Our featured Nurse Uncut Member is one of our newest members, margo138.
margo138 was kind enough to share with us a brief background about herself:
The beginning –
I graduated from Orange Base hospital in 1984. I was 21 years old and only applied to do nursing at the suggestion of my mother, there was a strong nursing background on mum’s side of the family. I was interviewed by the matron who sternly warned me I was going to have to “eat, breathe and sleep nursing” as my H.S.C marks could have been better. I loved my training as we were a class of only 12 and formed some strong lasting friendships.
On graduating I applied at the local Private hospital and soon came to enjoy the camaraderie of a small permanent dedicated staff. I married in 1984 and continued to work part time and then went on to have a daughter and son. I came and went between children and rejoined the nursing staff in 1990.
Margo38 loves the night shifts!
Night shift was always short staffed and I found I could get enough hours work by agreeing to these unpopular shifts. Our hospital is mixed medical / surgical and we had a post natal unit for some years which has now been replaced with a mental health unit.
Through working the night shift I also gained experience in our sleep disorder clinic. There is no doctor on duty at night time so I guess we have to use our clinical skills a fair bit, our educator is always encouraging us to be up to date with basic and advanced life support. I would have to say I love the responsibility that we have also being encouraged and a valued member of a team, our executive staff reward us with pizzas or B.B.Q’s now and then.
What’s not good about night shift work
I don’t like the staffing ratios at times and STRONGLY believe night shift should have a revision of the penalty rate…all the functions I have missed, the unsociable hours and tiredness( and no one ever wants to swap shifts with you).
Lastly, Margo38′s advice to student nurses – use your common sense
I think the students these days have a lot more pressure in terms of just getting through the course but I believe if they have common sense they will get there also to use their initiative.
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