shaCNS

I trained in the dark ages of "hospital training" (not really so long ago in Australia......about 30 years). Back then there was never an option! You HAD to have a nurses fob watch. Wrist watches were banned on duty. Since then, times have changed and most hospitals allow wrist watches. However, I can't live without my fob. On the rare occaision that I have had to wear a wrist watch to work (when the fob was broken or had a flat battery), I felt SO uncomfortable. (And because I usually wear a fob, I only have a good wrist watch so who wants to wear that to work!) I love my fob!

D/O adhesions means "division of adhesions". It's a surgical procedure, whereby adhesions (usually to the bowel) are divided, allowing the bowel to function normally and without pain.

I aggree. Transfer out of there. Several years ago I was working in Paeds and I had had no previous experience in Paeds. I made a few mistakes (nothing life threatening) but I learned a lot too. Anyway it was suggested that I should move out of that area and I landed in the medical ward. I have never looked back. Each unit has its own "personality" and both staff (nursing medical allied health housekeeping and clerical) and patients contribute to that personality. Not every nurse can or should work in every unit. You have to find a ward/unit/area where your personality fits and it is in that environment that you will be most happy and the most use to your patients AND you will learn more if you are happy too. Best of luck to you.

don't know if my answer is helpful or not since i am an australian nurse but here it is: 1.) what is your educational background? i am "hospital trained". i have a "certificate of general nursing" and a post graduate certificate in critical care nursing - cardiac 2.) how did you decide on your area of nursing? i always loved cardiac nusing even as a student. i worked for many years as an rn on surgical wards and even though i enjoyed that i was always drawn to the cardiac patients. i worked for a few months in coronary care and now i work in a general medical ward (with a lot of cardiac patients) and the cardiac catheter laboratory. 3.) was it hard to find work in this area, and how did you go about it? i moved to this town 6 years ago on a short term contract to childrens ward. i wasn't very good with the parents but i did learn a lot. at the end of the contract, i was offered a job in the general medical ward and with some trpidation i took it.......remember most of my post grad experience was surgical......... i have never looked back! i have really enjoyed speciallising in cardiac nursing, and after completing my graduate certificate, i began to work part time in the cath lab and cardiac rehab. 4.) do you ever have students work with you? we have students on the ward several times a year. there are usually about 20-30 students in the hospital with 1 or 2 educators so on the ward they are allocated to work with a nurse. so "yes" i do have students work with me from time to time. i do work quite a few nights so i don;t always see the students. i am a cns so i am also involved in orientating new staff to the unit. 5.) can i contact you later if i have more questions? yes you can contact me if you need to. your answers can be as long or as short as you like. thank you!

Sorry, wrog date. I graduated in 1982 not 1984.

I was born in Sydney (capital of NSW), in1960 and lived in various suburbs of Sydney untill 2003. I trained at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (a major hospital in Sydney). It was a 3 year course leading to the award of "Certificate in General Nuring". I graduated and became a Registered Nurse in 1984. (This type of training is no longer available: to become an RN now you have to go to University. It's still a 3 year course and the name of the degree obtained depends on the uni. e.g. BN, BSN, B App SC N etc). As an RN I worked in 3 Public Hospitals and a Private Hospital in Sydney, mostly in Surgical Wards. I did work for about a year in Intensive Care, but never quite fitted in, so I returned to Surgical Nursing. I never really liked Medical Nursing (?patients) except Cardiac Nursing....... I have always enjoyed cardiac nursing and cardiac patients. I moved to Tamworth (a large town/small city in Rural NSW) in 2003 and worked for 1 year in Paeditric Ward where I was quite out of my depth! I felt like a New Grad all the time. Since 2004 I have worked in the Medical Ward, which includes the Acute Stroke Unit, Cardiac, renal, repiratory and almost anything else medical. In 2006/2007 I completed a Graduate Certificate in Critical Care Nursing - Cardiac Stream, and am now employed as a Clinical Nurse Specialist. I am the ward resource person for all types of catdiac care, and part of my role includes orientating new staff and education of ward staff. Do you need any more information? Hope this helps.

