Nurse In Australia » General Nursing Stuff

Nurses Sick Leave in Winter

Ross — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 00:49:11 +0000

What are your experiences regarding nurses taking sick leave in winter?

In most places that I’ve worked I’ve noticed a sharp rise in staff off on sick leave – obviously this is in part due to the winter cough/cold/flu blues, but perhaps it may also have something to do with the run on effect from others being off sick.

In other words, constantly working one or two staff down can be pretty tiring and eventually can lead to you also getting run down & taking a day off to recuperate. This is also compounded if your work load goes up during the winter months.

While I’m on the subject of sick leave, I was interested in a recent allnurses thread that discussed different policies for calling in sick.

The hospital where I work in Australia has no time limits for calling in sick, compared with some of the hospital policies mentioned in the above thread. For instance, you could call in 8 hours before your shift or 8 minutes before your shift without any penalty or ramifications.

Common sense however dictates that calling in 8 minutes before your shift will not only infuriate your workplace and colleagues, it is pretty poor form in general and should only be done in dire circumstances. I would say that in general, most people tend to give at least a few hours notice. (Notice I say *most* people!)

Making the Pain Chart more.. real

Ross — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 06:29:35 +0000

I must admit, I’ve never been a major fan of the traditional pain score chart.

You know the ones I’m talking about? We use them mostly on children (actually I’ve never used them on anyone other than children) to try and understand their level of pain.

Now that I think about it, I’m not really quite sure that they’re the best way to determine what a child’s pain is at, either…

“Look over here at the chart, Madeline… MADELINE – LOOK AT THE CHART please…”

but I digress..

This week I stumbled across a brilliant reinterpretation of the pain score chart, as described by Allie of Hyperbole and a Half.

Check out the full story & second half of the New Improved! pain chart by visiting Boyfriend doesn’t have ebola. Probably. You could also click on the picture below if you would rather do that. I’m all about options here…

Titles of Nurses in Australia

Ross — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:15:26 +0000

Confused about different types and titles of Nurses in Australia?

Want to know the differences between an AIN, PCA, RN, EN, EEN, NP etc etc?

How long does it actually take to reach each qualification in Australia?

Find out a bit more about Categories of Nurses in Australia by checking out the new Australian Nursing Categories page.

Nurse’s Unfair Sacking?

Ross — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:08:21 +0000

credit: MissLPS

A Melbourne Nursing Home received a stern warning this week by the Fair Work Ombudsman over what has been described as a “heartless and shabby treatment” of one of their longstanding aged-care nurses.

The Nursing Home has been placed on notice, and will be monitored closely to ensure that it stays compliant with workplace laws after an incident involving the Nurse.

Here’s the lowdown: while at work, an aged-care nurse fell and broke her hip. After seven months of recovery at home, she was basically told not to come back to work, thank you very much.

What’s intriguing and puts a new twist on this story is the age of the nurse – she is a spritely 74 years old.

More injustices came to light when Fair Work inspectors looked further into the situation. From the article at News.com.au:

“The nurse did not believe she had received her full entitlements on termination and complained to the Fair Work Ombudsman.

When a Fair Work inspector first contacted the nursing home, it initially denied that the complainant had been employed there. However, after demanding to see employment records, inspectors subsequently found the nurse had been underpaid annual leave and long-service leave entitlements and for some hours worked.

The company has now reimbursed the nurse almost $30,000.”

My question therefore, is this:

How much of this has to do with the Nurse’s age? Would a younger worker have received the same treatment?

Additionally, how old is too old to look after ‘aged care’ patients?

From my own foray into the world of aged care several years ago, I know that some patients in Nursing Homes are actually younger then the 74 year old Nurse. Conversely, you also find 90year olds who are living quite happily on their own in the community, so I guess it depends on each individual.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this story?

7 Tips to Survive a Late Night Hospital Shift

Ross — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:41:15 +0000

credit: the half-blood prince

Guest post by Mary Ward

Perhaps you are new to working at a hospital or just feeling out of sorts and just plain lousy. Working the late night shift at the hospital is incredibly challenging to many people in the medical profession.

All adult human beings require seven to eight hours of quality sleep each night. Sleeping during the day is not as restorative as night sleep. Medical professionals that work the late night shift rarely get the seven to eight hours of sleep that they need. Not getting enough sleep can cause problems with mood, concentration and memory. In addition, missing out on quality z’s can lead to chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

Until a time when hospital patients no longer have to spend overnight stays in the hospital, medical professionals are not likely to stop working the late night shift any time soon. Therefore, it is critical that individuals in the medical field develop and practice healthy sleeping habits. Here are some tips to help you survive a late night hospital shift:

