What's Involed In Nursing?
OK firstly sorry if this sounds a really strange question but here goes **Typo in the title, should say involved**.
I want to know exactly what does a Nurse do? More so when in training or studying a Nursing degree.
At the moment I'm on an Access To Healthcare Professions course and to be honest the whole experience is amazing but I need to consider my options for next year.
I was originally looking into pursuing mental health nursing and then thought that adult or a joint degree may be better.
I was just wondering exactly what is involved at the point of uni (I know you have more control after qualification).
How much cleaning, feeding or similar is likely to be required.
My ideal role would look to avoid the more "personal" aspects of care (by this I am talking about bathing, toileting, applications of catheters etc)as above but im just looking for a little bit of advice.
I want to know exactly what does a Nurse do? More so when in training or studying a Nursing degree.
At the moment I'm on an Access To Healthcare Professions course and to be honest the whole experience is amazing but I need to consider my options for next year.
I was originally looking into pursuing mental health nursing and then thought that adult or a joint degree may be better.
I was just wondering exactly what is involved at the point of uni (I know you have more control after qualification).
How much cleaning, feeding or similar is likely to be required.
My ideal role would look to avoid the more "personal" aspects of care (by this I am talking about bathing, toileting, applications of catheters etc)as above but im just looking for a little bit of advice.
(edited 9 years ago)
You will be expected to demonstrate competency in these skills, you will be expected to do them as part of the work of your placement areas - Supernumerary status is a NOT a get out clause . - it's there to protect learning opportunities if you have no specific learning need activity that takes you away from direct patient care of the patients you and your mentor are allocated then you damn well do patient care.
Ideally an RN should be able to do everything that the staff s/he is expected to supervise can do
- this falls short in regard of a few psychomotor activities sometimes ( e.g. where you have HCAs who can take blood/ cannulate even do blood gas sampling or suturing ( I worked in one ED where the staff Nurses didn;t suture unti lthey were starting their ENP competentcies but the levle 3 HCAs sutured following strict directions - rather than the practice in other EDS i worked in where the SHOs were encouraged to plan 'clean and close' and the RNs did the suturing after a second check ofthe wound for underlying structure damage etc) - that is post -registration quandry and diverting from your original post on the topic.
if you have a problem with personal care then Nursing, Paramedic and ODP are not the jobs for you and you would struggle as a Doctor, Physio or OT...
Ideally an RN should be able to do everything that the staff s/he is expected to supervise can do
- this falls short in regard of a few psychomotor activities sometimes ( e.g. where you have HCAs who can take blood/ cannulate even do blood gas sampling or suturing ( I worked in one ED where the staff Nurses didn;t suture unti lthey were starting their ENP competentcies but the levle 3 HCAs sutured following strict directions - rather than the practice in other EDS i worked in where the SHOs were encouraged to plan 'clean and close' and the RNs did the suturing after a second check ofthe wound for underlying structure damage etc) - that is post -registration quandry and diverting from your original post on the topic.
if you have a problem with personal care then Nursing, Paramedic and ODP are not the jobs for you and you would struggle as a Doctor, Physio or OT...
Original post by zippyRN
I worked in one ED where the staff Nurses didn;t suture unti lthey were starting their ENP competentcies but the levle 3 HCAs sutured following strict directions
How much personal care is involved in the ED? I'm a student nurse and an HCA so personal care isn't an issue for me, but I'm starting an ED placement this week and I'm not sure what to expect. Are student nurses allowed to do anything involving suturing under supervision (I know this would vary by trust, but in general)?
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Bluecord
How much personal care is involved in the ED? I'm a student nurse and an HCA so personal care isn't an issue for me, but I'm starting an ED placement this week and I'm not sure what to expect. Are student nurses allowed to do anything involving suturing under supervision (I know this would vary by trust, but in general)?
plenty of personal care in the ED - you don;t send patients to the ward / home in a mess .
I strongly suspect you wouldn;t beallowed to do any suturing on real patients but you may get taught the wound assessment stuff needed as knowledge to underpin doing wound closure . you might get to do some gluing or steristripping and you may get to suture some oranges or pig trotters ( pig skin is very similar to person skin )
I would need to say that OP if you do not want to do personal care then nursing is not for you. You will be doing it all the time during training.
