Nursing as a career

starz

I am thinking about becoming a nurse. However I am unsure about it. What is the role of the nurse nowadays? I know it has changed a lot from previous times. I'm not sure about it as a career because I wouldn't like to deal with bodily fluids.

But nowadays it seems the nursing assistants do the 'dirty' jobs. For any nurses out there, is dealing with faeces/urine/sputum/making beds/washing patients still part of the job? or do the assistants take care of this?

Also, in the long term I would not like to work in a hospital/nursing home and would maybe like to go into Public Health. Is it hard to get on to a Public health nursing postgrad? Thanks for any info

axel rose

if you are squeamish then why do you want to be a nurse? What part of nursing attracts you? ( I just have an image of you pulling a face when I show you my infected green pulsating toenail )

mikemac

I don't think you're suited to nursing and I'm basing it on the many things you don't want to deal with.
Are you going to refuse to do something in your job description and call for an assistant?
Or do you plan to walk around with a clipboard all day?

Look, I'm not knocking you and good luck in your career but it is a DIFFICULT job and realy, if you find certain tasks beneath you, you won't last long.


Anyway, good info here
An Bord Altranis

Wishbone Ash

starz wrote: »

I am thinking about becoming a nurse

Which type of nurse - there are five categories.

General
Mental Health
Intellectual Disability
Sick Children's
Midwifery

axel rose

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Which type of nurse - there are five categories.

General
Mental Health
Intellectual Disability
Sick Children's
Midwifery

Do you think the area would make much of a difference to the op, all of them have a huge degree of ickyness. I think whats more important what starz idea of nursing is.

Starz if you magically became a nurse tomorrow what do you think your job would entail?

Wishbone Ash

axel rose wrote: »

Do you think the area would make much of a difference to the op

I was tactfully making the point that the OP hasn't put much thought into this!

axel rose

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I was tactfully making the point that the OP hasn't put much thought into this!

stardust_dublin

General nursing is the prob the area?

starz

Yes general and then to specialise in public health. I am just interested in finding out what it is like to work as a nurse nowadays because i know it has changed.

But I am put off it because I always hear bad things about it and that many nurses leave the profession within 5 years or so because of the working conditions...Everyone I have talked to has discouraged me from going into it.

So I am just wondering what the daily duties of a nurse nowadays are and what the job is like in 21st century, its not the same as it was in the 90's or before that...

Larianne

I work as a healthcare assistant and to be honest I don't think you would be suited to nursing at all.

I work in a private nursing home and the majority of the nasty stuff is done by us care assistants. You actually get used to it!

But I have done work experience in St. James's Hospital and it seemed very different there. The nurses showered the patients and took them to the toilet and all I saw the HCAs doing was giving them drinks. Very different to where I work! I've heard in Beaumont that nurses shower the patients there as well.

I've heard of people who don't like blood and guts etc. doing Psychiatric nursing instead of general. But even that would have it's icky moments.

I'm hoping to study Physio. No way would I go into nursing. It's a very tough job! And I find a HUGE difference between the older nurses and the younger ones. Younger ones being extremely lazy!

Wishbone Ash

Larianne wrote: »

I work in a private nursing home and the majority of the nasty stuff is done by us care assistants

Most nursing homes are 'for profit' organisations and the ratio of nurses to HCAs is totally different to that in hospitals. Therefore HCAs do indeed do most of the 'dirty' work.

Larianne

Oh I know, I was just stating where I was coming from. I did say in St. James's and Beaumont, nursing staff shower and help patients go to the toilet.

hotredhead

Don't even think of it Starz.What a pathetic nurse you would make if you could not assist a patient to the bathroom or put pressure on a bleeding fistula for example!!
Also healthcare assistants are there to assist the nurse,not do the work for them.

kiwikid

hotredhead wrote: »

Don't even think of it Starz.What a pathetic nurse you would make if you could not assist a patient to the bathroom or put pressure on a bleeding fistula for example!!
Also healthcare assistants are there to assist the nurse,not do the work for them.

