Nurses?

[Megzz]

Hi guys, Firstly please forgive my post being one paragraph - my stupid keyboard won't let me enter today for some reason! Now, I know there are all sorts of people on here, so I'm wondering if there are any nurses that are members? Or who live with a nurse in their family etc. I ask because I'm seriously considering going to uni to study nursing but wanted to ask a few questions first to make sure its the right move - I hear often that nursing is one of those professions where you really have no idea what it involves until you're working as one. Anyway, please reply if you don't mind me asking a few questions about day to day nursing! Megan

 

[BIGBANG]

my wife is a nurse and loves it. if you are a nurse you can work anywhere in australia, she is a div 2 nurse working in aged care at the moment

 

[adz83]

my wife is a nurse azwel.... shes a mental health nurse, has to deal with all the crazies!!

are u thinking of general nursing or branching off into a particular field?

 

[wasgij]

My wife is also a nurse, Throughout her study she had freak outs that she wasn't sure it was the right choice for her, but now that she's working as a theatre nurse she loves it. The thing about nursing is that it is incredibly diverse. You can choose between ward work, emergency, theatre, personal care. Its up to you, the only thing that you have to remember is that you will likely have to go through placements and sometimes work in areas you might not want to. Good luck with it.

 

[grantnjo]

Im an EEN/Div 2 currently in aged care.

 

[Megzz]

Thanks for your replies adz83 - Funnily enough, mental health nursing is one of the areas that interests me the most. I am focussing on general nursing at this point, but I'm sure I'll want to branch off in the future. Wasgij - The diversity is definitely something that attracts me to nursing. Working in areas that I don't like is part of the job, I get that - but I also want to be as sure as I can that I'll be able to handle it before I get there. grantnjo - That's very cool, do you enjoy it? Now this is probably the most over asked question by people thinking of getting into nursing, but do you develop some sort of tolerance for the 'messy' side of nursing over time? I mean I clean up after my own little girl but I suppose that's very different to cleaning up after adults etc... My biggest hesitation about nursing is that I might gag while wiping a patient and make them embarrassed and uncomfortable - definitely not something you want from a nurse looking after you. *Unrelated* Is anyone else having trouble spacing/entering between lines?? I've even moved computers and its still not working :?

 

[Darlyn]

Hi Megzz, I used to be a nurse, but that was a long time ago in the days when you were trained in the hospitals no uni. Yes, you get used to the crap (literally) you find there are much bigger nasties than crap that come out of a human body. The thing is you don't really think about it, it's about the person it's coming out of. You will experience a range of emotions nursing. You need to be strong and resilient. It's very rewarding if you find an area that you enjoy.

 

[Darlyn]

Yes, I have been having trouble with the enter/ spacing also!

 

[Megzz]

Hi Megzz, I used to be a nurse, but that was a long time ago in the days when you were trained in the hospitals no uni. Yes, you get used to the crap (literally) you find there are much bigger nasties than crap that come out of a human body. The thing is you don't really think about it, it's about the person it's coming out of. You will experience a range of emotions nursing. You need to be strong and resilient. It's very rewarding if you find an area that you enjoy.

Thanks Darlyn, definitely what I was hoping to hear

 

[Darlyn]

Thanks Darlyn, definitely what I was hoping to hear

What? That there are nasties worse than crap coming out of bodies, hahahaha. Honestly it can be very rewarding , very eye opening and very sad. You need a great sense of humour too : ) I wish you the best of luck if you choose that field. It also gives you a great outlook when you feel that you are hard done by because you realise that there are a lot of people who have a much tougher life than you could ever imagine.

 

[Goldie74]

Hey Megzz

Nursing is a good choice and as a previous post stated, the profession offers a huge diversity of avenues in allied health. Should you complete your studies and grad year, there are opportunities extending well beyond the hospital wards. Mental health in itself is interesting and varied, so if that's your interest, go for it.

Introduced in the last few years, you can now do a masters as nurse practitioner, whereby you're diagnosing and prescribing. Similar to a GP, but in a more specific field of interest.

As Darlyn mentioned, you get used to bodily excretions! Although, it takes the nose a while to adapt :shock:. Without trying to fear-monger, you will see a lot worse than you'll smell!

Humans are an interesting species. Dealing with them when they're in their most vulnerable state can be challenging at times, but also very rewarding.

Good luck!

 

[Goldie74]

Reading back over the posts, I'd have to agree with Darlyn (again), that the qualities of both resilience and humour are a huge plus. Oh, and judging by your original post (worried about paragraphing (pfft)), I'm sure you'd be all over report writing, which there is a lot of

 

[=bECS=]

If you are not sure maybe do an AIN course at tafe first. You will get a feel for it and have and have some hands on experience before jumping into 4 years of uni

Also a little tip I picked up quickly in aged care was a bit of vicks inside the nostrils amd you cant smell a thing.... morning showers and bed changes require a strong stomache. So does changing stoma bags and cleaning wounds and bed sores!

 

[treeofgreen]

One of my mates is a nurse. Works in a hospital (not sure which area), does crazy shift work, but he absolutely loves it.

Out of all my friends, I respect his profession the most. It takes a special kind of person to be a good nurse.
Good luck with your choice!

 

[matt_oakford]

My step mum is a nurse I think she does drug counselling and she loves it

Sent from my LG-P705 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Keysman]

I've had family in the profession for over 20 years and she luvs it great pay lots of over time shift work the diversity is amazing go for it it's a amazing job

 

[Xanthine]

My mum was a nurse, and a good friend's mum still is an emergency nurse. They both loved their job, and probably influenced me going to study medicine. At worst, go for it, because if you finish the course and find out it's not for you, it at least opens doors that would be otherwise closed.

Sadly, I can say that some of my cohort seem to already have a bit of that holier-than-thou attitude towards nurses, and I'm starting to wonder whether we should learn less about natural and positive law in ethics, and more about don't-treat-nurses-badly >_>

 

[Megzz]

Thanks so much for the replies guys. I am feeling more and more confident that this is the go for me. =bECS= That is a really good idea and I've been looking into it. In WA its only 3 years at uni to become a RN so an extra 6 months or so for a AIN course wouldn't kill me. Also, the WA government runs a traineeship program each year where people are paid while they complete their AIN - something else I've been looking at to start with. goldie74 - Report writing is definitely the least of my concerns :lol: actually love paperwork. (Crazy I know... And I still can't get this into paragraphs!) Xanthine Yes, I've heard it can be like that. I remember while giving birth to my daughter, the midwife started telling me about how my doctor is so lovely and one of the only ones who is nice to the nurses. Obviously I had FAR bigger things on my mind at the time (being between contractions and all!), but reading your comment reminded me of it