Nurse Interview Assignment

not sure if information from an overseas nurse helps, but anyway, if it does:

1. how many yrs or type of educational experience do you have?

enrolled nurse (same as lpn) = 17 years - hospital certificate - goodness, i think they had just invented the electric light

registered nurse = just into 2nd year rn now - bachelor of nursing (preregistration)

2. what are the different roles you have worked in health care?

as above. as an enrolled nurse, i worked in orthopaedics, infectious, medical, constant care (think that is a mixture between ltc and acute patients who are at danger of hurting thems, as in falls or pulling out lines) and general medical.

as a registered nurse, in our first year (graduate year) we do rotations. i worked in the same day procedure unit (surgical day care), infectious paediatrics, and surgical incorporating burns.

3. how has professionalism incorporated in your role as a nurse?

nurses have, like most professions, recognised training and formal qualifications, regulatory bodies, and specialised knowledge.

so i can't practise as a nurse unless my qualifications are valid, and that i have registration through a board.

though our knowledge may be shared with others, our role is different in that we are with the person the whole time, and have to assess them and care for them using our own criteria. to be professional you need to have up to date information, so reading is essential, and liaising with others is important.

thus development of different levels of communication, for both the lay person, and for communication with both others in your field, and allied health workers is important. there is a need for development of commonly understood terms. we own our own language too, for example nanda (we used that here at one stage), etc.

nurses have developed a code of ethics, competence and have to act within legal boundaries. i cannot act outside of this, or else my job will be on the line

most professions enjoy high status. unfortunately nursing does not. this does not mean we are not professional. i believe part of being professional is recognising and being proud of what we do, and i am!

can nurses practise independently? are we autonomous? there are community nurses who do set up private organisations, community midwives, nurse practitioners. so yes, nursing is becoming more autonomous. nursing in hospitals is not autonomous, but then, neither are other professions, ie physiotherapists etc have to liase with nurses and doctors before they create their plan. even doctors have to listen to nurses, they have to rely on our knowledge in order to follow their own care. what if nurses did not report change in condition?

so yes, i think professionalism plays a big part in my role as a nurse

4. what advice would you offer to a person beginning in the nursing profession?

• read, but learn to put what you read into practice
  
• learn your drugs, especially the appropriate doses, and administration frequency. i actually created my own little dictionary to use as a reference (goodness it took forever to do but it was worth it) listing what to look out for, when not to administer it, the times you should administer it etc etc. it helps to also increase your drug knowledge
  
• listen to others. books are good backup, but you need to learn how to put it in action. also what you see in the hospital may be more up to date than your books
  
• learn your hospital policies
  
• be aware of your legal responsibilities and limitations
  
• ask questions if you are not sure of something
  
• you are your patients advocate. if you think something is happening, or that treatment isn't correct, discuss with a senior or approach the team
  
• make sure you have some 'me' time. don't live nursing.
  
• if necessary, recognise that you may need debriefing, and seek counselling. nurses often forget that they are ppl too, and that they deal with much more traumatic things than most ppl would in a days work.
  
• learn to communicate effectively, compassionately, and wisely.
  
• learn to prioritise and develop good time management skills
  
• you are human, you can't do everything, thats why nursing is a 24 hour profession.
  
• don't become involved in 'politics'.
  
• document, document, document!
  
• make sure you have liability insurance.
  
• support your colleagues both emotionally as well as in their daily work, when you can
  
• when you become a preceptor to students, remember what it was like for you, and be compassionate as well as a good mentor
  
• you will never know everything. when i first did my en we did some things that just wouldn't be done now, because knowledge has improved over the years. new diseases have been identified, etc, etc.
  

5. what advice would you offer for a nursing student as they work toward the completion of their degree?

listen, learn, develop communication skills with everyone you work and care for, develop time management, learn how to prioritise, practise, read and consolidate knowledge. use your time in the hospital and school to find out which area of nursing you are interested in. it is a wide world out there. ask, ask, ask! nobody knows everything. keep your environment clean, and prevent occupational health and safety hazards, eg water on the floor, ensuring that a confused patient has cot sides up and appropriate supervision. document. alot of this is much the same as the above.

hope this is useful...

Thanks sooooo much. This is very useful and you should be proud of your accomplishments.

Thank you sooo much...this infor is great!

oh one other thing. may I just get your name too?