Way harsh!!

You would be grand . i reckon if you questioned all the student nurses anonomously there would be plenty who have no intentions of luving the ickyiness and if you asked the actual nurses how many co-workers they knew who started out fainting at the sight of blood or gagging at the stench of goodness knows what else you would have a fair indication that nobody wants to do that part of the job or even think about that being their job - like all jobs you take the good with the bad.

If you want to work with public health there is a BSc in UCC what you don't have to be a nurse for but nursing is the route you take i think it would probably be better for you in the long run in that area.

1daisy1

Starz, not the job for you, I am a nurse and everyday involves, urine, faeces, vomit, sputum in some form or other and during the winter months the 'winter vomitng bug' is a tough time, we have one care assistant on the ward and her role has very little to do with the patients, so to answer your queston:
You get your patient allocation after report, ensure all have had breakfast,there are assisted washes/baths etc to be done, medications to be given, drssings to be done etc... many elderly patients are incontinent and wear pads, there are actual rounds to cange patients and turn them to prevent pressure sores, now this is very much a medical ward scenario however no mater what area you work in you will have a degree of this, I hope this helps. Nursing is a tough career but I love it, I work in Paeds and there is still plenty of gastroenteritis, vomiting, urine collection and testing on every patient etc... think about what it is that is attracting you to nursing.
I am not trying to discourage you butcan you deal with the drunk man who has come in through A&E, is incontinent and needs to be washed and changed, requires antibiotics but is not cooperating and it is 3am, this is not the everday bu an actual incident.
Good luck

CathyMoran

I have only ever been a patient but I really think that nursing is not for you - it needs to be a vocation to want to help people no matter what their circumstances, there will be lots of bodily fluids.

MagicMarker

I doubt anyone goes into nursing looking forward to cleaning up vomit and wiping **** from an old guy's nut sack.

However, the pros often out weigh the cons for the people that choose to do it and no matter how squeamish you may be, you'd get used to it.....eventually.

You just have to ask yourself if you're willing to go through it?

kiwikid

MagicMarker wrote: »

I doubt anyone goes into nursing looking forward to cleaning up vomit and wiping **** from an old guy's nut sack.

However, the pros often out weigh the cons for the people that choose to do it and no matter how squeamish you may be, you'd get used to it.....eventually.

You just have to ask yourself if you're willing to go through it?

nicely put (not) but thats what i think.
As a health promotion nurse / occ health nurse (only ones i can think of off hand) you won't have to deal with much. so the question is can you stick it while serving your time? i think many are exactly like you although its the unsaid. Think of the doctors who really don't wan to deal with sick people leaking in beds - they go into academia, dermatology, psychology, whatever.

It boils down to what do you want to do and what do you want to put up with for it. I wll say nursing is a great foundation for other jobs if you decide that particular job does not suit you. i know 2 people who became primary teachers, one is a beautician, one went on to occ health and safety training / HR so thats just my 2c.

sheila2278

hey im thinking of doing nursing.....but not 100% sure!!!!! i ve been getting mixed views...help e...i ve only one shot to make a choice

i love working with the public...helping people young and old...plaese any info much appreciated thanks a million!!!:):):D

Wishbone Ash

kiwikid wrote: »

so the question is can you stick it while serving your time?

Most of those post graduate courses require several years 'staffing' as a prerequisite so it would usually require more than serving one's time.

sheila2278

how do you know if you re suited for the job...and that you ll really love it??

kiwikid

sheila2278 wrote: »

how do you know if you re suited for the job...and that you ll really love it??

she doesn't have to love it - she just has to get through it to do the postgrad in Public Health?:D

kiwikid

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Most of those post graduate courses require several years 'staffing' as a prerequisite so it would usually require more than serving one's time.

not so sure its years now - maybe one pre reg. perhaps - anyone care to comment?

