect. I absolutely love to help people learn stuff and the chance to have my pick of subjects (or all of them) was a realy bonus. I have chosen to commit to 1 subject as this year is pretty busy for me and I want to maintain my GPA (actually want to improve it, currently is 6.5 want to get it closer to 7 - Lowest is 1 highest is 7) and because I get to pick I chose my fav subject - Anatomy & Physiology!! It should look really nice on my resume and since I want to get into teaching the experience will be invaluable.

We heard from last years cohort that each graduating student could only invite 3 guests to their ceremony!!!! Spewing!!! I can't believe that our campus is the only campus of our Uni that limits the number of guests we can have at our ceremony!!! Most of the people I know have more than 3 kids, not to mention their partners, parents, siblings and all the important people who have helped us get to this point!! I have contacted the Uni to get the details and they have confirmed that we will be limited in the number of tickets, they cant tell us how many at this stage as they dont know final graduating student numbers! They have indicated that they will not be looking for a larger location to hold the ceremony at and that it is really tough titties that we think it is unfair!!! Makes me feel like a boycot if it wasnt such an important event..... Will keep posted with the updates.

Top Tips for New Students

2006-02-24T14:50:00.000+10:00

I have updated my web page again with tips I hope will help out the newbie students. If you ahve any tips to share please leave as a comment and I will add them to my web site.

1. Do your readings - Make sure you read through your lecture notes and do the required readings before going to the lectures, tutorials or labs. I can almost hear the lecturers cheering this one! Believe me you will be able to keep up much better with the content covered and you will have more time to listen and add to your notes.

2. Groups - Form study groups with people with similar interests to you. Try to make sure that the people in the group have similar expectations and commitment levels. When you are working on assignments split up the task load and share your resources. When you are being assessed as groups try to pick groups where you can trust that each member will contribute.

3. Research - Remember that just because something is written in a book or a journal doesn't make it right! When you are gathering information don't automatically assume that it is fact just because it has been published. Make sure that the source is reputable and current, also compare and contrast the information to other reputable sources before deciding if it is right to use.

4. Attend - There is nothing like being there! Go to as many lecturers, tutes and labs as you possibly can. The notes provided over the web will not be enough if you want to do well. It has been my experience that the lecturers provide hints to the exams all the way through the course, not to mention the content is often delivered by way of stories and experiences which make it much easier to remember later on.

5. Exam Preparation - Start early!!! I use a small exercise book and start a "glossary" from the very beginning of the course. To this glossary I add definitions and content covered in lectures that strikes me as important. When you are starting out it is often difficult to know what is important, so while you will have to decide this for yourself try adding things that are mentioned a few times in lecture notes. Some lecturers will cover important topics in the next lecture as "revision" this may be a hint that the topic is important and should be studied. Some lecturers will also give away subtle or obvious hints in their lectures that you can add to your glossary. Then when it comes to studying for your exam you should have a good place to start.

6. Notebooks for prac - If you are dreading trying to remember all the important stuff when you go out on prac try putting together a notebook to carry in your pocket. The sort of information you might find useful in these is common abbreviations, reference ranges for vital signs and common drug information. If you use an alphabetised book finding your information quickly will be easy.

7. Prac - If you are dreading prac in general try to relax and enjoy the experience. Easier said than done! I still have anxiety about prac but that usually subsides by the time I actually finish my first shift. Prac is an essential component of learning and provides invaluable experience. Try not to put too much pressure on yourself and seek guidance from your experienced RN's or your facilitator when you need it. Don't forget that you can always contact the Uni if you have problems when on prac. Try not to wish away your prac experience ("I wish it was over!!!"), enjoy the learning experience because it won't be long till you enter the workforce as an RN and will need all the experience you can get for the transition.

8. Lecturers - Ask questions if you don't understand and seek assistance early if you have problems. Asking for help the day before the assignment is due in is not going to work.

9. Get involved in the University Community - Get involved in what's going on around the University. Start building your personal resume early by being active and involved.

10. Enjoy the experience! It might just change your life

Freedom to change my mind

2006-02-19T13:14:00.000+10:00

I have been doing some thinking lately about whether to remain anonymous on my blog and what the benefits and repocussion of such a decision might be.

As I get into my last year at Uni I intend to use my the Student Nurse website I developed as an important part of my resume, thus it would be remiss of me not to have my name on it. I don't use the blog as a forum to vent about patients, nor do I breach any confidentiality. Given that I would also like the ability to post pictures on my blog I have decided that for me I am no longer going to stress over being anonymous. Having said that I am not about to advertise my personal details for all to see, I am going to be discreet, but not stress over every little link to my name or my work, especially on my website.

Hi, I am Emma and I am a Student Nurse (and proud of it!).

Back in the saddle...

2006-02-17T11:11:00.000+10:00

Yeah! my wait is finally over. Next week is 'O' Week I will be going in most days to help orientate all the new students, and Week 1 of Uni is the week after that!

