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Now Ye're Talking - to a mature student nurse

2

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  • Company Representative Posts: 26 Verified rep I'm a student nurse, AMA


    Nokia6230i wrote: »
    And, on top of this, much like with Drs., Jnr. or otherwise like Consultants (the holy grail?), should the INMO be pushing to reduce hours from 12 hour shifts to 10 or 8 etc.

    The thought of getting treatment from a medic on their feet, often going without food or toilet breaks or a sit down due to being understaffed/overworked and being asked to do all this for a minimum of 12 hours is scary.

    We hear far too often of Drs. & Nurses doing ridiculous shifts of twice and three times this which, for them alone is scary when you consider they've to drive home in some cases much less treat patients; once fatigue kicks in it's not safe but if you put your hand up you're putting your livelihood in danger potentially?

    I'd go with GP or Dr. Surgery rather than a hospital if I was a Nurse if at all possible; guaranteed hours and no overtime demands and you get to know your patients.

    I think the 12 hour shifts would be more bearable if we had full staffing(now I am a student not a FT nurse so take my opinion with a heaping tbsp of salt). What I've seen on the wards in relation to ridiculous shifts is all down to a lack of staffing, there is simply not enough manpower to go around, even with agency nurses. In the handful times I have done a 12 hour shift as a student nurse(most of my days are just under 10 hours - that will change in 4th year!), I've seen understaffing be the bigger problem as opposed to the shifts themselves. Anytime I did those hours, I tried to help the nurses out as much as possible to the point where I felt more like I was a healthcare assistant than a student nurse(in the sense that I didn't really learn any nursing stuff) purely to ease their burden. It's so frustrating because when we are even 1 nurse short or 1 healthcare assistant short you can feel it in the ward, especially when it comes to the drug round and paperwork.


  • Company Representative Posts: 26 Verified rep I'm a student nurse, AMA


    Do ye get training on 'customer service' as it were ie. bed side manner/how to deal with terminal patients etc.?

    Not really for regular patients, you kind of learn it on the job. Generally it's a case of be nice, be respectful and protect their privacy and dignity at all costs. I am doing the old curriculum, it's changed for this years first years so maybe they might learn it in college.

    As for dealing with end of life/terminal patients, I think there is specific training. I'm not 100% on that though but I would fall back on the points I listed above(be nice etc.)


  • Company Representative Posts: 26 Verified rep I'm a student nurse, AMA


    TG1 wrote: »
    Just popped in to say best of luck. I had to spend a few weeks on a ward a couple of years ago, and the students nurses kept me sane, they were the best craic, made me laugh for three weeks through a broken pelvis which was sone achievement!!

    I was on a ward with a couple of old battle axes who were downright rude to them though, and was always astonished at how they remained professional and polite at all times with them. Is that something you learn, or do you think you just have to have it in you?

    Thank you very much. I think student nurses are lucky in some regards, we don't have as much paperwork and other things so we actually have the time to chat and have the craic with patients.

    We kinda learn a bit about it in college before our 1st placement in the sense that if someone is rude, we don't know if they are frightened, in pain, upset or if that's just their nature and as such we should be polite and professional at all times. However I do think you have to be able to bite your lip and say nothing so you don't explode at them. In first year I was very easily hurt and upset but I have toughened up I feel. You have to in this job.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,845 ✭✭✭✭Tom Mann Centuria


    Thank you very much. I think student nurses are lucky in some regards, we don't have as much paperwork and other things so we actually have the time to chat and have the craic with patients.

    Just wait until your fourth year :)

    Oh well, give me an easy life and a peaceful death.



  • Registered Users Posts: 14,229 ✭✭✭✭ednwireland


    Not got a question but just to say thanks. When I had internal bleeding in the bowel with the unpleasant results. The student nurses took It all in there stride in lk general. Unfortunately most of them were planning to leave for the uk. This was 4 years ago by the way so don't know if conditions have improved.

    As others have said the chat is great if you have the time especially when your laid in bed without been able to sit up in bed without blacking out.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 10,845 ✭✭✭✭Tom Mann Centuria


    Have you done your night shifts yet, and was it a full moon?

    Do you feel your preceptors give you enough support, and have many people on your course failed placement?

    Good luck going forward!

    Oh well, give me an easy life and a peaceful death.



  • Company Representative Posts: 26 Verified rep I'm a student nurse, AMA


    Have you done your night shifts yet, and was it a full moon?

    Do you feel your preceptors give you enough support, and have many people on your course failed placement?

