hanna-beacon

thanks peeps i broke the news to my ward manager yesterday and she is hoping to keep me on the books so that i can do the odd shift here and there which will be great! i've to go shopping next week for books and pens and stuff... oh and i'll have to wear a pink tunic! brilliant! its all very exciting

I had an interview today to do my midwifery training and they accepted me SO I start in September! The only down side is that I'll have to leave my current job which I really enjoy

39 hour week at the minute! We were fighting for a 35 hour week but have settled for 37.5... for now Starting pay for a newly qualified nurse is a little over 30,000 Euro, so about £20,000 sterling. Conditions aren't too bad either depending on where you work!

Plenty of jobs here in Ireland! I think the pay scales are slightly better than the UK and we're getting the 37.5 hour working week soon too!

I brought the MDA keys home after a night shift a couple of weeks ago, and I live about 35 miles from work I'm not even working night shift this week but I turned up at work today and had completely forgotten my uniform! I felt like a school child who had forgotten my PE kit!

Yes An Bord Altranias are very good, its the NMC that slows things down! It took weeks for the NMC to send my verification to An Bord Altranais but once they had it I had been given my pin number within a week. Did you both get job offers for the Beacon? Thats great news if you did! Who interviewed you and which dept will you be working on? Hanna

We have a lot of international nurses working here, I'm not sure if the hospital sponsors them or not. The best thing to do would be to get in contact with the human resources dept here and ask them

I work in a brand new private hospital in Dublin who are currently recruiting nurses in all areas, from ICU, CCU, Theatre, Recovery, Ward managers.... the list goes on! Its a fantastic hospital and would be a great opportunity for anyone who has considered working in Ireland so I just thought I'd share it with you. I could go on and on about how modern and 'state of the art' the hospital is, and how much I enjoy working here, but I think I'll just give you the link to the website so that if you are interested you can see for yourself! www.beaconhospital.ie The best thing is that it is a joint Irish-American venture, so we have been told that down the line there will be the opportunity to participate in exchange programs with some of the American hospitals. Anyway, I don't work for HR but I'm just trying to do my bit to help get this hospital staffed and up to speed! Feel free to send me a private message if you'd like to ask me anything about the place Hanna

No kids yet so I guess the schooling system isn't going to put us off coming! Sistermike, which hospital do you work in there? I've been reading in other threads that working coonditions aren't that great? Also what are shift patterns like there? 12 hour shifts, 3 or 4 days a week are pretty much the norm here. Maybe I'm being idealistic, but I think that the gorgeous weather and endless shows and activities would more than compensate for a few months of 'less than perfect' working conditions! And sure, nowhere is perfect anyway!

Definate shortage here in Dublin! Alot of Irish trained nurses travel to Australia as soon as they qualify

My manager is just brilliant! She's very fair and approachable. She's driven by her staff and patient care and not by budgets and targets. Our ward is very well run and we have great communication with her and each other. She is also a very good judge of character. This ward opened as a new unit 6 months ago and she interviewed all of us. Its quite evident that she handpicked a team of really great nurses, we all work hard and well together and as yet there hasn't been any disputes or bitching. She also grafts with the rest of us! She isn't afraid to get her hands dirty and will often stay late. When we forst opened she was working 13-14 hour shifts 5 days a week. I'm very lucky to have her as a ward manager, and I guess I could call her a mentor too, as I feel I can ask her anything, and she is very encouraging. I've had bad managers too though. My last ward had 2 managers, one of them came across as being slightly racist (not to me) and the other did nothing but sit on her big bum all day. The whole management in that place was bad though, I'm sure the director of nursing was a witch in her spare time!

We did a 'violence in the workplace' training session during orientation, went on a bit about personal space and making sure that you are in a public area of the ward should you encounter an aggressive patient/relative etc... I personally feel quite safe in the workplace, we generally have good staffing on the ward and security are very good at night. Doors are locked and it is only swipe card access. The main entrance in manned all night should anyone need to get in. I've had confused aggressive male patients draw fists at me, but never been physically attacked. Verbal abuse is part of everyday nursing! Would I press charges? That would depend on who had attacked me. A confused patient then I wouldn't, no. I would just ensure measures were taken to ensure it didn't happen to any of my colleagues. Someone who would know full well what they were at I would press charges in a heartbeat. 'Nurse' is not another name for 'I'm a Mug'!

