AdelaideChic

It sounded a bit dodgy, but it was from a somewhat reliable source. Im hoping to complete my postgrad stuff here first, before travelling, which should help find a position. I think you're right, I think im eligible for some sort of UK citizenship. I appreciate your time.

Hello! I am a R.N. in Australia. I have a years experience since completing my course, with a mix of cardiac, critical/intensive care and oncology. I am seriously considering travelling to Europe (U.K. specifically), I would love to work there for (starting off with) 3-6 months. My mother is a UK citizen, my father was born there but is now a Aust. resident, and my mums parents are from the UK. My dads parents (well his mum anyway) are from Scotland. Anyone got any pointers or tips to get me started? I have heard that it is beneficial to register with the Irish board, and then transfer over... is that true? Thanks VERY VERY muchly, for any advice, pointers or suggestions. Nikki

The hourly rate shown on that website also only reflects early shifts, doesnt take into account lates, nights, saturdays, sundays or even public holidays.

In my opinion, i would disagree. The thing is, it says Salary... When you look at base income presumin we work only mon to fri, only earlies, then the base earning in the public sector is somehting like $44,800 in Adelaide for a full-time first year RN. When you take into account that first year RN's are only a small % of the RN community, it doesnt make it average. However, a lot of the nurses are part-time. Many are not working in the public sector. If you are saying that the figure given, $45,187 is for a full-time graduate nurse on average for a year, it could work out. However, in my first year of nursing, i added about $5,000 to that, because of penalty rates and what not. Hope that makes sense?

I have some friends that did Tafe courses (like certificate things) that get paid the same as i do (even tho i did a 3 year degree, that cost roughly $12,000) that earn about the same as i do. However, i also work weekends, lates, nights, late earlies, public holidays.... I work on my feet, i work with the risk that someone might suddenly arrest and die, i have the risk of giving the wrong med, basically i feel that my job is a lot more risky and potentially dangerous than some of my friends that (for example) work at call centres or are computer programmers. One of such friends recently asked a bank how much he could loan, and he was told that he could loan $160,000 which is an ok amount, but not enough for a house in decent suburbs here. He is looking for a single loan, without a deposit, but still. I earn roughly the same, so in theory thats about what i can loan. Maybe it would be different with our education levels or something, but still... Cleaners at the local shopping centre get paid more per hour than I do. I do feel i am underpaid, but then again, how much is a nurse worth? Everyone in the public is gonna have a different opinion.

Danissa - when those staff were swabbed, what was the outcome? How did it affect postive results employment? Was it mandatory? I once asked where I work (in Aust) if they ever swabbed the staff (I was a student at the time) and the staff laughed and said nope, we would all have it. However, if we all have it, and are passing it on, we wouldnt get negative results on patients i guess. Handwashing is so important. When i was in a cardiac recovery area, a few times the staff on the admitting ward forgot to check the results, and patients would be operated on and admitted to the recovery unit before their positive result was found. I was very concerned that it meant i had become a carrier. Minnie Mouse - were you treated at your place of employment? Were you required to tell your employer? Isnt something like 80% of the community anyway, tis crazy.

The base salary increases each year, as your experience level increases also... so i would say that the $45,000 is for a first year RN (who has graduated), and of course, the lowest on the totem pole usually gets the ickier shifts, so they generally can pick up a fair bit more from penalties... Hope that helps!

In my opinion, the government would be better off by rewarding those of us who complete our program. People that go on the HECS/HELP system, start a qualification, don't finish it and don't earn enough to pay it back or work overseas are thus not paying for any of their debt. I think a system where your degree cost is (for example) halved would mean more people would be inclined to finish it, or even say a financial bonus or tax cut for finishing. Perhaps also there should be a reward for actually using the nursing degree? A few of my friends qualified, but took up different work or become mothers, which meant that their qualifications are temporarily useless, again likely meaning they are not paying back their debt. I don't much mind whether nurses are hospital or uni trained. I was uni trained, as i had to be to gain the qualification at the time. Placements/work experiences/free labour sucks because it means a drop of income, leaving (or using your holidays anyway) of paid income, to become another pair of hands. I was lucky and had great placements where I learnt heaps, but not everything is that lucky, not everyone enjoys the experience (not necessarily because of the nursing, but perhaps staff, other commitments, etc.). I would be somewhat bitter if people got paid to earn the same degree that I now have, without the HECS debt that I had.

You will need to be registered or enrolled with the Nurses Board of Victoria. There is a contact us link at this address, on the left hand side bar http://www.nbv.org.au/ Theres some info/link about coming to Australia as a nurse on this page http://www.health.vic.gov.au/nursing/career/registering Im in South Australia... so cant really help. I love Melbourne though, its prob my fave place other than here... Go check out St Kilda, I love that place! Good luck.

