28th June 2004... It begins

BOOYAAA!!

Published on June 25, 2004 By Keo Lin In Health & Medicine

My life as an RN starts upon this date. Rather exciting. I will be working at a teritary mental health facility. It will be very interesting as the areas "catered" for are high & medium security forensic mental health units (I think that's the right title), adolescent unit, dual-diagnosis unit and I think there is one more. I am used to as a student nurse saying when something is too hard/i have no idea, "I'll just go get the Real Nurse [also RN]" But now that's me! I have a few friends from uni who have been at work and had uni students... how bizarre! By the time we leave uni though we are RN's just hidden under the student nurse title. In the middle of second year one of the lecturers said in a cinical class that she had taught us all we needed to know, clinically speaking. As everything from then on was just add on's.

For example, wound dressing is a simple procedure of aseptic technique. However a complex wound dressing might be that there are special bandages and products to use. So it's just adding a few more steps. Lou and I couldnt believe our ears when we heard this! We were halfway through and knew "everything" Were they serious? Yes! I should explain that in practical ways wound dressing isn't as straight forward as I make it sound. I once opened up a packet and from the force behind the tearing flung the inside (the most crucial part) onto the floor. The only saving grace was that I hadnt used the stuff before so I was able to see what it was and how to use it. On paper a wound dressing takes 5 minutes, in reality it takes as long as it takes. That they didn't teach us at uni. I find it remarkable how much we really weren't taught at uni, though theorectically speaking we knew it all.

So even with my 3 yrs of uni behind me, I will start learning again on monday. I cant wait! I believe I should fit right in

Comments

Floozie

on Jun 25, 2004

I find it remarkable how much we really weren't taught at uni,

Man! If I had a dollar for the number of times I've heard this. Turns out that most uni degrees don't teach you anything you need to know. Yours would have, at least a little, considering it has practical applications, so count yourself lucky! My friends who have been silly enough to do accounting and the like have now got jobs in their chosen industry and haven't used a single thing from all of their 3 boring years. Uni really is the 'piece of paper' mentality. But hey - that piece of paper opens doors (says she who is on hiatus from uni at the moment. I'll get back - I promise!)

Congratulations on your new job. I have so much respect for Nurses. You work SO hard. I hope you enjoy it and it makes you happy. Ooh - and you get to wear those sexy white shoes, right?

Keo Lin

on Jun 25, 2004

I am glad to know that I am not the only person who has had this kind of experience what we were taught at uni and we we actually use.

Thanks

I have a pair of those shoes in black

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