This is the reality...
First year uni will be brilliant, A&P along side basic nursing care is usually the standard.
Placement, first year will be wiping poo from people's bumbs loads, just think of it as choclate. Take a spare uniform as sometimes you might get it on yourself, make sure you wear Ppe. Your not to posh to wash are you? You will be at the bottom of the pecking order, so you mentor is God, followed by other nurses then by HCAs.
Second year the work really increases, in uni, social sciences, empathy, recovery.
Placement less washing, cleaning poo etc. more assessment of mental illness and enforcing sections.
Year three, you may die here but most make it through. Loads of uni work. Dissertation.
Placement, expected to be near competent in certain areas. Assessment of mental illnes, building relationships, professionalism. Your last mentor is like ultimate GOD, do not upset her you will be in big trouble if you do. Obey without question.
Pros : rewarding.,... Make a difference
Cons: spoken to like crap. Nights. You are not assessed objectively but subjectively so if your mentor don't like you, you can be failed.
First year uni will be brilliant, A&P along side basic nursing care is usually the standard.
Placement, first year will be wiping poo from people's bumbs loads, just think of it as choclate. Take a spare uniform as sometimes you might get it on yourself, make sure you wear Ppe. Your not to posh to wash are you? You will be at the bottom of the pecking order, so you mentor is God, followed by other nurses then by HCAs.
Second year the work really increases, in uni, social sciences, empathy, recovery.
Placement less washing, cleaning poo etc. more assessment of mental illness and enforcing sections.
Year three, you may die here but most make it through. Loads of uni work. Dissertation.
Placement, expected to be near competent in certain areas. Assessment of mental illnes, building relationships, professionalism. Your last mentor is like ultimate GOD, do not upset her you will be in big trouble if you do. Obey without question.
Pros : rewarding.,... Make a difference
Cons: spoken to like crap. Nights. You are not assessed objectively but subjectively so if your mentor don't like you, you can be failed.
I'm not a student nurse, but I've worked as a HCA on a busy older adults ward (dementia service) and a mental health crisis admissions unit, and I want to say that Speed's post doesn't tally with how student nurses were treated in my personal experience. I know that pecking orders do exist in some places, but the wards I was on had a more comfortable attitude with a good rapport between all the staff, and no one was expected to treat anyone like God. We were a busy ward and everyone was expected to do their fair share, with no slacking on things like personal care, but that applied to everyone - I saw the senior nurses changing pads on many occasions (and I wouldn't have had a very high opinion of them if they'd left it all to the students and HCAs, when we were all rushed off our feet helping patients to be ready for breakfast in good time). Some roles involve far less personal care than others, but if you're serious about going into nursing you should be able to deal with it cheerfully - patient comfort and dignity should be your first priority and you do what you need to do to in order to contribute to that.
Original post by opalescent
I'm not a student nurse, but I've worked as a HCA on a busy older adults ward (dementia service) and a mental health crisis admissions unit, and I want to say that Speed's post doesn't tally with how student nurses were treated in my personal experience. I know that pecking orders do exist in some places, but the wards I was on had a more comfortable attitude with a good rapport between all the staff, and no one was expected to treat anyone like God. We were a busy ward and everyone was expected to do their fair share, with no slacking on things like personal care, but that applied to everyone - I saw the senior nurses changing pads on many occasions (and I wouldn't have had a very high opinion of them if they'd left it all to the students and HCAs, when we were all rushed off our feet helping patients to be ready for breakfast in good time). Some roles involve far less personal care than others, but if you're serious about going into nursing you should be able to deal with it cheerfully - patient comfort and dignity should be your first priority and you do what you need to do to in order to contribute to that.
But you weren't a student nurse, maybe the place/'s you were at were different. I've experienced loads of wards...when I say GOD I am infact exaggerating, but the truth be told nurses will tell you there is a solid pecking order, once you become a nurse that becomes more apparent. If you make it into nursing you will see what I mean. There isn't as much personal care in mental health that is true, but your gonna have atleast two placements of wiping ass.