Not ALL of Australia!!! As per my post, I have worked in two units of the same (metropolitan, large) hospital in Aust which each have diff protocols - one with heparin, one without...

Maybe also a gentle reminder that cleaning a bum or putting on bandaids can be learnt in minutes... yet (here in Australia anyway) nursing is a 3 year degree (for registered anyway)... so clearly we are either really dumb (in which case, they better hope none of their loved ones get sick) or learn a lot more.

Few months ago when i was still very new in the ICU, i had a little old lady who had been admitted with CAP and general respiratory failure. We (the physio and I) soon also learnt that she had eruptive explosive diarrhorea. We learnt this, as when we stood her, the plug musta come out.... I was most bemused and also frustrated when the physio flopped her (his side of her anyway) onto the bed, and walked out the room to wipe his shoes... meanwhile I am holding her, comforting and reassuring, making sure she doesnt slip straight off the bed... I managed to heave her bottom back, meaning she is kinda splayed in all her bareness across the bed... but i was fixing her up, with as much dignity as possibly, and she was having a giggle...when the co-ordinator walks in, sees the physio wiping his shoes, and asks if i need a hand. I havent seen him again. I was so shocked that he blatantly abandoned his patient!!! Obviously he was shocked that little old ladies can have not so little bowel actions!

Im a new RN, and ive worked on two crit care places for my first two rotations. In the general ICU, normal saline is used, however in the cardio-thoracic ICU (where 95% of pts are post CABG, MVR or AVR) they use the heparin as mentioned above. Both units use pressurised bags to give about 3ml/hr (more really though, as we use their art lines to take blood regularly for BSL's...). I have only seen one episode of HITs, and interestingly that was in the cardiac ICU, where a guy was transferred from another (less major) metro hospital with cardiogenic shock (he had EF of 8%..and various other ailments!). However, he was also on bd sc heparin 5000u, so the 3ml/hr was probably minimal in comparison. Ive always kinda wanted the research of whether one or other was more effective, seems odd two different units in the same hospital (actually they are so close they share walls!) have different protocols.

In the unit i work on, mouth care is strictly at least 3 hourly on any ventilated patients, to protect the mucosa, comfort as well as VAP minimization. We used close suction on both trachy and ETT.

I wish i had seen this post earlier!!!! I love my pump. I have days where i hate diabetes, but not as many now with the pump than before. Hope it si going well, and if you ever want to chat, vent, or anything, fell free to msg me! I also know of a few online resources if your interested. Mine is the minimed too, i got the blue though (i had blue hair at the time, hahahaha!!!).

Just remember you said match the residents name to face... If it is a long term facility, which mine was (and predominantly foreign!), the names are often on the inside of the tops and cardigans. Never rely on it for drugs and thigns, but often it is a helpful prompt... especially if you are sure it is either A or B. Just be wary as sometimes clothes get put on wrong ppl by mistake, or 'lent' when the laundry is taking too long...!

(Im not sure what NOC stand for!?!) When i worked in a residential care facility as the team leader of a 30 bed dementia unit, my handovers where short sharp and shiny. In order to remember who was having what, i started off by keeping a notepad in my pocket, and just putting the room number and then any issues. Rooms 1-5 where on the first but of paper, 6-10 on the next... and so on. Then when it came to handover and report, i had a quick cheat list of who had prn meds, hyperglycaemia, loose bowels, etc. As i got more experienced, and knew which pts usually had which issues, i used this less and less, but its a good prompt. Maybe have a time out period? Say if u finish at 9pm, at 8.15-8.25 you are not to be disturbed unless by emergency/important issues, so that you can do your reporting? If the same ppl are on a course of antibiotics, then the staff may have been hearing about this for the last week when you tell them, maybe saying "and im sure u no that Mrs X is on anti's for her infected wound" rather than "Mrs X is on Amoxycillin 500mg tds at 0800, 1200, and 1700 for her infection to the left lower leg"... if you can see what im getting at! Similarly, if someone regularly has loose bowels, the staff may not need the finer details, or perhaps are just cringing because they remember last time... I think a big part of nursing is that you need to work out the best way to be most adaptable, its when you are busy and running behind that ppl that are generally fine on their feet decide to fall and so on. Dont know if that helps at all, but anyway, besta luck to you!