Our course information went online yesterday so I spend the afternoon printing hundreds of pages of reading material to cover before semester starts again. I feel so happy that there is real work to be done. I told my husband yesterday that my courses were up and I could start working again - his reply was one of surprise - I didn't realise you actually stopped!, I responded with you must have blinked and misssed it. But seriously I have been pretty lazy (as usual) over the summer break. We always say we are going to be dedicated and work at a steady pace to get the things done we want to, but it never happens, then later we look back and cringe at all the time we wasted.

We have begun busily fundraising for our Graduation Ball. We have sold chocolates to get us off the ground, next we will be raffling stationary hamper for the new students at 'o' week (pens, heaps of paper for printing, note books, desk sets, folders etc). We have all sorts of raffles planned and are going to do a hot chocolate, easter egg, hot cross bun day closer to easter (when the weather finally cools off a bit).

I found the outfit I am going to wear to the ball the other day. I was in a second hand store (one of my fav passtimes) and spotted the most fabulous vintage skirt. It is floor lenght, varying shades of aqua and has silver sequins on it. I have paired it with a crisp white shirt and lovely heels and I am set to go! I will be looking out for some fab jewellery to top it off, but I have plenty of time for that!!!

Well now that I have finally got books to hit, I am going to get some work done.

Gilmore Girls

2006-02-09T16:14:00.000+10:00

I forgot to mention I have been spending/wasting (depends who you ask) my time watching the Gilmore Girls. I never really got it before but caught a couple reruns of the first series on Pay TV her the other day, since then I have been hooked!!! I have watched about 6 eps of the first series now and am desperately trying to find a friend who has the series who can lend them to me so I can have a big TV fest.

I don't know what it is about the show, I love the girliness, I love the town - I am desperate to move the family to a small town out of the suburbs ( I grew up in a small town, very small and really want the kids to be able to have that experience for a while), I love the Mother & Daughter relationship which has inspired me to make sure I do some creative things which my own daughter while we have time together(before school gets busy again), I love the decorating style of Loralai & Rory's home (and the Inn in the 4th season, which I have caught a few eps of). So thats what I have been doing for fun, something new which I have really enjoyed.

Graduation Ball

2006-02-09T15:49:00.000+10:00

Well the Graduation Ball committee met again this week and we set the venue and date of the big Grad Ball!! We are having it at the same function centre as last years cohort which is a lovely place overlooking the Brisbane River - Amazingly it is called Riverside. We have set the date for 4th November which will be the Saturday after we finish school for this year. As we have no exams in Semester 2 it will be earlier than the rest of the classes finish but 3rd years will be finished. The menu and location sound excellent. We have busily arranged for heaps of fundraising to take place and are now in the midst of selling our chocolates and raffle tickets so we can reduce the overall price of the tickets. Last years cohort raised about $10000 and halved ticket prices.

I am still busy reviewing my work for this year and have begun some serious ECG work and some reading about Clinical Judgement and decision making processes - Just for FUN!!! No don't laugh, I may look at something relating to this for my Masters/Honours so it isn't wasted time.

I am feeling a bit better about my withdrawal from study and feeling upbeat about going back to school next week.

Same, Same but different!

2006-02-02T20:14:00.000+10:00

Well it looks like my run with technology has continued.... After months, dare I say years (time flies) of nearly effortless uploading of my webpage to URL my internet provider have changed their system and no longer support frontpage extensions!!! So I thought this can't be too bad I will learn a new way to do it! I had the best intensions but somewhere along the way I deleted something critical and lost my ENTIRE web. I tried and tried and tried but couldn't work it out. Last night I went to bed after a marathon effort of trying without success to get it back on track. I had to settle for just the pages with links but no pictures or pretty stuff.

This morning I did some more working with my files, RELOADED and relinked every file, picture and background and eventually got it working again....

I love to look at the bright side of things so here is what I can say for myself - at least I persisted, I learnt heaps and even taught myself how to design my own backgrounds in Photoshop. Yeah! It illustrates nicely my love hate relationship I have with computers. Another cheery moment was when my new RAM arrived in the mail and I opened up my machine with confidence and popped it right in, bit of wobbling and jiggling and holding my tongue in the right position and - It Worked!!!! Yeah for me ! - I am sorry but not 2 weeks ago this was a foreign language to me so I am pround of learning something new.

Brings me to this last week. Not much is new, Kids are both back at school and settled in nicely. I stood up to the principle and had my daughter moved after the first week into a smaller class which I think will prove to be most beneficial in the long run. My son has settled into preschool well and has adjusted to his new routine.

I have completed a chunk of my "to do" list for returning to study, I have done acid-base, clotting cascade, cardiomyopathy, Wolf Parkinson White, Pain, Shock and Endocarditis. Having said that I feel like already I don't remember enough and will revisit again over the course of the semester.

UUURRRRGGGHHH - I am frustrated and bored!!! I can't wait for school to go back, I am not used to having spare time - I know I could get so much housework done........ nevermind. I signed up for some workshops on developing a resume and job interviewing skills today, that will help me to get into the spirit of things......

Please Help!!!