1daisy1

I am going to be honest now, I went into it blindly, no one told me how difficult some days would be, the hours can be difficult especially with a family, working christmas, nights, weekends. Training now, will give you a good insight into nursing as a career, the BSc is a good foundation degree to have if you decide you want to change as oppose to BNS. During your trainning you have blocks in college and blocks in the clinical area, mainly working Monday to Friday fo the first 3 years, although that is at the discretion of the hospital. For year 4 you are an intern, and part of the staff and get paid, by the time you qualify you will know if you want to stay. If you do not want to even go down the road unless you are sure, its a difficult decsion, can you picture yourself working with patients with dementia, young mothers dying of cancer, emergency situations, people in the DT's, (drugs and alcahol), surgical patients, diabetic patients, pneumonia, are you happy to sit and feed a patient, wash a patient, bring them to the toilet, bring a toilet to them, its all part of your day, after you qualify you will usually decide an area e.g. medical, surgical, orthopaediacs, ENT etc... after about 6 months you can apply for post registration course e.g ICU, Coronary care, orthopaediac, ENT, etc...
I love the job, I now work in paediatrics and its great, the kids are wonderful, it was difficult initally to nurse with parents watching every move, but I now have no problem with it, its a difficult decision, feel free to PM me if you want any more advice.

P.S. they have reduced the intake numbers this year and jobs are difficult to get at the moment, but that is just part of the current climate.
www.ino.ie has pay scale.

Good luck

Dr Galen

does anyone else think that its mental to be having people of 17-18 training in such jobs?

I went to nursing as a mature student, and know for a fact that at 18 i would never have been able for it. Having a bit of life experience really helped me I have to say.

To the OP why don't you apply and defer for a year or take a year out and go work in a hospital for a year as a care attendant, get a feel for it and then you'll work out how sqeamish you are pretty quickly. You'd be suprised how you get used to the pee, poo, blood, snot, mucus, vomit and other such bodily fluids. Its not actually the worst bit!

kiwikid

Mystik Monkey wrote: »

does anyone else think that its mental to be having people of 17-18 training in such jobs?

no actually.
so you waited till your head was screwed on so everyone else must be dizzy till they are over 23??
the best nurse I know (in all areas, practical, caring, intelligent, confident etc) was a nurses aid at 16 and at 17 was a nurse in training some years ago.
there probably is an argument that wasters who have dawled through jobs which earn less ince they were 18 suddenly have children and realise they can retrain for a job which is great for working mothers and great considering the €€ for time spent - 3 long days and a sleepy morning and your week is done...

Ying and Yang

Dr Galen

kiwikid wrote: »

no actually.
so you waited till your head was screwed on so everyone else must be dizzy till they are over 23??

oh good god no, I do think it really helps a lot of people. You just have to look at the drop out figures for nursing degree courses, its pretty high in some colleges, and anecodotally speaking a lot drop out because they have no idea what they were getting into. I just think it might be fairer all round to make a change to courses like nursing, medicine and I'm sure there would be other non medically based things. But I would agree many excellent students I've had work with me, have been young.

there probably is an argument that wasters who have dawled through jobs which earn less ince they were 18 suddenly have children and realise they can retrain for a job which is great for working mothers and great considering the €€ for time spent - 3 long days and a sleepy morning and your week is done...

Ying and Yang

i'm not sure if this was meant as a dig or an honest comment based on your opinion/perception. I'll treat it though as the latter, its not actually that easy to get in, you don't just walk up and get started the next day. There are proficiency tests and interviews involved. Add this to a limited number of places for mature students (remember that a mature student is anyone over 23) makes it quite tough.

