Evie

thanks for the quick reply, elenova! i have been reading some of your posts on other threads. we would like to go to dubai or abu dhabi. if a married couple of RNs go to dubai can they then live together in hospital accommodation or do they usually find accommodation off campus? i have read that if you do not live in the free provided accommodation u can get an allowance, are the rents reasonable? i really appreciate your help! evie

elenova, i am an aussie RN very keen to go to the UAE next year. i work in medical high dependency (mostly cardiac pts). my boyfriend is a general RN and we want to travel together. is there any hope of us being able to live together if we're not married? were u recruited thru an agency or did u apply directly? i am having trouble finding specific information and i have so many questions! many thanks, evie

that is so disappointing to hear. where i work the support for grads couldn't be better. i know because i am one! and even in a circumstance where another grad has had a nasty experience with horizontal violence, she has been fully supported by senior nurses. i guess you don't really know what you're in for until you're in the job and go through the experience :uhoh21:

Here's a reply to your thread, Graynurse, so at least you have 1! Yes, I am studying, for GAMSAT! But you already knew that. I am having palpitations already - quick, do an ECG and give me some oxygen. Can't wait to see you as a CN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

some of my most priceless moments in nursing have come from looking after "geris". before i started my training i thought i'd be the complete opposite to how i have turned out - i thought i'd want to do paeds and babies and stuff but in actual fact i prefer geriatrics. i guess the fact that most of the patients on my ward are over 70 anyway (and that is considered YOUNG, lol) has something to do with it as well. the elderly have so much to offer as they have lived a life, and even with dementia patients it can be such a pleasure to care for them, particularly when they are happy-demented. i reckon that having your first placement in a geri ward would have to be one of the best ways to start off. i could go into all the reasons.. but i'm sure you'll see why. also, particularly with long-stay patients (ie waiting for NH placements), their medical care isn't always that complicated, meaning what you're doing most of the time is ADLs, albeit with a stack of oral meds, but usually only daily obs, so it also makes your day more predictable, which is good for time management when you're just starting off. i know that medically they're more complicated because of all their co-morbidities etc but as a 1st yr nursing student it isn't your primary concern (leave that to the med students!.. you will be able to interact with the patients better than them anyway). have a great placement. you will find yourself doing the strangest things at times.. you just end up saying "oh, the things we do.."

dardar, you don't need any science subjects as prerequisites for a nursing degree. well, not for the undergraduate entry. some universities have graduate entry, where you need a science degree first. having said that, you will study science subjects within the nursing degree but they start at a fairly basic level so you shouldn't be disadvantaged. however, you will need to obtain an entry score to be eligible to apply to the universities, but these are specific to each state in this country. just keep having a look at the websites of the unis - here is an example from the university i attended: QUT - http://www.hlth.qut.edu.au/nrs/courses/undergrad also, there should be info about applying as an international student for each institution.

thanks grace! i am having so much fun working and actually getting paid for it! as a student nurse i was a bit worried but, you know, getting your registration is like getting your drivers' licence!! once you're on your own you just FLY. i'm learning heaps every day and i love the interaction with the other nurses, doctors and allied health staff. even though the ward on which i'm working is quite heavy (it's general medical), i have a blast because i'm doing exactly what i want to be doing. it makes me WANT to learn to understand my patients' conditions, and i know that by doing this year (grad program) i'm learning how to be a good nurse rather than being tunnel-visioned and only wanting to do all the exciting, high-tech stuff that some nursing grads go after straight away. there are some mornings when i am up to my elbows in poo by 7:30, and i think "what am i doinG?" but then even that has it's little rewards when i can clean up someone who has been incontinent so that they are more comfortable and their healing can continue (or they can die with dignity, whichever). i think out of everything, though, it has been meeting new people. that is so much fun. i'm so glad i'm a nurse - not bitter and twisted yet!!!!!

my friend went straight into a 12 month theatre grad program (she's actually doing the transition program which gets her credit towards a grad cert i think) - she knew it was what she wanted to do so went for it! i think that if you know then go for it, if not maybe do a general program, but why waste your time? i had a choice b/w rotations and 12 months, and i took the 12 months in medical because that is what i wanted to do. it'd be better for you to do something you find fun and interesting rather than not and start to resent your job before you really love it!! by the way, my friend in theatre is doing rotations - recovery, scrubbing, scouting, and anaesthetics!

good luck, kelly! i started working as an RN in mid-december after finishing uni, and work has reinforced that i definitely made the right choice studying nursing. yep, times will get tough when you're in the middle of assignments and exams or away on clinical rotations, but it is TOTALLY worth it in the end. how lucky are we? we get to do a really cool job, get paid reasonably well for it, and work a roster wherein we don't have to be stuck in an office 9-5, 5 days a week! once you get stuck into the study you won't look back, even if you feel daunted by what you don't know, don't worry, it all comes together in the end (sounds so cliched i know but it's so true).

i have found QUT to be great over my 3 years.. QUT students have a good reputation which is nice when you go out on prac.. the course has been fine, but of course now i am sick of it and can't wait to finish!! i think if you want to study in brisbane, go for QUT or ACU - both are reputable courses.. USQ has a good rep, too, and don't be fooled by the lower entry score - i've heard it's a killer course! (really separates the sheep from the goats, apparently).. the buzz around town is that QUT grads are preferred for the RBH, but in the end it comes down to the individual, naturally.. i am not one for inter-uni rivalry (when i was studying at UQ that's all i heard about), but i agree, if you can, stay away from the "university for the third world".. hahahahaha (GU)

i've heard that Flinders Medical Centre is great also.. i did hear that from a doc, though, so i don't know what nursing is like there

but then i guess a graduate program is what you make of it..

or should that be, my EYES..

torachan - my ears are bleeding!! hahaha

do you think there is a difference in whether you work for QH or a private hospital in your grad year? (apart from the obvious pay, conditions, etc) we have been told that a lot of private hospitals start recruiting earlier than public..