2006-01-27T13:47:00.000+10:00

As you know I have a Student Nurse Website (http://home.iprimus.com.au/theboss6675/) which I try to keep up to date with all the great links I find in cyberspace to share with my fellow students and nurses. Last year I added a page which has nursing stories in it. Part of the reason for this page it so post poems and stories dedicated to nursing, the other reason is to highlight the diverse path that nursing can take.

This is where I need help. So far only one person has done a story for the page and I am desperate to put up some more stories. It would be great to be able to expand this page to include several stories as the 1st years will be starting at Uni soon and the lecturers usually tell the newbies about my site. I would really like to inspire them to think about all the roads nursing can take.

So PLEASE if you would be willing to share a story about your wonderful career, or if you have had a particularly unique experience, or can you write about your transition to practice? If you can help or have any other ideas please, please contact me.

Thanks

3rd and "FINAL" year (for now anyway)

2006-01-27T12:47:00.000+10:00

Well final year is just around the corner. We had to go to Uni last Monday and preference for Pracs for first semester. I can't tell you how dissapointed I was to see the prac placements. There was practically no choice and chances are most of us will end up in a general Med/Surg ward!!!! Oh I am dreading that! I know, that is what most of nursing is, but it just isn't for me. I was hoping that in my final year I might actually get to spend time in ICU or ED or Crit Care, or somewhere that might actually challenge me instead of bore me. I thought this was the times we were enhancing our reputations and building networks to help with job placements? Last year's 3rd years seemed to have a much better variety of prac placements.

Well it is 1 month today till we start classes again. Our semesters this year will run from 27 Feb to 23rd June, and 24th July to 17th November. As we have no final semester exams (only assignments) I think our last day would be 27th October or 4th November. We have planned our Graduation Ball for either 28th October or 5th November. I am so excited already!!! First semester I am doing Adapting to health changes, Wound and Pain management, and Community Health and Diversity (lighter load as I have already completed some of my 3rd year subjects). In second semester I will be doing Transitions to Practice (double load), Leadership & management, and Contemporary Nursing. Fingers crossed they will be better in reality than they sound by their names!!!!!

Well back to the books, I have nearly finished Acid-Base disorders, next onto fluid and electrolytes (since they go so nicely together).

A man and his wife were sitting in the living room and he said to her,

"Just so you know, I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug."

His wife got up, unplugged the TV and threw out all of his beer.

UUUURRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!

2006-01-26T16:41:00.000+10:00

Once again it has been ages since my last post. Last Saturday my computer died!!! What a nightmare. Sunday I purchased a "new" one and spent the entire day rebuilding the machine. I have spent the last week trying to retrieve my data from hard drives, importing email settings and getting the machine set up the way I want it.....I love computers until they turn evil and ruin your life!!!!

Anyway enough whinging. This week I went to see my favourite lecturer at Uni to have one of our fabulous discussions. We talked about Clinical Judgement Decision Making and why it is such a difficult topic to "teach" or "learn" and that it is equally about who you are as it is about what you know. Very indepth and fascinating. I felt like a bit of an idiot at times (side effect of mixing with genius!) but all in all a wonderful discussion.

I have finally begun to get my act together with getting into a serious study routine in preparation for my final year (yeah!). I have put together a folder with all the big topics that I want to refresh on and am using my favourite textbooks, websites and lecture notes to remind myself of all the important concepts. My big topics so far include Acid/base & Fluid/electrolyte imbalances, Cardiac related conditions, Chest X-ray interpretation, Haemodynamics, Pain, Shock, ECG interpretation, Crash Cart and common ED drugs and Advanced Airway management. I figure with 1 month left till I go back to school I should be well and truly refreshed after I finish with all that. Today I have started on Acid/Base imbalances and it feels so good to be learning again.

ECG Links update

2006-01-17T21:30:00.000+10:00

I have just updated my web site (http://home.iprimus.com.au/theboss6675/) to include some links I have found to help with ECG interpretation. I covered this topic in Pathophysiology and Pharmacology about 18 months ago and I feel it is time for a refresher before I hit the wards again in a couple of weeks.

I don't know what it is about ECG interpretation but I think I have got it, then a couple of weeks later it is gone again....

As usual I would love to hear from anyone who has some good links to share, and your feedback is always welcome.

PS - thanks for the information from ICU 101: How to be an ICU RN

Clinical Judgements/Decision Making

2006-01-13T15:57:00.000+10:00

I have been contemplating the process of making decisions as a novice RN. I think although this is largely experience based and would be difficult to prepare for if some of you could share some advice about making judgement based decisions as new grads (or new grads you have assisted, or witnessed) I am sure that will help me feel more prepared. For instance you may remember a situation where there were several different things to consider eg: you have a patient who is due for an IM anti-nausea medication, but has vomited on themselves, and needs to be cleaned up for a procedure, what do you do and why????

If anyone has any experiences like this and would be willing to share I would be most grateful.

"Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up for the ride anyway"

Honours Questions ???