Thanks for straightening that out. I appreciate it. In Australia the minimum training for RN is a 3 year course at university. But there are some of us who trained in "the dark ages" with a Certificate of Nursing from a hospital based 3 year course. The degrees obtained depend on the university you attend, such as (BN) Bachelor of Nursing, BSN, or B Appl Sc N. Then the higher degrees are MSN and Doctorate, with heaps of Graduate Certificates in Specialties in between. As with yours, bedside nursing is bedside nursing, and once you are "on the floor" we all do the same job! Thanks again.

Hi there, I have been reading a lot of American posts with different levels of nurses identified by shorthand, and I was curious to know how much training these different levels have. eg RN, LPN, CNA etc. In Australia, we have AIN (Assistants in Nursing): they have 3 months training at TAFE (Technical and further education College). :nurse:ENs (Enrolled Nurses) had a 1 year training in TAFE. Cannot pass meds, and have some other limits on their skills as well. This is an old course which no longer exists but there are still a lot of ENs employed. :nurse:EENs (Endorsed Enrolled Nurses) This is the final year of their 1 year course at TAFE leading to a Certificate. (There is now a 2 year course at University which leads to a diploma). These nurses can pass meds but have other limitations on their practice compared to RNs. :nurse:RN training is 3 years at university, leading to a degree, although there are still a lot of us (me included) who were hospital trained. Thanks in advance for helping to straighten out my confusion!

I have a full time position in the medical ward and last year I was seconded 2 days per fortnight to the Cardiac Cath lab and I love it! Best decision I ever made, but its hard work though......A lot more standing in one place than floor nursing. My feet hurt at the end of the day. Its a different kind of "busy", so it gives me a break from the floor, and the floor gives me a break from the lab! I love both my jobs so I hope I never have to choose between the two. Glad to hear you are enjoying the lab too. (Ours is a small lab: we do our own prep and recovery as well as working "inside" the lab).

Sometimes I think people purposely wait until someone leaves to "go." I am certain they do! My mother-in-law did too. We had all been in to visit: her 4 married children, and their spouses and their children. After we left, my father-in-law went to visit and after he left, he didn't even get to his car when he got the phone call to say that she had gone. We were only half way home ourselves. She died in a hospice and I will always be greatful to the dedicated staff who made her last days so comfortable. I work on a medical ward and sometimes our patients are dying. I believe dying with dignity and being comfortable are far more important than worrying about whether this next dose of morphine will "nock her off". The patient is going to die anyway. Morphine MAY "hasten the inevitable" but it id the disease NOT the drug which is killing trhe patient. Go ahead and give the medication: make your patients last days/hours comfortable. (Their family will thank you for it)

I work in a Medical ward in rural NSW. What would you like to know about?

In Australia, Medication endorsed Enrolled Nurses (EENs) can work i critical care units....not certain about NICU though. Our EENs currently have 1 year training at TAFE and earn a "Certificate 4". The new course is 2 years at University and will earn them an "Advanced Diploma". RNs go to university for 3 years and earn a degree. Just out of curiosity, how does that lign up with the American system?

Re: First Medication Error.....feeling horrible!!

how is that a med error? the bg was within normal range, preprandial, and you gave basal insulin, lantus. everyone makes mistakes, and any nurse who says he/she has never made a med error either hasn't made one yet, is lying about it, or is too stupid to realize they've made a med error. i totally aggree with both these contributers! i don't think you did anything wrong. hoever its important to know that every one makes mistakes. otherwise you wouldn't be human. the thing to do is to admit you've made a mistake, report it and make sure the patient is ok. you did this even with your "little" experience of almost a year. i know of many much more "experienced" nurses who would cover it up for fear of reprisal to themself. this is not the best thing for the patient and probably not good for the nurse either! on a personal note, i know just how you feel. when i make a mistake (and yes their have been more than one) i usually can't sleep. i toss and turn all night and often have to get up and ring the ward to make sure the patient is ok before i can go to sleep, and then when i do get to sleep i often dream about the patient and the error! the good news is you will get over it and you can face another shift, because you have learned from your experience. i think that when we stop learning we might as well stop nursing because we are no use to our patients if we think we know it all.