Top 5 Questions You Should Ask when you Start your New Career Have you noticed how many people are becoming nurses these days? The noble profession of nursing is coming back into fashion – more and more young adults are starting to realize what a rewarding career it can be. In addition, there are so many people looking for jobs and so few jobs out there that nursing is once again getting a sudden influx of potential nurses. And it has so many different directions you can follow once you have completed your initial basic training - depending on what you love the most – trauma nursing, pediatric nursing or ICU nursing – to give a few examples. Related: Serving at a Correctional Facility There are also a lot of shorter programs teaching you how to become a nurse, and some people do one of these after they have finished their first degree – perhaps as an extra way of earning money to get a good head start in working and saving money. But right at the beginning, before you start any training, when you are just thinking about becoming a nurse, you need to test yourself and see if this is really what you want to do. Nursing can be quite hard sometimes when you have awful, bloody wounds to dress, when you are cleaning up upset stomachs, and wiping blood off the floor – you need to have a strong constitution and be able to deal with all these kinds of uncomfortable situations in a calm and efficient manner Here are some questions to ask yourself to see if Nursing is the right career path for you.
1. What does it mean when you are “on call”? Being “on call” means that you are not actually working, but you are on standby in case there is an emergency situation at the hospital, and they suddenly need more nurses to come in urgently. Being a nurse means giving your full dedication to the profession. If you have a family, you and your husband both have to understand that if you decide to be a nurse who wants to respond to “on call” requests, then your work needs to come first. Maybe do this extra dedicated work before you decide to have children. Being “on call” does have its advantages, however – and this will reflect in your monthly pay package. You will get paid 1.5 times your hourly rate for each hour that you are on call. Generally “on call” situations only happen over a weekend or late at night – being either a 12 or 24 hour shift. This will typically happen in the labor ward and / or delivery ward or in the trauma department if there are several accidents or emergencies at the same time. 2. What kind of salary does a Nurse earn? If you are deciding to become a nurse because you think you will get paid a lot, you had better go back to the drawing board. Nursing is more of a dedication than a job – you either love it or hate it. And you will be paid according to your qualification, your experience, the ward you are working in, and the state in which you live. You must make some enquiries before you start nursing training so that you know what kind of money to expect. If you are working night shifts, you salary will be higher most months as working at night is more tedious than working during the
day. It also takes a bit of getting used to, and you will need to adjust your lifestyle. Jobs that are more demanding such as working in the critical care and high care wards will pay more than other wards do. The care in these wards is much more personal and intense, and there is more responsibility to deal with.
3. Should I work with the elderly, with children or with adults? This is the kind of question that no one can answer for you. If you are able to spend some time in each ward – a week or so – then do that to give yourself an idea of how it will be full time in that ward. Some nurses say they will never work anywhere else but in pediatrics, as they love children, while another could say that the trauma ward is for her as she loves the excitement and the unknown – where they will never know what cases will come in and each day is a new challenge. When you are training to be a nurse, you will spend time is various different wards, so that will also give you an idea of which ward will suit you best once your training is complete. Related: It's OK to Say No 4. How do you deal with losing a Patient? This can be a very traumatic event for all involved. If you are working in ICU or the trauma ward, then you can expect this to happen. These wards obviously have more patient deaths than the other wards as their patients are at a high risk of dying.
A high risk patient would be one who is perhaps very old and might not survive surgery, or they might have pneumonia. In the trauma ward, which is the accident and emergency centre of a hospital, some patients could submit to their injuries as they arrive before the doctor or nurse has even had a chance to look at them. And these sudden deaths can also be very upsetting if you have not dealt with these kinds of situations before. Being a nurse, you will be taught various ways which will help you to cope with death – it is never easy, but it can become something you learn to deal with. The hospital will offer counseling lessons for those affected by this kind of situation. 5. What is it like at Nursing school and then to sit the NCLEX? You can find out a lot of information from qualified nurses who have been through Nursing School – they can probably give you some invaluable tips, in fact! The most important thing you have probably heard is that Nursing School is not easy – it requires serious dedication and long hours of hard work. Before you start your course, you will have to sit an entrance examination. This shows the Nursing College which potential nursing candidates will manage the course and which ones will not manage at all. Nurses have to be of a high standard; after all, human lives are at stake here. Nursing students have a higher grade to achieve than other disciplines – where they look for a grade average of 2.0; potential nurses have to achieve a 2.5 grade average. Some colleges require a higher standard, so it really depends on where you will be going to study.
Nursing School consists of two parts – one is the studying and the learning of the theory, while the another side of it is the practical hands on experience side. You will send lots of time if the following wards: ● Surgical / Medical ● Maternity (labor, delivery, mother / baby care, ante-partum and post-partum) ● Pediatrics ● Public Health (public school nursing and state health offices) ● Emergency / ICU care Rotation into these wards is different at all nursing schools – they may do it another way, but you will have experience is each of these wards before you are finished your course. This layout gives you a very clear and realistic view of what you can expect during your years of nursing training. Conclusion And finally, when you graduate from Nursing School, you then have to sit the Nation Council Licensure Exam, called the NCLEX – the state board exam. This is compulsory for all nurses in order for them to get their License and then to find a Nursing job. Your nursing school will have trained you to the best of their ability, and give you all the information, tests and practical experience they could possible give you. Quite a high number fail this exam the first time, but this can be put down to nerves because they all get through the second time. So now you are out in the world looking for your first job, and you are a bundle of nerves – well, that is only to be expected. Your real nursing training starts when you get your first job. Before you know it, you will be through your orienteering period, and a capable and settled nurse just
where you wanted to be. Now you know more or less what to expect, so hold your head up high and ace that job interview! Related: 10 Tips for a Successful Nursing Job Interview Please follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest and Twitter