2006-01-11T18:34:00.000+10:00

It has been on my mind for some time now about what I could study for my honours. I went to see one of my particularly supportive lecturers who suggested I enroll in my masters next year coupled with my graduate program (seems strange to me that you can be considered a novice and partake in a 'Masters' program concurrently) then do an extra year of study on the end of my masters as my honours. That way I can do some of the honours work as electives and masters programs.

We were having a particularly lively conversation (as we always do) and he was telling me about his PhD topic which relates to clinical decision making for paramedics. I got to thinking about how new graduates make decisions and what judgments they use. Hundreds of questions followed in my head as I thought this through. So I am fleshing the ideas out at the moment, then I am going to hit the journals in search of current literature. Fun! I hear you say. Well I enjoy it immensely and I am bored sitting at home without deadlines and structured studying. Who knows I may end up with a nice little honours question out of it.

"Mental Floss prevents Moral Decay"

Middle Ground

2006-01-08T14:27:00.000+10:00

Well I thought that since I have chosen to remain an anonymous blogger for now a compromise would be to share with you all the general gist of my most recent submission. I won't bore you with the whole review but just share the most interesting pieces. I hope that you like it and more importantly I hope that just as I have you learn something or something you already know is refreshed.....

And so it goes....

Comprehensive information relating to thromboembolism treatment and prevention for healthcare practitioners can be found at The Thrombosis Clinic online at http://www.thrombosisclinic.com.

ThrombosisClinic.com is an educational web site for healthcare practitioners with an interest in the prevention and management of thrombosis, a leading challenge in healthcare. ThrombosisClinic.com aims to be a primary resource for thrombosis education and provides daily updates from leading experts, treatment advances, and educational tools and materials to answer practical questions.

Thrombosisclinic.com has many features beneficial to the healthcare practitioner such as up to date news articles and hot topics some specifically aimed at heath care professionals within primary healthcare teams and settings.

Slide presentations are downloadable for review. These presentations and mini-lectures which can be downloaded or viewed online are a clear and comprehensive educational tool.

Self directed learning packages provide a significant tool for the enhancement of professional knowledge for health care workers. The Thrombosisclinic.com educational materials provide an excellent opportunity to health care workers to improve their general knowledge base about thrombosis. The website allows for registered users to complete CME (Continuing Medical Education) accredited programs to enhance their thrombosis understanding and management.

Boring I know.... but as a registered user you can complete a survey and 2 self paced courses offered online for free which will provide you with great information and they will even send you free textbooks!!!! As sceptical as I was I have already received my first textbook which is about Emergency Medicine - Hand delivered to my door in Australia!!!

If you have some free time (I know most of you are very busy) check it out... Till next time.

"Politicians and diapers both need to be changed, and for the same reason".

Conundrum

2006-01-06T16:44:00.000+10:00

I have just found out that my 3rd "published" work has come online. It is a website review that is published in an online medical journal. One of my lecturers at University is an editor of this journal and in 2005 asked me to make a contribution. My conundrum is that I am proud of my achievement and want to share it with my fellow bloggers, if I give in to this (ego initiated desire for recognition) I can no longer call my blog anonymous which may or may not have unforeseen repocussions in the future. What to do??? While I ponder this I will fill you in on why I am proud of this achievement.

It all started when my lecturer approached me to review a book or website on the Journal's topic of interest - given that I authored and published my own student nursing website (http://home.iprimus.com.au/theboss6675/) he recommended I start with a website review. When I checked around the Journal's home page I was stunned to find that all the other contributors are amazing academics or experts in their field, I felt both overwhelmed and proud that I had been asked to contribute. So I submitted my work and with his guidance and direction have now had 3 submissions published. One of the submissions was a joint work with my lecturer as he said it would look great on my resume to have worked along side someone on a project. So there you have it.... I guess I will maintain my anonymity and pack my ego away.

Till next time....

"The believer is happy. The doubter is wise."

Final Year Nerves!!!

2006-01-05T14:08:00.000+10:00

Last night it hit me like a slap in the face....2 semesters of hard work and I will actually be a RN (assuming the academic gods are willing!!) I am soo not ready for this!!! Is it normal for panic to set in after 3 years of hard work?? I just don't feel equipped to handle anything yet. Maybe it is that I haven't been on prac for ages and I have lost my groove. I think the responsibility of the job is setting in.

In kind of a double edged sword thingy - I really enjoy reading other nurses, graduates and students blogs' as it is inspiring and comforting to know I am not alone. Then I get to thinking...Did they all feel overwhelemed like me? Were they full of panic or were they well prepared by the time graduation rolls round? I have always felt that the semester break of nearly 4 months is just too damn long. All the best intensions and well developed study habits go out the window as other responsibilities like caring for family, and other desires such as shopping and relaxing kick in. When going back to Uni it usually takes me the first 3 weeks to settle back into any sort of routine. By then panic sets in as there is always assessments due in week 4. I just need to spend my spare time reading and refreshing my knowledge base so I am ready to take on the responsibility of being a final year nursing student.

Thanks for stopping in.....

"Hear and you forget; see and you remember; do and you understand."

Happy New Year

2006-01-01T12:37:00.000+10:00

On a happy note our son is finally home...He is so much brighter and apart from looking like a pin cushion he is happy and in good spirits.