As for your comment on the working hours, leaving aside the whole 35 or 39 hour week nonsense, its hardly cushy just because a nurse does their working hours in the space of 3 days is it? For example if you work 39hrs and I work 39hrs, but you do yours over 5 days and i do mine over 3......its still the same amount of hours isn't it?

sheila2278

1daisy1 wrote: »

I am going to be honest now, I went into it blindly, no one told me how difficult some days would be, the hours can be difficult especially with a family, working christmas, nights, weekends. Training now, will give you a good insight into nursing as a career, the BSc is a good foundation degree to have if you decide you want to change as oppose to BNS.

hey thank you so much for the advice!!!:) how difficult do the hours become....?? you know one half of me gets excitied at the thoughts of studying it and the other half feels as if im making the wrong choice,also its very hard when everyone is dis couraging me from doing it!!!! i would love the surgical side of nursing.....maybe go on and get a doctors degree ,how long would that take....i know its nine years with some courses!!!x

1daisy1

If you want to be a nurse go for it, if you want to be doctor do not go for nursing. They are very different, patient care is central to nursing, you have much more personal contact with patients, if you do not want that type of contact, nursing is not for you.
The hours are fine 37.5 hours a week, different hospitals have different duty, most now work 12-13 hour shifts, with an allocation of night duty, most wards will work out that you work every second christmas and allternate with new year, you usually work every second weekend. As a doctor you can expect to work a lot more hours a week up to 120 some weeks and that is not unusual.
There are many other careers that have patient contact, physio, dietician, speech and language therapist, occupational health, radiographer to name a few. Give it some serious thought.
PS I love nursing and would never discourage you from doing it if thats what you really want, now just ask yourself do you!!!

kiwikid

sheila2278 wrote: »

you know one half of me gets excitied at the thoughts of studying it and the other half feels as if im making the wrong choice,also its very hard when everyone is dis couraging me from doing it!!!! i would love the surgical side of nursing.....maybe go on and get a doctors degree ,how long would that take....i know its nine years with some courses!!!x

you are taking about 2 very very different professions from what i can see. with an interest in study and as for hte surgical side of nursing - what do you mean by that? changing dressings? because as far as i can gather thats about as surgical as a nurse gets apart from get this, hold that, in theatre setting and mostly dealing with wound care and machines in post op ICU. maybe Daisy could clarify further.

JuliusCaesar

sheila2278 wrote: »

how do you know if you re suited for the job...and that you ll really love it??

try working as a nurses aide or HCA as they are called now, first. I worked as an on-call nurses aide through university.

You get over all the bodily excretions stuff very fast. The main thing is that you are helping the person who is embarrassed or uncomfortable, so by dealing with it effectively and efficiently both of you feel better.

Sure, it's hard physical work, but it can be very rewarding. You learn a hell of a lot of useful skills, you'll be able to work in a skilled job all over the world, and there are many career paths you can take once you have the basic qualification under your belt.

Most of the minus points are systemic - the hierarchy, the conditions, the short-staffing, the hospital environment (unless you're working in a private hospital! in which case you'll have other things to complain about).

Larianne

I agree to the above about getting some work experience in a hospital setting. Experience as a HCA would be ideal but most places require you to have done the FETAC course or have experience. You could try a private hospital where the requirements might be less strict.

Shadowing is another way to see if the job is for you. Contact your local hospital and see if they have anyone willing to let you shadow them. Some hospital departments have open days where you go around to the different units.

Thirdly, try speaking to tutors and students on the course and find out what it's all about. Go to open days of colleges,send emails etc.

bethm24

I dont think working as a care assistant would be any way helpful in deciding whether to do nursing or not. Care assistants dont get the stress or responsibility of nursing is about , they just chill out and wonder why we look so stressed, you see its not there ass's on the line, nothing against care assistants but most of the ones i work with have a chip on there shoulder if you as a nurse ask them nicely to do anything and they dissapear for most of the day , you usually find them in the linen press if you are looking for sheets! And there usually the ones sittingin the nursing station flicking through magazines while your breaking out in a sweat! Basically what im trying to say is a care assistant in a hospital has no idea into nursing AT ALL. I am a nurse.

