‘A Day In The Life’ Of A General Practice Nurse

   Written by Ingrid Vennonen, UTS Bachelor of Nursing (Graduate Entry) graduate Before I started my job as a general practice (GP) nurse, I always wondered what “a day in the life” would look like. At university, you are generally trained for and go on practical in hospitals and as a student nurse, I foundContinue reading “‘A Day In The Life’ Of A General Practice Nurse”

Why it’s not too early to start thinking about your new graduate application

Written by Betty Holland, UTS Bachelor of Midwifery graduate Is the final year of your nursing or midwifery degree suddenly upon you? Firstly, congratulations! It is no small feat to have made it this far through a challenging (but very rewarding) uni course! But where to next? For many, the next step will be aContinue reading “Why it’s not too early to start thinking about your new graduate application”

Night shifts: Getting through & how to prepare

Written by Ingrid Vennonen, Bachelor of Nursing (Graduate Entry) graduate (2017) Does the thought of night shifts make you feel uneasy and stressed? They did for me – until I worked out how to conquer them. As a nurse, the typical night shift starts at 9:30 pm till 7:30 am the following day. Night shifts are generally longerContinue reading “Night shifts: Getting through & how to prepare”

How to make it through your nursing clinical placement – healthily!

Written by Ingrid Vennonen, Bachelor of Nursing (Graduate Entry) graduate (2017) Placement. A tough couple of weeks each session all of us nursing students must do. Something we both look forward to, which excites us, but also kind of drains us along the way. Going out on placement and having on-the-ward training puts our theory into practiceContinue reading “How to make it through your nursing clinical placement – healthily!”

Nursing, travel and babies

By Olivia Day – current Bachelor of Nursing student About me I was born in West Virginia, USA to a nurse (my mother) and a neurosurgeon (my father). Dad was offered a job in Wollongong, Australia, when I was around four years old, so my family made the decision to leave our little town inContinue reading “Nursing, travel and babies”

Hearing Voices

Fiona Orr Director of International Activity and Mental Health lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney Faculty of Health How did you get into mental health nursing? I was at university studying special education but when I saw an ad promoting mental health nursing training. So I decided to undertake a three year hospital-based trainingContinue reading “Hearing Voices”

Heparin, pigs and vampire bats: What are you really administering?

By Dr Tamara Power, Director of Health Simulation at the UTS Faculty of Health Photo: Anna Zhu The next time you are out on clinical placement, pick up a vial of Heparin Sodium Injection and have a good look at it. Heparin is an anticoagulant, used (among other things) for prophylaxis (prevention) and treatment ofContinue reading “Heparin, pigs and vampire bats: What are you really administering?”

Avoiding compassion fatigue

By Dr Tamara Power and Carolyn Hayes The majority of students enter nursing because they are altruistic and wish to help people. However, studies have shown that through constant exposure to people’s trauma and suffering, nurses can become both physically and psychologically burnt-out and suffer compassion fatigue (Ledoux 2015). Compassion fatigue can manifest as feelingsContinue reading “Avoiding compassion fatigue”

Son of a midwife

By Jack Schmidt Growing up, I was surrounded by health professionals: my mother was a midwife, my father was a pharmacist and now my sister is a nurse in training, working part-time in aged care. They’re all wonderful, hard-working people – nurturing, compassionate and caring. Baby Jack Having health workers for parents has had itsContinue reading “Son of a midwife”