Thankfully Kowsaki disease is one of the first things they ruled out in the ED. They have been closely monitoring his blood work and he will have a follow up blood test this week and a CHX next week to make sure he is progressing. The other concern I had was Hand, Foot and Mouth which I raised with the Medical staff but 3 different Paediatric Dr's all said they believed it was caused by the bacteria releasing toxins when his temp was high and his whole body could peel. He is still on 2 oral antibiotics and we will have to go straight back if his temp rises above 38oC.

Anywho I am really happy to have him home and with a smile on his face. Thanks for your interest and concern.
Happy New Year.

"Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it"

Hospital Update

2005-12-31T22:11:00.000+10:00

Maybe tomorrow!!!??? It seems like nearly every day the doctors say maybe tomorrow. We are hoping that our son has no more high temperatures in which case he should be able to go home "Most likely Monday (2nd) and at the earliest tomorrow". Yesterday our son had another high temp and diarrhoea which immediately extended his stay in hospital. My husband is there tonight and it is New Years Eve. We all had a lovely day as a family (looking at the situation positively) we spent a relaxing day together, got our favourite take aways and watched the fireworks from our prime position on the 7th floor of the hospital. The position was perfect, no too noisy but still a great view. My heart was aching for the children who were too sick to come out to the balcony and those who were brought out in their beds as thier condition didnt allow any alternatives. I am truly blessed to have so much to be grateful for and I hope that this coming year I appreciate all the gifts of my life each and every day.

The blood tests to rule out mycoplasma have again come back negative so today we got released from isolation which was a gift for my son who was getting a bit stir crazy and itching to be allowed to play and interact with the other children. This was a blessing in itself. The skin is still peeling from my sons hands and feet and today I took it upon myself to cut away the dead skin so that my son didnt peel it off causing pain to himself. There was still fluid on his lungs at his last chest x ray and I am hoping a repeat will be done before he is released. In any case we have already an appointment for 2 weeks for a repeat to make sure he is progressing. The stomach pain seemed to me to be a bit of a mystery, however I am assured that many many children who present in the hospital (even many with "surgical" conditions) with stomach pain, ends up being referred pain from pressure on the diaphragm caused by pneumonia. That is reassuring, and also on the improve.

So we may never know what microorganism is responsible for our sons pneumonia, but this really doesnt matter, so long as he continues to improve and we get to bring him home soon......Maybe tomorrow!!!!????

"A conclusion is the part where you got tired of thinking"

Christmas in Hospital!

2005-12-28T13:58:00.000+10:00

Again I have left it too long to update my blog. Although I really enjoy writing I have had such a hectic week I just haven't had the chance. As if the lead up to Christmas isn't bad enough I spent Christmas day/night and each day since in the Children's hospital with my son. On Friday (23rd) I got a call from the Childcare centre saying that my son had a 39.4oC temp. I went straight to pick him up. We battled Friday night and Saturday to control his temp, with little success. He had what looked like a heat rash (outside it has been hovering around 35oC for a couple of weeks) so I got the Dr's home visiting service to come and check him out Christmas Eve. The Dr said he was fine, just a virus, keep up the liquids and antipyretics. Sunday (Christmas Day) we visited the in Laws, my son hovered between sleeping on the couch and being relatively normal, a little unhappy but not too bad.

By Christmas Night he still wasn't happy, we were still battling the temperatures and he was wincing with severe stomach pain so we packed up and went to the Children's Hospital in the City. Not the closest hospital but one that specialised in Paeds so I felt comfortable with the decision. They took him straight into the ED and checked him out. The staff were amazing. They set him up for IV and gave him a dose of oral antibiotics and ran some blood work. We were able to go home for the night and went back in for the results and further IVAB's in the morning. The Dr was pretty sure it was Pneumonia but she wasnt sure about the rash so ordered more tests and we went home and back again in the afternoon. By the time I took him back in the afternoon he had stopped drinking so he was admitted. We have been there ever since. I have to say the staff have been inspirational. They are simply marvelous. Our son is doing much better and only still there because he is still having high temperatures. The latest is he should be home tomorrow. Well I am off to fix some lunch and spend some time with our daughter before heading back into the hospital to take over from my husband. Hope you all had a wonderful festive season.

"I intend to live forever - so far, so good"

It's about time I updated my blog.....

2005-12-17T20:13:00.000+10:00

Contrary to my desire to update my blog everyday it has been over a week since my last post. Apologies to anyone who has been checking for updates.

I have just returned from traveling interstate. I live in Brisbane and went to Canberra to visit a sick friend and catch up with my parents. Just to fill you in my friend had a stroke a couple of months ago and I wanted to visit to lend my support and to ease his transition home. My parents also live in Brisbane but my friend had just begun renovating his house (beautiful but dilapidated historical house) when he had his CVA, he was unable to return home from hospital till he had somewhere safe to live (used to be in a caravan onsite) so my parents went down there to finish his house for his return.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at Jim's progress. Having spent prac on a rehab ward dealing mostly with stroke patients I didn't hold out much hope of a good outcome. Jim's stroke was major hemorrhage but after an incredible amount of work he has regained much of his function, cognition and personality. Unfortunately he will be paralysed permanently on his left side. I spent much of my time focusing on positive outcomes, progress he has made and trying to encourage a healthy attitude to the future.