Larianne

bethm24 wrote: »

I dont think working as a care assistant would be any way helpful in deciding whether to do nursing or not. Care assistants dont get the stress or responsibility of nursing is about , they just chill out and wonder why we look so stressed, you see its not there ass's on the line, nothing against care assistants but most of the ones i work with have a chip on there shoulder if you as a nurse ask them nicely to do anything and they dissapear for most of the day , you usually find them in the linen press if you are looking for sheets! And there usually the ones sittingin the nursing station flicking through magazines while your breaking out in a sweat! Basically what im trying to say is a care assistant in a hospital has no idea into nursing AT ALL. I am a nurse.

I work in a private hospital and it's the other way round! Maybe I should get myself to a public hospital so!!

redvee81

Am currently studying nursing(General) in DCU.The course is VERY hard and you have to give it 100%.Money is scarce and u'll be treated like **** for four years by some sisters/ nurses/doctors/visitors/patients:( but then some days are brilliant when you know you have truly helped someone to feel better:D.I'd also recommend working as a HCA for a while to get a feel for it.Best of luck what ever you decide.

1daisy1

Sheila2278, getting back to your question, as suggested talk to the nursing department in one of the college's, student nurses and qualified nurses, Kiwikid is right in relation to surgical, you are, as previously stated interacting and caring for the patient, you will have to assist them post surgery, washing, toileting, can have alot of post operative vomiting, dressing changes, and loads and loads of observations. Now if you want to work in theatre you will position patients, and pass instruments there are other aspects to it, but little patient contact. These are the facts, but then you have the interaction with the patients, the stories about their lives, the scenarios that had them admitted,you make alot of friends (co-workers), and get great satisfaction. There are days you cry, get frustrated with the system, there are never enough hours in the day.
Students have a hard 4 years, they have assignments while they are working on clinical placement, many of them are still working weekends in shops and nursing homes. The academic side is not easy, but many get through it. If you look at other threads on the bords you will see that there can be a lot of bickering between professions, you will decide that, you treat the people you work with, with respect and do your job you will very rarely experience it.

mehfesto2

I studied nursing in college for 3years before giving it up. It was an amazing experience, but it's a terrible job, IMO. I worked in 5 hospitals during my five year stint (2yrs HCA/3yrs Student Nurse) and I encountered so much bullying - you need a thick skin to stay in the job.

The course in college was mostly redundant when I did it (3yrs ago)- We spent more time looking at Freud and Law than we did studying the anatomy or how to actually treat the patients/perform basic nursing tasks. There's still a *lot* of problems with the programme, but it is getting better from what I hear. I would recommend studying it abroad in the UK if possible. My friends that did got a far more impressive training. I know you get back what you put in, but there was a lot of unnecessary paper-work to be done 'on placement' that made my class' and my own college experience a misery. Ask any 3rd student nurse about it! Common sense does not exist with Nursing Lecturers it would seem.

It's pretty much what you'd expect job-wise; except for the mounds of paper work you have to do! But you get that in any job nowadays, really.

It's a tough, tough job - both physically and mentally, but it's a rewarding one; You'll do things you'll never forget and see things you won't be able to. Unfortunately for me, I couldn't see myself happily doing it for 40 years of my life, so I gave it up. It's not for everyone; It is perhaps a 'calling' more than a career.

All the best with your choice though. You're the only one who knows what's best for you.

tallaght01

You could do paediatric nursing. There's still some nasty stuff, but with the kids it's just more acceptable, and it grosses you out less, in a weird way (eg a baby peed in my eyeball recently, and everyone including me just laughed, whereas if an adult did it, it would be disgusting).

louloubella

hey there
can you give me any advice about mental health nursing?
i am considering applying next year.
the bulk of my experience would be around trauma issues / crisis support and mental health as well as being a full time secondary school teacher.
any words of wisdom would be good.
i am afraid i will wince at the sight of blood and be an awful nurse however i know im made of tough stuff..
any advice like- are there jobs in mental health or psych nursing?
i got an A1 in ord biology and other than that no other science subjects...also I am atrocious at maths...my stregnths would be empathy, working with people and accepting of people.