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