I am really tired now. The drive down is 1200kms took me 16 hours and I took my 7 year old along for the "holiday". She was amazing in the car. I did a lot of preparation for the trip and it certainly paid off, I never heard "Are we there yet" and I didn't resort to buying a portable DVD player!!! We had a lovely week to catch up and we left Thursday night at 7.00pm and arrived at 9.00am Friday morning. My Mum drove back with me for company and so she could tie up some loose ends. She is driving back to Christmas eve.

Because Mum will be away for Christmas we had an early celebration today which was lovely. I love to see kids open presents, it is so joyous. I have to say I am still recovering from my trip so I will have to call it quits now and up date again tomorrow (?). Will do my best. I have missed all my cyber friends so will do the rounds to you all in the next few days.

Cheers.

"It takes both sunshine and rain to make a rainbow"

Inspiration - Best Nursing stories

2005-12-07T05:58:00.000+10:00

I was lying in bed last night contemplating what I should post here, then it hit me. I want to dedicate this post to inspirational nursing stories.

I can't tell you how many times when I have said that I am studying nursing, or that I want to be a nurse people have commented "Why would you want to do that?" The worst offenders tend to be nurses!! who usually add to the end something like "I wouldn't if I were you", or "You'll hate it", or "I don't know why you would choose Nursing!".

So it got me to thinking I would love to collect some stories about positive Nursing experiences on the job or on prac. That way when someone makes a negative comment or I am feeling sorry for myself I can read my blog for inspiration...(and other people aswell). Well it sounds like a good idea in theory, now all it needs is some good stories.....Ok first I will share mine, then you can share yours??!!!

Firstly I haven't had heaps of experience, I am just a newbie, but I have had some great nursing experiences. This one was on my last placement which was 2 weeks at an Acute Mental Health unit.

A few days after I started working on the ward R was admitted. R verbalised strong suicidal ideation and was assessed as having situationally induced severe depression. R's expressions were blunted and he withdrew from interactions with other patients and staff.

I was privileged that R allowed me to work with my buddy nurse (excellent mental health nurse with 20 years experience) and get to know him. Over the next few days I got to know R's story and received insight into the circumstances which led R to the Mental Health facility and his current mental status. My buddy nurse and R's examined his experiences, choices and circumstances. We learnt that R had broken most of his family ties and someone close to R died hours after his admission.

Gradually we began to see a change in R. He started to accept his mistakes, having examined the choices he made and was able to initiate plans for the future. R's affect began changing and he responded appropriately to staff interactions. My buddy nurse encouraged R to seek support in his family network which thankfully was readily forthcoming.

As the days went on R began to initiate positive interactions with staff. R had made some remarkable progress and he was discharged. I have to be honest and say that my eyes welled up for just a minute seeing such a positive outcome and seeing R have such hope for the future. I felt like I had participated in something special, that the care R received had really made a difference in his life, and to top it off I had well and truly overcome my anxiety of my Mental Health placement. I have to say this placement was definantly one of the best for me.

Ok...over to you............

'Birthdays are good for your health - statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest'.

Graduation Ball

2005-12-05T19:14:00.000+10:00

Today has been really hot in Brisbane. Temp was around 35oC (95oF). We took off to the shops to do a bit of Chrissy shopping and to get some relief from the heat.

I have volunteered to be on the fundraising committee for our Graduation Ball. It will be when we finish up next year around October. Basically we will be raising money to reduce the out of pocket expenses for the ball. This year we are thinking of having a casual BBQ the day after the ball as a "recovery" event. This will be open to our families and it will be a way to recognise the support we have had in getting to the end of our degrees. It should be great fun.

I would love to hear from any of you who have fundraising suggestions.

Update

2005-12-03T09:25:00.000+10:00

Yes it is tough to do a 40 hour week. After about 4 shifts straight I am usually exhausted. After 10 shifts I can hardly put one foot in front of the other (I know, I know...just wait till I am working full time!!! - I think that will be a bit different for a couple of reasons..1. Shifts will not necessarily be 5 earlies in a row, or 5 lates in a row allowing for a bit of flexibility. 2. I probably wont be studying concurrently. 3. I will have permanent arrangements in place for the care of my kids 4. I will be able to afford good shoes!). It is really quite a juggle with the rest of our lives too. We usually have assignments to complete, exams to study for not to mention many of us have children and families to care for. Just organising getting the kids looked after before and after school is a challenge. I think I would rather do a couple of shifts a week but there is only 1 University in our state doing that at the moment as a trial so we will see what the future holds.

