Nursing 2008 Anyone?

[tamzof@mac.com]

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just wanted to know if anyone else is planning to study nursing in 2008, and at what uni, ect. I would love to hear from you

[shanti96]

Yep I'm planning to study at UTS bachelor of nursing at City campus. How about you?

[tamzof@mac.com]

Thats great!! The BA nursing at UTS has an excellent reputation. I was going to choose them, but decided to go external so that i could keep my current job as an (AIN) assistant nurse.

I will hopefully be going to CDU as they were my 1st choice. (i don't find out till 15th Jan)

Keep in touch Im sure 1st yr subjects will be similar across all uni's.

[gracie007]

hey! i am hoping to get into kuringgai uts for nursing. cant wait. i should be fine, but i also applied for ANU, Syd uni, and UWS parra just to make sure

[tamzof@mac.com]

Well Looser 101 there's no need to be rude. and the health system now has AIN's (assistant nurses) and they are the ones who change peoples nappies..

Nursing is a rewarding job, but it takes people with compassion and a desire to help people. Im sure you have been in a hospital at some time in your life, and the care of yourself or someone you knew would have been in the hands of a registered nurse.

Registered nurses help save peoples lives every day, and i know this from first hand experience as i currently work as a AIN and yes i do change nappies, but not of old people of young people age 18-30 who have cerebral palsy. The RN's in the group home i work in help our clients have the best quality of life possible and keep our clients alive as many are 15yrs over their life expectancy.

so to looser101 i would like to see you inject someone having a grand mal with midazalam intermuscular, or perform CPR with a smart bag on some one thats in a wheel chair or even something simple like putting up a PEG feed.

anyway guys congrats on chooseing nursing and getting in keep in touch, i already have a few yrs of tranning and workplace experience so any questions i can help you with ide be happy to help.

Tamzof

[shanti96]

I wouldnt bother with any of loser101's remarks... I mean, look at his signature. He's a disgrace.

Anyway, thanks for the offer Tamzof. I'm sure during this year I'll be bombarding you with questions!

Gracie07, I also applied for Usyd and UWS just to be on the safeside. Nothing is worse than not getting your first preference and not having a backup.

The reason I didn't choose Usyd was b/c they didn't offer just the Bachelor of Nursing and all their other undergrad degrees were combined which I didn't really want since Bachelor of Arts wasnt something I was interested in.

And with UWS.... just not really as reputable as UTS
7 days to go till main round offers....good luck!

[rozymisty]

You can still do your nursing course internally and still work as an ain. Many nursing students do that. Do you work in a nursing home, coz most AINs either have their cert 3 in aged care, or wait and do 2 pracs and then can work as an AIN.

Do all of your AIN shifts NOW while you have the long holiday and then ease back later in the semester coz believe me you will nt have much time to work when assignments come in. Esp when hospitals etc dont let you do less than8hr shifts.

Sure if your doing hospital AIN, you may just be sitting there watching a patient for 8 hrs (BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and some students do their study then but then tey arent really doing their job and often, with dementia patients, you are getting out of your seat every 5mins so you cant study.


I dont know about NSW, but i know that Victoria had introduced a few years ago where you could work as a student nurse, ie not specialing patients, and doing more EN work, but no meds, but still more AIN stuff, so its a mixture kinda.

I know QLD have just brought it in, and I wanted to do it but coz i only had a few months left of my course, I just kept slogging away at my job in the nursing home.

Oh yeah for those of you who dont have any nursing experience....get your back muscles VERY strong. You will need a strong back, coz of all the bending and lifting that you ahve to do. I only started going to a physio and doing pilates etc now just as im starting and i get back pain after walking around for 8hrs and just bending over a few patients beds will make my left side of my back ache.

I probably wouldnt recommend buying your textbooks all upfront, coz they are a bloody fortune, and they make you get them all at once. And it continues pretty much into 1st sem 2nd year and then its mostly using the same books. But then again your guys courses will be different but you will always use those books later on during your nursing course.

Get yourself one of those pocket nursing dictonaries and help books. They will help you immensely. Brush up on your maths too lol, and ability to pronounce long and complicated names lol. learn to manage your time now and prioritise now, coz time management is a vital skill, especially if you are doing a morning shift when you have so much to do.

Um thats all the tips I can think of at the moment. If you want any further advice, just drop me a PM or talk to me on msn (when im online which isnt goin to be often coz im now an RN, but mainly on in the evenigs) rozymisty@yahoo.com.au

PS I cant believe how low the OP (qld entry thing) has become! When I enrolled, it was an 11, and now its a 14! i guess they are desparte for nurses so they lower the OP..sad kinda in that it 'dumbs' down the profession. But I read that nursing and other health courses were very popular.

Good luck
Liz

[tamzof@mac.com]

i work full time as i have a baby girl to support too which is why i chose external.
i have cert 3 & 4 in aged care. but i have heard of 1st yr student nurses working in aged care in NSW as there is an award wage for nursing students but not in disability's where i work.

thanks for the advice about the text books im keen to go out and by them brand new all at once but i'll try and hold off. Approx how many did you have for 1st yr and how many of those did u use in the yrs after?

Those mini nurses dictionary's are a great idea a must have for any nursing student.

another great thing about working as a AIN while studying is having access to things like MIMS i found this to be a valuable resource during my cert 3 & 4 and im sure it will be during the BA too.

[tamzof@mac.com]

I Got In To Cdu!!!!!!!!! Ba Nursing External Yyeeeaaaaaaa It Was My First Choice!!!!!

[rozymisty]

YAY!!! Well done! thats great!

Yeah hold off the books coz the big clinical ones cost about $100. One pack we got was $250 (with 3 books). But you do use them all during the course and like when you do your pracs and stuff.

[pattii]

hi

[shanti96]

Originally Posted by rozymisty

Oh yeah for those of you who dont have any nursing experience....get your back muscles VERY strong. You will need a strong back, coz of all the bending and lifting that you ahve to do. I only started going to a physio and doing pilates etc now just as im starting and i get back pain after walking around for 8hrs and just bending over a few patients beds will make my left side of my back ache.

Now I'm just scared. It never really hit me that this occupation could be a strain physically.

Got accepted to UTS b. of nursing city... not as thrilled as before after reading that ^ lol.

[rozymisty]

lol sorry if I scared you. Now a days though all hospitals have a no lifting policy. YOu use slide sheets (which are like parachute material that slides) so you can pull them up the bed or whatever, and you have to use a rocking motion so that you dont twist your back

But its prob more the bending over and being on your feet a lot that will maybe give you back pain.

But regardess of whatever career you do, you will get back pain if you dont have the correct posture and put pressure on your bck. Any job will do manual handling stuff with you once you start and every year.

We did our manual handling competency today at work, and the way they do it is so much easier on your back so dont worry. But I have scolosis so that means my back is more strained. They teach you the importance of having the bed at the correct height and stuff so that you dont strain your lower back.

But still, for general health, get your back fit, coz that will help when you get older.

[tamzof@mac.com]

Proper manual handling is a must !!!!!!!!!!! alot of nurses still try and use the "old faster ways" but it is no good for your back and you need to say NO.

I've had a child so my back is perfect at the best of times, i would suggest finding a good remedial massage therapist for if and when you get pain.

But you young girls straight out of school should have no worries!!!!!!!! so dont stress about it!!!!!!!

[Bacilli]

I was thinking about it.