Ooh you learn something new everyday :)

I'd love to be a community nurse, somewhere warm, and preferably near a beach. I'd travel from patient to patient in a soft top, something cheeky like a new VW Beetle, and my patients would offer me iced lemonade and coconut macaroons! In between patients I would stop along the beach and have ice cream and just take time to chill and watch the waves! Of course all these coconut macaroons and ice cream would make me very fat

I have yoghurt with added fibre and chop up a banana in it! When I'm working nights I find I could eat literally non stop all night, so I chop up apples, melon, strawberries, kiwi, mango, banana and pineapple and pick away at it all night! Yummy

I would recomend at least spending some time gaining gerenral experience. Although if you know for sure what you want to do then you may as well apply for it! There will always be a Med/Surg ward if your chosen field doesn't work out! I'm finding Med/Surg great for experience and also for finding out what fields there are out there! I'm still not sure what I want to specialise in, but I'm learning so much while I decide! Med/Surg can't be a bad thing!

Of course you always get the odd one who is up his/her own jacksy and will on no grounds be spoken to on first name terms! Sometimes theres too many to remember and its easier just to call them Doctor :)

Very good point! On our ward here we ensure that we give a brief report to whoever will be your patients. We try our best to ensure that breaks don't coinside with patient returning from theatre etc... I really do have a problem with people who 'nip out' for cigarette breaks 20 times a day. Its unfair to those who don't smoke and its really not pleasant for patients to be cared for by somebody who pongs of cigarettes! Fortunately in this job there isn't anybody on my ward who smokes, but it was a real problem in my last job. Of course here in Ireland there is the smoking ban in all public buildings so there isn't even a designated smoking area! Either don't smoke or stand in the rain!!

Oh yes, you get poo in every area of nursing, but like bopps said, its one of the most challenging and exciting careers out there. No 2 days are ever the same! Its so diverse and there are so many different career paths that you can persue, there's no reason to ever get bored. Its also a job that is so rewarding in so many ways. I can honestly say that my job makes me smile, especially when I think about the people I've helped through simple words and actions. Of course its not all great, its stressful and hard work, and both mentally and physically demanding. But hey, thats why its called a vocation!

One of our elderly gentleman patients asked for my granny's phone number which did make me chuckle

How are you supposed to take care of others if you don't take care of yourself? We encourage rest and nutrition in our patients, practice what you preach is what I say! Seriously though, you shouldn't feel bad about taking breaks and if anything, adequate rest breaks should be encouraged for the well being and morale of staff on the ward. But I'm sure that if like you say, the 'others' on the ward organised themselves better then they too would find time for breaks. I'm sure if the smokers could only smoke during designated tea and lunch breaks and not willy nilly then they would soon find time for their breaks!

Are these a good agency to go with when moving to America? I'm also looking into a working holiday in Nevada? I'd love to talk to you about the process! I only sent an enquiry form to them yesterday. Sure I'll send you a PM and hopefully you can share all with me!!

Thank you for your help :) I understand that the US training is quite different to that in Ireland. After coming to Ireland to work straight from my UK training, I feel that my standard of nursing education is considerably higher than what is given in Ireland. I need a bit of a challenge! Getting myself to US standards should be fun!

Well for the time being, this Triad hospital is claiming to be the most technologically advanced hospital in Europe (and from working here i'd believe it too) They are a staging ground for General Electric and it appears no expense has been spared! As for staffing levels, the Irish healthcare system leaves alot to be desired and the hospital I worked in previously ran on a ratio of 1 nurse to 12 patients! We have a ratio of 1:5 here which, for me, seems like heaven! This is my first job in a private establishment, and I guess i'm not accustomed to thinking of patients as customers!

Does anyone work for a Triad facility in the States? I work in their first European venture in Dublin, Ireland, and overall I find them very good as an employer. Just wondered what other Triad employees thought? Compare notes!