3 Year Bachelor of Nursing - Australia

2005-12-02T19:32:00.000+10:00

Here is some further information about the Australian Bachelor of Nursing. The "standard" progression is 3 years full time. Clinical Prac's are full time 40 hours per week. Usually Monday to Friday and can be earlies or lates - no nights. Weekend work is required by some clinical settings. Pracs are 2 week blocks in 1st and 2nd years and 3 week blocks in 3rd year. All up there are 20 weeks worth of clinical placements = 800hours. On prac students have a facilitator - an "expert" from the field who mediates between the student and the clinical setting, each faciliator has 6-10 students to oversee. Tasks undertaken on prac must be within the scope of the learning for that semester and must have been taught already in that semester.

The on campus course requirements vary but generally 4-6 hours per subject. The semesters are have 13 teaching weeks. During clinical pracs there are no on campus requirements (assignments are usually due though). Labs build on skills from general cares - assist in ADL's and work up to drugs, IV's, catheters, drains, dressings, and complex cares through 2nd and 3rd year.

Each course is likely to have 2 major assessments - 1x essay and 1 x exam or 2 x exams. The courses which have a clinical placement have 1 x exam, 1 x "clinical challenge" which is in the lab and is a make or break assessment a 1x med calcs which requires 100% to pass and the clinical placement is also graded as pass/fail.

Year 1 Semester 1

Communication & Assessment in Nursing

Perspectives on Nursing, Health, Culture & Society

Psychosocial Health Across the Lifespan

Anatomy & Physiology 1

Year 1 Semester 2

Anatomy & Physiology 2

Nursing Practices - 2 weeks of clinical placement - Aged care facility

Clinical Health Assessment

Health Promotion

Year 2 Semester 1

Acute Nursing - 4 weeks of clinical placement - acute care facilities

Health Law & Ethics Health

Pathophysiology & Pharmacology 1

Elective

Year 2 Semester 2

Pathophysiology & Pharmacology 2 Pathophysiology

Complex Clinical Practice - This course has a 2 week placement in an acute setting.

Human Responses in Crisis - This course has a 2 week placement in a Mental Health/Psych facility.

Research for Health Professionals

Year 3 Semester 1

Wound & Pain Management

Nursing & Health Informatics

Community Health & Diversity - 2 weeks of clinical placement

Adapting to Health Changes - 2 weeks of clinical placement

Year 3 Semester 2

Transitions to Practice (Double course load) - 6 weeks of clinical placement.

Contemporary Nursing

Leadership & Management for Health Professionals

Christmas Blues

2005-12-02T16:12:00.000+10:00

I am exhausted. I got up early this morning cause I couldn't sleep. Those damn chirpy birds start at about 4am!

I feel like I have spent the whole day today running around in circles. I set myself the task of finalising some Christmas shopping. At the top of my hit list was one of my dearest friends. Why are they the hardest to buy for? D has everything and wants for little so it was a huge task. My first choice was to get her a writing set with a diary, notebook and address book in a pretty shade of blue to match the colour scheme she has just redecorated to....couldn't find anything suitable. After concluding that this was just not going to work I diverted to plan B. About 10 months ago D mentioned that she was looking for a"Hopscotch" window (old style window with 2 small panes of glass then one big pane and another 2 small panes). I searched and searched through the demolition yards today till I found the perfect peice. I have just finished cleaning it up and am satisfied with my choice. No luck on the pressies I wanted to find for the kids though.

I picked up a nice diary for myself today and am currently inscribing it with all the relevant information...birthdays, anniversarys, kids school terms, and finally yes! I can put in my classes for next sememster. Oh how I miss uni. I have been trying to imagine what my life would be like today had I not made the decision to go to Uni. Don't know what I am going to do with myself until I return to school at the end of February.

The plan for the weekend is to put up the Christmas tree with the kids. This is always a fun job. I will post a photo when it is done.

Exams, Exams, Exams

2005-12-01T15:46:00.000+10:00

I have just finished my final exams for the year - much to my delight.

I had a research exam, a Human Responses in Crisis (Mental Health) exam and a clinical challenge (practical skills in lab situation - fail this = fail the whole semester and can't move onto the next years work)

My research and human responses exams went smoothly. My clinical exam went horribly!!!

We were reassured that there would be no tricks and that the lecturers wanted us to pass.

Lucky me I was the first of our cohort to take the test.

My "patient" (plastic dummy) was suffering from Asthma and was supposed to be on an oxygen mask - She wasn't. I introduce myself to my patient "Polly Pocket" (better than Peter Pumpkineater one of the other patients I suppose) I then check out the med chart - surprise! the order was illegal. Whats more it had been written up more frequently than recommended. I "contacted" the DR to check the order after getting the ok continued to administer the drug as a IV push. I was shaking so much I could hardly reconstitute the drug - to top it off the saline was expired!

After I had finished and done my documentation and reflection I was sure I had done terribly. I was stunned to recieve my mark of 29 out of a possible 30!!! So much for no tricks! But in the end it didn't matter.

I guess the moral of this story is believe in your abilities to practice safely, expect anything and be prepared for it, and breathe in and out often - passing out from anxiety won't help too much.

Why do we get so anxious? I must have done this exact thing 50 times, with real patients and real consequences if you get it wrong, still I couldn't convince myself not to panic.

