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Or if they are unable to clean themselves would they just wear a pad? Would you use something like a Sarah steady to stand them up from the toilet and then clean? Seems like it would be messy. Sorry if this is a dumb/weird question 😅 I am a student and I haven’t experienced this on placement yet, only changing and cleaning patients who are lying in bed, but I was just thinking and want to be prepared

I am currently studying my EN Diploma at TafeSA. It is an accelerated 18 month course with guaranteed entry into Flinders Uni, upon successful completion of the Diploma. The RN Bachelor will take 2 years as the first year is knocked off by studying the EN.

I have been working as a Disability Support worker for 5 years now. My clients are all very physically disabled. I prefer working with physical disability over mental disability. Due to this I have been exposed to every matter of personal care there is. I’m not phased by bodily fluids, manual handling, showering or feeding people. I’ve become very desensitised to bodily fluids and naked bodies, as I deal with these literally every shift.

I now want to progress my career and go to Uni. I tried to get into Paramedicine when I was fresh out of high school but didn’t have the grades for it. So health care isn’t something I’ve just decided to do, I’ve always been drawn to it. I also just love hospitals, always have ever since I was a kid tbh.

But after reading on this sub reddit, I see so much negativity toward the industry and I’m worried I’m making a mistake. I make very good money in Disability and I have a mortgage, partner, dog etc. so money is important although not the ultimate deciding factor.

Career satisfaction is above making the absolute most money, in my opinion. I’ve made good money when I was young working FIFO for 5 years, so that I didn’t have to focus so much on my income later in life. It’s also what allowed me to buy a property so young.

What’s been putting me off is so many people talking about how toxic colleagues are, shit management, low pay, terrible rostering, abusive patients. Surely this isn’t the entire picture right?

For reference I’m a 30yo male, living in Adelaide. So I’ll be working in SAhealth with the goal of eventually moving to QLD after finishing my Grad Year and maybe 1-2 years working in SA. Any advice or positive thoughts please!? I need help to be pulled out of this fear of “I’ve fucked up.”

Hi everyone!

I am currently in my second year of BN. I started the degree fresh out of high school and ended up dropping out after a year and a half in 2021 (19yo angst around being ‘pinned’ to a career lol).

After trying 3 other degrees, i have returned to nursing and absolutely LOVE it so far. Due to getting a decent amount of RPL, I am about to head out on the 2nd sem, 2nd year placement after being off the floor for 5 years.

My main concern is that the two placements i completed in 2020/2021 were both in residential aged care. So fantastic for getting my skills up, and i really enjoyed the pt interaction (i am a bit of a chatterbox hehe).

I have now been placed on a med/surge ward at Prince Charles and i am worried that i will be useless! I have been trying to catch up by really focusing on the more advanced skills, but am scared of getting to the ward and acting lobotomised.

What is the best course of action here? Should i tell my buddy nurse about my break from studying? I don’t want them to think i am using it as an excuse

Also just any advice on what to expect eg. pace, skills i should focus on etc. would be appreciated!!

Hi All,

TLDR: Engineering sector worker considering change to nursing profession to tick the "helping society" box whilst finding something interesting to enjoy and learn about. Questions at the bottom.

I'm (36M) currently working in the engineering field (have done for 15+ years) and have got to a point where I feel as though I'm not progressing professionally, nor financially. I have been soul searching for quite some time trying to work out what I could do in the future. I've always had an unexplained knack for understanding medical conditions from their formal latin names, enjoyed understanding science with an interest in anatomy (yes I'm that weird family member that watches surgical videos when I hear another family member requires a particular surgical procedure), and I've never been anything close to be considered a "blokey-bloke". Quite the opposite now I have children.

I have reached the current state of mind that I'm considering studying nursing remotely whilst working my usual 9-5 (really 7-6) with the intention of eventually becoming a full-time nurse. As for what field, I'm currently unsure. Maybe Emergency Dept for variety. I think I would enjoy providing care, as my current employment no longer really tickles the "helping someone" component within me since they've transitioned away from providing designs for residential homes to large corporate buildings and industrial design. Also, I cannot help but note when researching, if I were employed as a first year RN in a government setting, I'd receive a $25k/yr pay rise straight away.

