u/WhimsicalLychee

After being a new nurse on a full time rotating roster for 2 months, I have noticed that my clothes are getting tighter and I'm feeling more bloated, then found I have gained about 6kg already. Luckily I'm tall but it's still enough to make a difference to my confidence and clothes fitting well

I think I'm mostly looking for advice because I was surprised at how quickly this happened. I still eat a lot of the same meals as before, however snack more due to things like donuts at the nurses station, or picking up takeout on the way home instead of cooking because I'm so tired, or skipping the gym because of late-earlies messing up my routine and also general fatigue.

I've never been one to track calories or anything but my weight has always stayed stable, as I was working a job before that was set hours and lower stress as I worked part time only.

I know what I need to do is eat less and move more, but I'm hoping you guys have tips for things like reducing stress eating, resisting sweets and treats at the nurses station, making time for the gym with a rotating roster, filling but healthy recipes, etc. Any tips at all that helped you personally

Hope this post doesn't seem too trivial or vain but I'm wondering if anybody else has experienced this, really appreciate any tips anyone has!

Looking at a range of EN roles available in my area and there was a listing for my local aged care, that states they employ RNs, ENs, and PCWs.
The EN role description mentions administering medications, responding to wounds and falls, managing a team of PCWs, reporting and documentation.

My question is, for any ENs or RNs who work in a RACF that employs both, what is the difference in the roles? I always assumed delegation was an RN's responsibility, so I was wondering how different the roles are in aged care and if you're an EN in aged care, please let me know what your usual shifts consist of, and if it also includes a lot of personal cares etc. Tysm!

I'm especially more curious about specialties or wards in hospital settings, which areas did you love, which were your least favourite?

As the title says, just wondering how long it took you guys to basically stop feeling nervous before shifts and feel confident in your skills as a nurse.

I'm a new grad and after over a month in I'm starting to gain confidence but still feel that the things to learn are never ending and my time management is still not where it needs to be, but I trust it'll get better

Bonus question, how long do you think it takes to know if a ward/specialty is for you?

So as a student I've done placement in an aged care facility and enjoyed interacting with the residents but quickly realised I preferred a hospital environment due to the opportunities, resources and support provided in a hospital.

However I've always loved working with elderly patients, even as an AIN I never minded specialing dementia patients as I have grandparents with dementia and always found it really rewarding to give them patience and understanding that others may not always give. Caring for older relatives is also the reason I decided to become a nurse as I realised I love caring for older people.

I'm currently doing my new grad rotation on a surgical ward which I am enjoying but definitely still thinking about moving to an aged care ward in my hospital when I finish my new grad.

As I've only ever done an aged care home and not an aged care ward specifically, can anyone share their experiences with working on one? Ward routines? How you feel it differs from other med surg wards and ages care nursing homes?

I also know a lot of people joke about most wards being aged care these days lol but still curious to hear from aged care wards specifically. Tysm!

More specifically when people say "I could never wipe bums all day" or "I could never clean people". I've gotten this comment both from people in day to day life as well as patients who've said this while I've been doing their cares, a patient recently said to me "I couldnt think of anything worse than cleaning people's dirty bums" as I was cleaning her, and idk about you guys but I always find it to be an awkward thing to respond to?
I'm always thinking like if this is the worst thing in a shift then that is a GOOD shift lmao

Curious about what you guys say when you get these kinds of comments

Unfortunately I've had to call in sick due to an intense cough, only on my third week of a new grad program :(
I tested negative for covid on a RATTL test, but suspect I may have RSV or Flu A/B and will get a test in the morning.

My question is, if it's RSV or A/B, how long do I need to call in sick for? I unfortunately am too early in my role to have sick leave.
If my symptoms subside quickly or I feel I can work with a mask on, can I return to work in a couple days? Or would it require a full week off?

I'm in my first new grad rotation and tbh I'm not loving it. It's on an extremely heavy ward, the staff have been nice and the patients are lovely, but I'm still struggling a lot with time management and managing so many cares/ADLs on my own for such a heavy pt load as they're all full cares, even if it's only 4 pts.
I've been coming off shift 15mins late every day trying to catch up, skipping breaks because I'm struggling to get pt cares done in time, and feel like I'm drowning. I keep being told though that that will pass and a new grad is so worth it.

I know the value of finishing a new grad program, everyone has told me, but I have received an offer to work full time in a mental health hospital, which is actually more of an interest of mine. I always wanted t work in mental health but everyone says it's so limiting very early into a career.

I'm so unsure of what to do. I know a new grad offers more benefits and guidance and experiences, and I haven't even finished my first rotation, so I'm still very early into it even though I already know I don't enjoy this ward.

I however do like the current hospital itself and I don't wanna leave a bad reputation or burn bridges in case I ever want to comeback in the future.

What would you do? Really appreciating all insight and advice, this has been stressing me out like no tomorrow

If anyone has experience working in mental health nursing, particularly in either Hornsby Hospital, RNSH or Blacktown Hospital, can you please let me know how you found it? Feel free to pm if you'd rather not publicly comment

I'm looking into moving into mental health nursing however my one mental health placement wasn't in a hospital/acute ward environment, so I'd love to know what it's like, eg daily routines, how you find it compared to med surg ward nursing, etc.

Tysm!

Just wanting to know, those who work full time, do yall prefer 8s or 12s and why?

I'm an AIN and today's shift was IPSing 3 highly confused patients who would all usually have their own IPS, but due to low staffing, were all out in one bay with me watching all 3. All 3 patients were confused, HFR, needed assistance with feeding, toileting, highly impulsive and trying to get out of bed or abscond.

One patient in particular was extremely confused and spent all shift yanking at his IDC and his permacath. I had to keep running over to stop him. Well, later in the shift, I wasn't able to stop him in time and he ripped out his permacath as I was busy doing something else. Luckily I saw and hit the emergency buzzer within 10 seconds and the nurses and rapid team were all there to stop the bleeding.

However, I felt so traumatised. It was such an intense thing to see. And also, I felt like I was working so hard trying to balance 3 very confused patients, and still feel like it wasn't enough since something so horrible happened with me IPSing this room. The team reassured me I did the right thing and it wasn't my fault as he was doing this all day but I feel so heavy and emotional and guilty.

If anyone has any advice or tips or similar experiences please share or give advice. Along with feeling so upset, I'm just so scared this gives me a bad look at work as well as an AIN.

I've applied for a grad program position in NSW Health that is due to start 18/05. I interviewed for the position 07/04, and was told there would be a definite outcome of whether I am successful or not by 23/04. I emailed on 23/04 and they said they are still in the process and will let me know within 1 week, which would've been 30/04.

I've emailed again today as it is now clearly 05/05 and no response. However, my application status on the website has been stuck on "In Progress" since 22/04. My references told me they did them about 2 weeks ago.

Since the position is due to start in less than 2 weeks I am stressed mostly because my current part time role, not in NSW Health, requires 2 weeks notice, as most roles do, so I would need to know by now if I have gotten it or not so I can give my notice with no dramas. However, if not successful then no issue but I would like to know.

Is this normal? Being told an outcome would be ready by a certain date but still no answer/response almost 2 weeks after said outcome date? I've already mentioned the urgency in my email about needing to notify my current part time role not in NSW Health since the start date is less than 2 weeks now. Is it safe to say I didn't get the role, or should I just email again? The status staying at "In Progress" for weeks now and the lack of clarity is infuriating so thank you to anyone who answers and has read my whole post