I guess it is normal to have high levels of anxiety attached to such a critical test, knowing that this is a make or break moment. I wish more attention was paid to the work we do with real patients while we are on prac (pass or fail but ungraded, no difference between outstanding performance and just getting by) and less emphasis was placed on contrived clinical challenges.

Well that certainly feels better......

Wading my way through Uni in Australia....Cont

2005-11-30T16:53:00.000+10:00

Ok I just found out what the other two courses I will do next year are... Leadership and Management for Health Professions and Contemporary Nursing. Why do they name courses so that you have no idea what they will entail? Oh how I miss Pathophysiology & Pharmacology, and Anatomy & Physiology.....

From the rumblings around Uni that I have heard the prac next year will include our "choice" which may be Childrens/ED/Theatre/ICU/Maternity and a community setting such as a GP's office or with the mobile Blue Nurses (Nurses that do home visits within the community). I beleive there is even one spot for someone to go on prac with the Royal Flying Doctors Service (Small planes that fly around the outback taking care of emergencies).

We don't have any specialist courses such as womens or childrens. They sound really interesting though, I would love to learn more about the program structure of other countries. We heard a rumour that the American system has gone back to hospital based training is that true?

Wading my way through Uni in Australia....

2005-11-30T14:34:00.000+10:00

I am fascinated with all the international nursing blogs especially those from US and UK. I thought I would write down some thoughts about the Uni program I am dreadging my way through at the moment.

Where to start??? At the beginning I guess. The university program is currently 3 years but can be extended to cater for part time students (especially helpful if you are concurrently working or like me have kids) up to 6 years. Entry is based on rank received on completion of high school or can be determined based on life experience, professional development and sitting a special entrance exam.

At a crisis point in my life I decided to persue becomming a nurse. It was never a life long ambition or a dream of mine as a child, I honestly never imagined I had what it took until I started out. The major turning point was being a birthing partner for my best friend who was so grateful for the support and I remember thinking to myself - I could really do this. I felt useful, I instinctively knew how to support her and I felt empowered to know I really made a difference in the birth of my goddaughter.

So I sat the test to give me a rank and then I waited. I was amazed that I did so well and I started preparing for my new life. I remeber being really worried that I wouldn't fit into uni life and that I would be the oldest undergraduate on campus (How naive I was, I needn't have worried at 27 I was far from the oldest).

The first year I started out doing a part time load of 2 subjects per semester. I had told myself that Uni was going to be incredibly hard and juggling it and 2 small children would be a mammoth effort that I would be lucky to handle. The first 2 subjects were Anatomy & Physiology 1 and Perspectives in Nursing. I loved A & P and hated Perspectives. The whole idea of sociology and how it fit into nursing was lost on me. The second semester I did A & P 2 and Clinical health assessment. I enjoyed both of these and did really well. Due to my part time status I did not go on Prac for the first year of my degree. (infact not until the end of the second year).

By the end of the first year I knew I could handle a higher workload so I adjusted my progression to a full time status. The second year I did Pathophysiology and Pharmacology 1 & 2 (absolutely loved it), Communication, Psychosocial development, Nursing Practices, Health promotion and my elective was End of life studies. I had 2 weeks of prac in a Aged Care facility/rehab fascility which I hated. I didn't mind the work, it is just that I was so bored and the nursing staff were so old fashioned.

This year I have completed Health Law & ethics, Acute nursing, Informatics (hated it - all about computers in nursing) Research, Complex clinical skills and Human Responses in Crisis. This year I have had 8 weeks full time clinical placements in a variety of settings(in 2 week blocks). For me I have worked in 2 x Cardiac wards, ICU, Critical Care Unit and Acute Mental Health.

For my final year I will be doing Wound and Pain management, Adapting to health changes, Community nursing, and Transitions to practice ( I know there are two more, just cant think of them), In addition I will be on prac in 2 & 3 week blocks for 12 weeks of the academic year.

Wow I am exhausted just thinking about all that work. I have to say that as hard as the work is (I am amazed at the amount of work involved and by the amount nurses need to know), I absolutely love studying. With all its pitfalls and the juggle with other commitments it is still one of my greatest passions.

Thanks for reading.

Student Nurse Link

2005-11-30T09:58:00.000+10:00

Student Nurse Link

Student Nurse Website

2005-11-30T09:42:00.000+10:00

After I finished my first year at Uni I wanted to create a website to share all the great nursing related links with my colleagues. I developed a website called "Student Nurse Link" which can be found at http://home.iprimus.com.au/theboss6675/ I would love for other students, graduates and nurses to contribute their ideas and links to the site. Please have a look and let me know what you think.

2005-11-29T20:01:00.000+10:00

I have just discovered blogging and have decided to try to use it to link with other student nurses from around the world to gather useful links and resources and as a way to share experiences. Please forgive my future mistakes while I learn how to drive this program. I am a busy Mum of 2 children and I have just finished my 3rd year at University in Australia, I have 1 year left of my degree then I will be out on my own in the big bad world of nursing.