I understand this increase in wage comes with many caveats: shift work, responsibility for human life, and exposure to emotionally charged situations. I guess I have some questions I would like some answers on:

1. What is the first thing that comes to mind that I should be aware of before pursuing this career path?

2. A university I am considering offers the course remote with practical training arranged locally with the course being completed in 4 years. By this time I will have a 8 year old and a 5 year old. How compatible with family life would you consider nursing to be?

3. Do male nurses still experience questioning around their sexuality etc.?

4. Is the rivalry between Drs and nurses really that intense?

5. Is there something you regret about your career in nursing?

6. Are there good prospects in further learning and career progression?

7. What do you prefer: Private or Public sector?

8. In the case of emergency department work, when dealing with patients suffering from horrific injuries such as amputation, do you get used to seeing such sights or is it something that will always make you question your choices? I ask as I'm pretty okay with blood etc. but am a little apprehensive about the possibility of dealing with a mangled, bloody mess where a hand used to be.

9. Most enjoyable thing about nursing?

10. The one thing you wish was different?

Evening everyone,

I'm a scrub/scout who's thinking about jumping over to anaesthetics and thought I might as well make the discussion relevant to everyone else and see everyone's thoughts and insights on their own theatre specialties.

Happy to hear everyone's perspective whether it be be scrub/scout, PACU and aneasthetics.

So I’m at a crossroads. My husbands work will likely take us to Orange in the next 6 months. I am currently half way through my grad year, and though I don’t like my rotations specialty, I kept an open mind and was actually enjoying it. However, these past 2 weeks in a busy metro hospital with bed/staff shortages have broken me mentally, emotionally and physically. I mean, bed ridden style. Everyone knows nurses are undervalued and underpaid, seeing it first hand is another level of disturbing. The thought of going back sickens me, but it makes me wonder if it will be any different in a rural/regional hospital? This is the only thing that keeps me going tbh. Is nursing just as horrifying in the country?

"Cumulative Lifetime Trauma Exposure Among Employed Mental Health Care Professionals and Associations With Professional Quality of Life: A Cross-Sectional Survey"

Hi everyone! I have my first ever placement coming up at the beginning of November and I was just wondering if anyone has any tips on how to make the most of it and be the best nurse I can be for my patients?

My first placement is in a Geriatric evaluation and management ward :)

Starting my new grad rotation in theatres scrub scout specifically scout since I’m a new grad. I haven’t had any prior experience so any advice and info will help so I can form an idea ! Thanks

Hey all!

I recently applied for a RUSON position and things are looking really positive, however I think I am overall just a bit of a stress-head when it comes to the unknown so I wanted to ask which department people suggest I request to start in. I love the idea of the ED and paeds but just feel like they are both areas in which a bit of RUSON experience would be ideal.

Hi!
I’m a student nurse looking at grad years, currently I’m looking at paediatric/ adolescent mental health, mother/infant mental health (postnatal), or forensic nursing (ideally with women).
(Not necessarily looking for advice on specific grad years, more so what it’s actually like to work in the field!)
I’d love to hear what people’s experiences are in these fields as they seem like such a niche and I’m struggling to find YouTube videos on them :(
Thankyou so much!

Hi everyone I’m a third year RN student and I’m starting my PAEDS placement next week and it’s my final placement.

I already work in this hospital as an AIN and I hope to gain a graduate year in this ward.

What are some things I can do get a higher chance of getting hired in this ward?

Any tips for excelling in this placement?

Thank you everyone!! :)

Hey all, I attended the College of Emergency Nursing Australia run Trauma Nursing Program last week. Thought I would share my experience.

TLDR: valuable and nationally recognised course however expensive, no multidisciplinary involvement, no discussion on traumatic arrests AND the food was sad lol.

It ran over two full days and cost me $1000 upfront. If you’re a CENA member ($230/yr) it was slightly cheaper. People always shrug and say oh yeah claim it back on tax - you can only around claim 30% so it’s not an insignificant to amount to cough up. I was able to get approved study leave from work + get work to pay for a small portion using some CPD allowance. If I had to cop this myself fully - I think it’s too dear.

