AndyyD

I live in Melbourne, Australia. Started work as a Division 2 nurse, not medication-endorsed. Starting pay rate was $20.20 an hour for permanent hours, but as I was casual I got $25.25 an hour. Later received a union-negotiated rise to just over $26 an hour. Then started my Division 1 graduate year full time. Started on $22.69, then received another union-negotiated rise to $23.42. Now I have finished my graduate year and am on just over $25 an hour. I get an extra $23 per shift if I work after 6pm. 50% extra pay for any weekend hours.

Can everybody please settle down? Opinions are all welcome, no matter what experience you've had. Personally I look at it like this. - As a nurse you need to be empathetic, not just to patients, but to students as well. It's not easy so just do your best for the student and remember that one day they might end up being your boss, or even YOUR NURSE. - If you're a student, ask questions and do your best to work WITH THE TEAM. It's a privilege to work on a ward when every person there has a big job to do even without teaching you. Don't take it for granted, listen closely and learn. One day you'll see the other side of it the way the nurses already have. And I STRONGLY disagree with 'OgopogoLPN' who stated that students should not put their lunch in the staff fridge or use the staff kitchen. As students they are part of the team. Either you are there FOR help, or you're there TO help - so you're either IN the team or NOT. They should be made to feel comfortable and welcome, and this would be a good opportunity for you to learn more about them as a person. Be a role model and give them something to aspire to. Honestly, this thread is good for a bit of venting, but as nurses we all know it's part of our job to teach new nurses. How did we learn in the first place? If you don't want to teach students then you're in the wrong job. Nursing is a personable profession. You have to work with people. Make the most of it!

Some great advice here. I was a student as recently as 18 months ago and I try to teach them things that I was struggling with when I started. - Time management & care planning - Medications - asking hard questions that I know they will struggle to remember - And just giving lots of randoms tips, some encouragement and praise where it's due. Seriously, our ENTIRE PROFESSION doesn't get enough praise from other staff when it's due. But we're the first to cop it when things go pear-shaped.

On the topic of shoes it'll be hard to get something without a logo unless you buy it and remove the stitches that hold the logo on. For interest's sake though, I am plagued by ongoing ankle pain/arthritis (yes, at age 22) resulting from surgery when I was much younger. I recently tried the 'MBT' shoe, which has a soft sponge under the heel to promote instability and curves at the front so that you kind of 'roll' when you walk. The instability, which sounds bad, is actually brilliant. It forces the muscles in your legs, buttocks and abdomen to work harder to keep you balanced, which in turn takes pressure OFF your joints so that your muscles tone up and you get significantly LESS JOINT PAIN. It's been life-changing for me as I have been seen hobbling (not just limping) around on my ward sometimes for as long as 3-4 weeks at a time when experiencing a bad episode of chronic ankle pain. Do consider them if you have ankle/leg/back/neck pain. Worth every single penny of the $375 I paid. Seriously!

Hi guys, just joined. 22 y/o from Australia, been nursing since I was 20. Other interests are cars/racing, Australian football, reading and fishing. Women too, of course Nice to have a place to hang out. I'm the solo-male on my ward. Andy

For me it would be: - Not speaking English. I'm half Chinese myself, but honestly I can't teach you anything if you've been in Australia for over two years and still don't understand basic English. There is supposed to be an English test to ensure that international students can actually RECEIVE an education effectively, but it's clearly not up to standard and everybody's time gets wasted so that the university can get some coin. One of my previous students didn't know what a kidney-dish was, nor could I explain it to her, and she was in FINAL YEAR. - Laziness. "There's just nothing to do..." ---> Yes there is! Just go and even TALK to a patient. We're here for wholistic care, which includes gauging their mood and feelings. - Know-it-all. "I already know how to take vital signs, I want to learn something interesting". I hear this from students occasionally. I just tell them that they'll always have to do vital signs, get used to the time management, learn the trends and indications, and show me you're committed to the job for the patient, not to look smart and cool while you do that fancy wound dressing. When I was a student I hated: - Being referred to as 'the student' rather than my name - Staff talking behind my back, not addressing vital learning issues with me upfront but instead addressing my education team and management rather than me directly, which resulted in a huge loss of self-confidence and made me so anxious about my environment that I didn't learn well at all.

As above - relaxation massage is a wonderful idea for a nurse at any point in their career!

I can't imagine how difficult it must be not only with the steep learning curve that is the beginning of your career, but also having to support your family. The only thing I can say is that you will need to have faith in yourself and some persevearance - you got your education to begin with which should remind you that you deserve to be in the industry. Stick with it, you will be rewarded in the long-term. One of my friends is a carpenter. He is one year older than me but earns twice the money I do, and I doubt he carries as much weight on his shoulders as the average nurse does. Is it fair? Not really, but I get enjoyment out of my job that I'm sure he will never find in his. If I were filthy rich I would still do nursing, not for a crust but for the satisfaction. It's not always the nicest environment but when I'm having trouble at work (management once put me in tears) I just try to block it out and look at how my patients are perceiving me - if they are happy with the care that I'm giving them then I don't have to justify myself to anybody else in the hospital. Stay strong mate! We have faith in you :)

You should always auscultate on the skin as clothing can cause accoustic interference by friction with your stethoscope bell. Also so that you can inspect the patient visually and do your skin assessment! However research has shown that applying greater downward pressure with the bell of your stethoscope can greatly reduce the amount of accoustic interference when auscultating, but ultimately I think it's better practice to auscultate on the skin.