Infact when I was a HCA I didn't see a pecking order, but as a nurse I do... I think aswell my point is, expect to be really nice to your mentors or they will fail you, try it. I know students who did three years and failed last placement and I am taking good students. Plenty of students failed to make it through and most will tell you they had a bad mentor, research for yourself.
You say you don't like personal care, maybe nursing isn't for you?
I am an RN on an acute medical ward for the elderly and nursing staff of ALL grades get stuck in with the personal care. Doesn't matter whether you are a sister, staff nurse, HCA, student nurse we all wash, we all toilet patients, turn patients, feed patients we've all had our faces farted in on a regular basis and had serious mishaps with poo and other bodily fluids. So if you are not prepared to do any of this stuff as a student or when you are qualified as nurse then nursing isn't the profession for you. It does depend on the area you work in as to how much personal care you do, but when you are a newly qualified nurse you aren't always so lucky to choose what area you work in if you have to apply through clearing house.
Nobody on our ward is superior to anyone else and we all respect each other. There's no us and them between sisters, staff nurses or HCA's either because we ALL have to chip in and get the job done. I don't treat my students how I wouldn't like to be treated myself. I am fairly easy going and laid back, I am fairly flexible with shifts as long as my student is working the majority of shifts with me, but as a mentor I do expect certain standards to be met such as good attendance, punctuality, a good attitude etc. I do also like to know that me passing down my skills is appreciated as (especially with 1st year student nurses) I have to take a lot of time out of my busy ward routine to be able to properly teach you the skills you need to pass. There will also be times when my hands are completely tied and I may not be able to spend as much time as I'd like with you so sometimes patience is nice and if you feel a bit lost when I am busy and not sure what to do, there are always plenty of things to be doing such as talking to patients, offering them drinks and if you have seen something that has interested you or have seen something you are really keen to learn about, let me or a colleague know and we will gladly log you in to the internet so you can do some research!
I know how daunting it is to be a student nurse, especially a first year, I will never forget it, but a little assertiveness and initiative goes a long way and always impresses a mentor. I am not God, not by a long shot and I do not want to be treated as such. I like my students to be able to fit in and have a laugh with me and the rest of the staff, but you also need to be keen and hardworking and always be prepared to get stuck in.
Nobody on our ward is superior to anyone else and we all respect each other. There's no us and them between sisters, staff nurses or HCA's either because we ALL have to chip in and get the job done. I don't treat my students how I wouldn't like to be treated myself. I am fairly easy going and laid back, I am fairly flexible with shifts as long as my student is working the majority of shifts with me, but as a mentor I do expect certain standards to be met such as good attendance, punctuality, a good attitude etc. I do also like to know that me passing down my skills is appreciated as (especially with 1st year student nurses) I have to take a lot of time out of my busy ward routine to be able to properly teach you the skills you need to pass. There will also be times when my hands are completely tied and I may not be able to spend as much time as I'd like with you so sometimes patience is nice and if you feel a bit lost when I am busy and not sure what to do, there are always plenty of things to be doing such as talking to patients, offering them drinks and if you have seen something that has interested you or have seen something you are really keen to learn about, let me or a colleague know and we will gladly log you in to the internet so you can do some research!
I know how daunting it is to be a student nurse, especially a first year, I will never forget it, but a little assertiveness and initiative goes a long way and always impresses a mentor. I am not God, not by a long shot and I do not want to be treated as such. I like my students to be able to fit in and have a laugh with me and the rest of the staff, but you also need to be keen and hardworking and always be prepared to get stuck in.
Original post by nathannew2009
My ideal role would look to avoid the more "personal" aspects of care (by this I am talking about bathing, toileting, applications of catheters etc)as above but im just looking for a little bit of advice.
My ideal role would look to avoid the more "personal" aspects of care (by this I am talking about bathing, toileting, applications of catheters etc)as above but im just looking for a little bit of advice.
I advise you don't go into nursing if you aren't prepared to assist with personal care
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