emmalou*

^ this. If you listen to nothing else on here, listen to this. Most of us have concentrated on the 'doing' tasks, which are important obviously, but qualities which are as important are empathy, kindness and active listening. Nursing students and ...

Hi, I replied to your post last year. Congratulations on making it to 2nd year! Good for you. Did you receive any feedback on your last 2 clinical placements? It would be a good place to start, by thinking about what you need to work on still and wor...

Yeah I have to agree with some of the other posters here. The OP wrote an excellent, well thought out, realistic article but in response to the 'special children born to special parents' argument from a couple of people - I have an uncle (Dad's broth...

It's not that nursing has a higher incidence of awful people - I honestly don't think that. All professions have their challenges, bad people, unhappy people, etc. The corporate sector, for example, can have a very bad workplace culture in that peopl...

Being ex RN of a couple of years, but having visited here over the past 10 years (I lost my account so had to make a new one in 2006) Allnurses didn't make my physical skills better but improved my knowledge. It also helps knowing there are other pe...

I guess the reason nursing is so scrutinised is because, a) the perception by so many people of nursing being altruistic; and b) the fact that nurses see their clients more than any other health professional. To deal with people 8-12 hours a day, go...

I can see where the OP is coming from actually .. I mean I don't think everyone necessarily needs to say they want to help people in regard to their career, and certainly, being attracted to a job for security and decent pay is fair enough ... The fa...

The OP was obviously placed in a difficult situation - it had to be done by someone and there was nobody else around. Some of my thoughts on cleaning tasks ... Nurses should not be cleaning, full stop unless there's danger to a patient or anybody el...

I really felt for you reading that. It's very difficult to do your job well, particularly a task like administering medications, when you're anxious or stressed out with too high a workload. Anxiety is crippling. Even with day to day activities, much...

Is this a joke? I thought this type of thing happened in the 50s or something ... way to set the women's movement back 40 years?! I probably wouldn't marry a doctor because of the incredibly long hours they put in and the fact that I'd never see the...

I didn't see your previous question unfortunately - it sounds interesting. I'm not sure if this is what you mean, but I've observed a certain type of person with depression (and in fact chronic illness, psychological and physical overall), who use th...

I was terrible at time management when I was a new grad nurse - and yet time management hasn't been a problem in other non-clinical, healthcare jobs; in fact I've been dropped in the deep end in senior jobs and did quite well. My guess is, the pressu...

I agree with the above. You made a mistake, and it wasn't a terrible mistake on the scheme of things. You will make mistakes over your nursing career and you will sometimes feel stupid . That is a reality of nursing. I can understand how you feel - t...

I tend to get sweaty hands when I'm nervous - I do have a general anxiety issue though. I don't know why, but it didn't pose much of a problem once I started nursing because you're so busy with getting all your work done, washing your hands between p...

Love this, sums up everything I've believed on those good, positive days

Yes, thank you for sharing, I hope all goes well, waiting for test results can be an anxious time.

undergraduate nurses are considered a bit childish and not quite the real deal. A bit of a micky mouse degree if you will. virtually anyone can get into a nursing degree ( charles sturt university for example) and believe me - the RN's ive had to wor...

Traditional medicine is flawed at times and is far from perfect but it is the only proven system we have of managing disease. Those grandmothers, ancestors etc who used 'home remedies' also had a much higher mortality rate than we do. Sorry, but I am...

I wasn't suggesting the OP was older or overweight, I was giving information. I also advised a physiotherapist if you read my original message - in Australia you need to get a referral from a doctor to go to a physio which is why I suggested the doc...

haha, this reminded me of the Seinfeld episode where George tells everyone he's a marine biologist then comes across a beached whale ... :chuckle With me, I wanted to be a nurse from a young age and 2 things triggered it - firstly my grandmother dyin...

Well you might want to talk to your doctor about getting a scan to see what the problem is, then see a physio for some exercises. Chronic knee pain in women is very common, particularly if you are getting older, are carrying a bit more weight than us...

What is the place and role of the student in the clinical environment? We are guests on the ward, there to learn and improve our skills as nurses. We need to be proactive, willing and excited whilst keeping out of the way and not stepping on any toes...

I agree you're being very hard on yourself, and am concerned you're possibly setting yourself up for failure which such strict guidelines. I'm not too comfortable myself with knowing my place, not getting comfortable and not speaking out of turn etc....

You managed her the way I would have. The thing I found the most difficult about aged care when I first started, was some of the relatives. Some people will try to use emotional blackmail to make you feel bad - don't take this on board! They might ha...

Yikes you had it a bit tough girl. Despite that you sound very enthusiastic, eager to learn and seem to be taking the criticism you received to heart - I admire you for that. I'm Australian, and remember my clinicals back in the mid 90s. Seems like s...