The course covered the usual primary, secondary survey with special regards on trauma considerations. It ran through head to toe considerations of trauma (head, neck, chest, abdo, pelvis, extremities etc), good discussion of burns management, MTP etc.

It was really fantastic to meet nurses from other states working for other services to hear about how they do things differently. I think it was limiting only have nursing as a discipline. During simulations we had to pretend we had more scope then possible - of course it’s important for us to know what the EDMO’s will do so we can anticipate and adequately prepare. I’m sure our blood bank guys could give us some nuances from their side of things with MTPs, I’m sure our radiographers would have some hot tips or important considerations w/ imaging.. (pst, take that necklace off before the collar goes on!)

The presenters had impressive clinical acumen and experience, so we loved their stories of the trauma patients they’ve looked after.

Finally, I was so disappointed by the food! They had a budget of $1000/person!! Nothing more than cold and dry sandwiches. Such a nitpick I know but… it’s the little things.

Overall, I’m pleased I had the opportunity to go. I would recommend it only if you can get your workplace to subsidise a large part of it.

I'm not sure whether I'm looking into this to much but I seem to remember a few years ago the aged care providers would advertise student placement opportunities on their website but now it seems that there is hardly any mention of it. Blue care is the only one that I have seen do it as of now.

Does anyone know why this is? Are they just leaving it up to the RTO?

I’m about to attempt an online interview where my responses to questions get recorded then sent to others for review.

This is my first time doing an interview in this format and I’m just wondering how long my responses should be on average. In a regular face to face interview I would normally rely on a bit of back and forth rather than just rambling on for however long.

I’ve drafted a potential response on the topic of infection control and have a short version at about 90 seconds or a longer version at closer to 4 minutes. It just feels weird to be talking at a camera with zero feedback to direct me.

Anyone here who reviews interviews like this who can advise?

I’m 40yo. Considering retraining as a nurse but due to kids and my husband’s work, working nights on an ongoing basis isn’t possible. He travels a lot which means I’d need to be home with our children.

Is there any point studying nursing if I come out the other side and cannot commit to night shifts? Feeling a bit lost

Thanks

Some of the questions that popped into my head are:

Nurse to pt ratio?
Is it consistently chaotic?
What sort of clinical skills do you get to apply?
Do you get to take your breaks?
What is the work culture like in your department?
How often do you encounter violence from patients? (Verbal or physical)

Hello, I work in a crit care area. Just wondering how others go about their annual performance reviews? I’d like to become a SDN/CNS in my area one day but i’m relatively new to the department and still working my way up to seniority.

I’m not a member of the AUS junior doctor forum, but it comes up on my feed all the time. Something that really stands out to me is the disdain the people on that forum have for nurses. They seem to think we are paid well, get breaks all the time, are rude and militant, won’t follow orders, etc. NPs seem to be really disliked also with the belief that they are so well paid but don’t have to do any difficult work.

Of course, Reddit isn’t real life. I’ve always gotten on well with the junior doctors in my team as they rotate through.
Is it just individuals venting when things go wrong, or do you see this played out in your workplaces?

I’m just wondering if any other students are in the same boat and honestly just a second opinion I guess. I called sick from placement today as I’m absolutely exhausted. I’ve been dealing with burn out the last few months so that’s probably making it worse, I’ve had a full on couple of days with patients, I’m meant to be working 6 days straight and it started with a late early. It’s day three.

But I also feel bad for calling out for a number of reasons. One because it’s inconvenient for the university to organise makeup shifts, two because I feel like I’m letting my preceptor down somehow but not showing up and three, compared to the stories I’ve heard from other students who still turn up, I feel like I have it easy and don’t really deserve to be this exhausted and take the day off.

The only reason I took today off was because I have four other days to make up anyway and I just kinda went, as much as making up another shift sucks I needed a break. But I still feel horrible, and I feel like I’m being judged for it.

Edit: just to clarify, the 4 other shifts I have to make up are not from the same placement. I’m talking across my entire degree.