My opinion on this... If you are giving a pill for a UTI, then the Dr has already made that diagnosis and prescribed something as such, in which case, the Dr should have diagnosed and discussed with pt. In such case, i would speak the same as MoopleRN. If the pt is not informed, then paging the MO (intern) may be neccessary. This can be hard in some environments, such as when waking sedated patients, and giving the meds that have been ordered while they were sedated... but the pt has a right to information, and if they want it, we should make it available, not by overstepping our scope, but by ensuring the Dr fulfills that need.

As a graduate RN (in Australia mind, but still) I would recommend working on the floor first. In my grad program, i have been given specialties, 2 of which are critical care units. I feel that my prior experience as an undergraduate nurse has helped me immensely. A new grad has more potential to struggle, as they dont have a grasp on the kind of things Ruby Vee mentioned. As a grad who has gone pretty much straight into critical care (though never asking for this!) with a fair amount of acute nursing experience, i recommend working the floor before jumping into the ICU environment. I personally do not intend on staying in the critical care environment at the end of my grad program, as i want at least a year on the floor first, if ever i return to the crit care environment.

What about other aspects... this person is isolated... Communication and diversional therapy. The pt has only you (other than family) to talk to. Maybe therapeutic communication, distracting away from the loneliness, the feeling of being the only one and all alone... Making sure the pt is aware of why they are being isolated - providing information bout the diagnosis and making sure they know they will still receive the same care (should anyway!). For example explaining that they are not in significant danger, but if we (nurses) passed the bug to an immunosuppressed pt, it could be extremely serious, depending on the situation of course. Diversional therapy again - perhaps providing entertainment - tv, magazines, etc. Encouraging friends and family to call (of course this depends on unit and diagnosis, etc). Making sure the pt can appropriately communicate with the nurse when out of the room - ie call bell, alphabet board for a trachy pt. Ensuring other members of the health team understand and adhere to infection control policy (ie gowning and gloving appropriately). Um... think thats all i can think of atm! Good luck.

Hey, im looking into postgraduate study options, and in the future i hope to travel to Europe and work in the UK while I'm there. Hopefully i will work in the UK for 1-2 years, in 2-6 years time. What i would really like to know, is if there are Cardiac ICU's in the larger hospitals in the UK. Currently im working in a cardiac intensive care unit, which i am enjoying, however for further study im unsure if i should study ICU or cardiac care. Any information, or advice, is greatly appreciated. Thanks heaps!

Ok, i can understand that, but what if the aide turns up for work, and the pt has slipped cutting a tomato, and there is blood everywhere, and the aide just instintly grabs a cloth and starts cleaning, and gets blood allover themselves in the process? Are they somehow alerted to the possiblity that this person has a blood-borne illness? I mean, sure dont go specific, witht he HIV lights flashing and all, but doesnt that person need to know in just a small way? Personally, i would love to work in the community in the future, in articular in palliative care which means i would come across a lot of different type of cases, but those that dont want to do it, are perhaps not the best person for that particular case? If someone doesnt want to be there, wouldnt there be someone who is more likely to be happier working there? I prob make no sense in this post

so, if this person collapses, they do what? call am ambulance and say this person has collapsed, and cant even tell them their history? what about something like a diabetic saying they feel low, couldnt an aide encourage them to test and have some sugar (if they are indeed low), rather than waiting til they are unconscious and calling an ambo? maybe its different in australia, i worked as an aide in a nursing home and a hospital while i was going through uni, and i had access to all info, however i was directly assisting with these clients (in the nursing home i was actually a senior and medication credentialled, so it was integral that i knew diagnosis, but still, before i was doing meds, i still knew and felt i could provide better care because i knew the whole story, not just what i can see).

I graduated at 20, but was working as a nursing assistant (or whatever the correct term is, out of Australia...) from age 17. So, my concerns also branched out to finding out about me signing legal documents, hehe. However, i am now working in a major hospital, on a Cardio Thoracic Recovery Unit (also an ICU). Because of my experience (i think), people tend to take me seriously. I wil admit when i dont know something, but demonstrate my ability when im able to. Our ward 'uniform' is navy scrubs, not very complementary, but we all look the same. I think i look younger with my glasses on (i think i look like i have bigger eyes, more questioning than answering). Its not our age that matters, its the care we provide. Unfortunately, it seem a lot of people dont mind their own business. I dont do anything to try and make myself look older, i wear very little makeup (base and sometimes some lip gloss) and thats more of a personal confidence thing rather than an age thing. In the end, age is kinda irrelevant, long as your not being harrassed.

We are taught 8 rules now, here in Australia... Clear, concise and comprehensive would be the best bet, i reckon. Have you asked the person that asked you? Would be interesting to hear the 'correct' answer.