If you are having trouble getting any quality sleep, you should start a sleep journal. Write in your journal every day for a minimum of two weeks. Make an appointment with your doctor in order to determine which treatment is best for your situation. Take your sleep journal with you to your appointment.
Try wearing your sunglasses on the way home from work if it is light out when your shift is over. This will signal to your body that it is time to go to sleep. When you get home, draw the shades and climb in bed for a good day’s sleep.
If you are stuck working the late night shift at the hospital, try to take a nap during your lunch break. Studies indicate that just twenty to thirty minutes of sleep can make you more alert and ready to get back to work to finish your shift.
Limit your caffeine intake to no more than 500 mg per day. In addition, only consume caffeine in the first four hours that you are awake. Consuming caffeine to late into the day or night can disrupt sleep.
In order to help your body adjust to working the late night shift at the hospital, keep up with the routine. Wake up and go to sleep at the same time of day or night whether you are working or not.
Make sure that your family, friends and neighbors know you are working the late night shift. Let them know when it is okay for them to call or come by and when you will be catching up on sleep. You may also want to ask your neighbors to keep the noise to a minimum when you are resting.
Do not expect to function fully during the day just because you work the late night shift. Avoid planning any additional responsibilities during the time you should be sleeping. If you do not respect your body’s need for sleep, you will not be able to function at work or enjoy the time you spend with your family and friends.

* Mary Ward writes about how to choose among online diagnostic medical sonography degrees.

Piña colada for the patient, please?

Ross — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:16:53 +0000

credit: Kenny Hindgren

People always ask me about what goes on behind closed doors in hospitals, so today I thought I’d give you a bit of an insiders view into emergency departments.
Just to mix things up a bit, today’s article comes with a twist of lime – I’m turning the tables and commenting on something that is widely known amongst nurses but probably not openly discussed, at least not in public

In my years of nursing I’ve come across a rather interesting phenomenon that many other health care workers have also experienced at some time or other. It really is quite a crazy concept that really defies logic, yet inexplicably it continues to occur in both the public and private sectors.

“What is this crazy phenomenon?”, you ask.

Ok here goes. And before you start throwing mouldy fruit at me, please understand the spirit of where I am coming from. Patient’s are great, and nurses are here for the patients. If we didn’t have some degree of empathy we couldn’t really function at all in the job. Honest!

However……

There are a certain portion of the population that actually seem to declare “Here I am, I’m on holiday!” upon arriving at the hospital.

If you’re picturing scenes of a family of 5 bursting into a hotel foyer with bags-a-plenty in tow, excitedly clutching at tickets and dropping bits and pieces of food as they make their way to the front counter, you’re probably not far off.

Strange but true, I’d love to give you some real life examples to back up my allegations. (Addit: for die hard nurses let me make a differentiation here between this kind of ‘holiday’ patient and another frequent flyer, the ‘dying swan’ patient, who can’t possibly push themselves back up the bed. I’ll save that discussion for another day…)

Anyway, here are some of the “yay, I’m on holiday!” type behavioural patterns I have personally been witness to over the years:

Many patient’s lie down on a bed and decide thank you very much, I am here to stay! Under no circumstances could they possibly get up off that bed, despite the fact that yes, their headache is feeling much better – and “can I have a bedpan, please?”
One man (relative of a patient) asked me if he could have some food as his wife was being unloaded off the ambulance trolley!? Say what?
More pillows, less pillows, more blanket, less blanket, foot rub, hair washed etc etc – quite fine if you’re in hospital with a broken hip after a high speed MVA. Quite not fine if you are in hospital because you drank too much last night!
Several people have asked me for a food menu to make their lunch or dinner choices while they’re in the Emergency Department. The “Emergency Department”. Not the Emergency A-la-Carte designer luncheon lounge!
Some people reach an emergency cubicle and begin to unpack – photo’s, blankets, flowers, reading material, portable DVD, games, lollies, can of coke, music – “ahhhh, here I am – does anyone know what time bingo starts?”
And the pièce de résistance: Once a girl in her 20′s came into emergency with a fairly minor complaint. From memory, it was some kind of ankle injury that ended up being soft tissue damage. She was discharged and ready to go home, and my colleague helped her to the toilets prior to departure. Minutes later a voice calls out from inside the toilets:
“Can you wipe for me please?”
My colleague: “Errr.. who wipes for you at home? Aren’t you about to go home?”
Disillusioned patient: “Yes, but don’t nurses like, help out and stuff?”
Frustrated nurse: “Errr no, you’re quite capable of wiping your own bot-bot actually”. *sigh*
As we discussed this incident later, dumbfounded, we wondered if someone was giving tickets out at triage – “one free bottom wipe with each presentation!”

Does any of this sound familiar to anyone?

Oh, and could someone fetch a Piña colada for the patient in cube 9 please? Don’t forget the little umbrella…..

3 Steps for Travel Nursing in Australia

Ross — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:54:40 +0000

credit: WTL photos

Where to start?!

This is a really common question, so I’ll try and answer it in 3 simple steps!

Your first point of call is to grab the latest comprehensive travel guide, written by Emma Bates titled: “Nursing in Australia: A Guide to Working and Living as a Nurse Down Under.”
This resource will give you all kinds of info on what nursing is like here, how to obtain registration & what processes to take, how to arrange visa’s and travel arrangements and much much more.

Nurses are assessed on a case-by-case basis for registration requirements. See the Overseas/Immigration page for more info.

The FREE Australian Immigration Online Assessment is designed to instantly determine if you may be eligible to apply for immigration to Australia. For visa applications or inquiries, see the Visa Information pages.