    Good luck going forward!

    No night shifts as a nursing student yet but have done some as a HCA. I thought the full moon being chaos in a hospital was a myth but boy was I proven wrong! Any shift that occured on a full moon was chaos, guaranteed to have people on trollies in corridors and it always kicked off.

    Preceptors vary in quality and I think its due to the fact that once you are given a contract with the HSE and completed training you have to be one. So you get those who are into it, and those who are not. I remember having a fantastic preceptor who I maintain was the gold standard of being a preceptor. I learned so much from her and I'd do anything to work with her again. Conversely I worked with a preceptor, who as soon as she saw us students threw her hands up in the air and was like "I don't do students!". Needless to say I learned very little from her. I've also been put with preceptors, who due to the staffing shortages, are too busy acting as nurse in charge(informal ward manager) on top of their regular duties so I end up with agency nurses(who are fantastic!) and learn a lot but they can't sign off paperwork and are technically not supposed to be taking us on.

    I don't think anyone has failed placement. The majority of us have to repeat placements due to missing time or illness. I do know that a few have dropped out, the majority being the ex-leaving cert students as opposed to the fetac/mature students. I get it though, the course is difficult and there is a tendancy to go in thinking about what nursing, conditions etc. should be like but the reality is completely different.It's also hard to balance a 2nd job, the course and a social life.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 173 ✭✭Mike Hoch


    I hear a lot of people complain about the conditions, and this causes a high rate of nurse emigration.

    How much would you expect to earn before tax in an average year, newly qualified?


  • Company Representative Posts: 26 Verified rep I'm a student nurse, AMA


    Mike Hoch wrote: »
    I hear a lot of people complain about the conditions, and this causes a high rate of nurse emigration.

    How much would you expect to earn before tax in an average year, newly qualified?

    Sorry I didn't see this until now:
    28,768 according to the HSE payscales


  • Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 3,709 Mod ✭✭✭✭eeloe


    I know it's more about being fulfilled and content in your work, but that kind of money would really put anyone off being a nurse, the things you have to see and do, the hours, the cut off from your family during busy times....

    Doesn't really seem worth it to me.


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  • Company Representative Posts: 26 Verified rep I'm a student nurse, AMA


    eeloe wrote: »
    I know it's more about being fulfilled and content in your work, but that kind of money would really put anyone off being a nurse, the things you have to see and do, the hours, the cut off from your family during busy times....

    Doesn't really seem worth it to me.

    I wish it paid better in all honesty, I know the pay increases with each year but still. That's why nurses leave and it feels like noone is listening, be it the minister for health or in the HSE.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,941 ✭✭✭Radio5


    Are student nurses told to assume that everyone over 50 is deaf?

    My mum's just spent 5 days in public hospital. She is 72, luckily her hearing is fine. Yet every nurse that dealt with her felt the need to shout at her, most of the time while standing at the foot of her bed NOW MARY I'M GOING TO CHECK YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE etc! She mentioned to some of them that she had no trouble hearing but there was no improvement. HCA's were better and did not assume deafness.

    Nurses of all ages seemed to just look at the colour of her hair and think Grey Hair=old lady=deaf as a post= must shout from distance.


  • Company Representative Posts: 26 Verified rep I'm a student nurse, AMA


    Radio5 wrote: »
    Are student nurses told to assume that everyone over 50 is deaf?

    My mum's just spent 5 days in public hospital. She is 72, luckily her hearing is fine. Yet every nurse that dealt with her felt the need to shout at her, most of the time while standing at the foot of her bed NOW MARY I'M GOING TO CHECK YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE etc! She mentioned to some of them that she had no trouble hearing but there was no improvement. HCA's were better and did not assume deafness.

    Nurses of all ages seemed to just look at the colour of her hair and think Grey Hair=old lady=deaf as a post= must shout from distance.

    No we're not. That's mad, if anything that behaviour is the complete opposite of what we are taught, especially with your mum saying that her hearing was fine. I'm so sorry that she had that experience. I guess that maybe one nurse assumed she had hearing difficulties and said it during morning report/handover which led to the rest of the nurses assuming incorrectly(that's just me speculating though). That doesn't excuse the fact that they ignored the fact that she clarified that she could hear. I'm shocked tbh


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,128 ✭✭✭dellas1979


    I had a spinal block done today. In a private clinic. The nurses were shamazing.

    I had to get a procedure done in a public hospital a few weeks ago, and the personal care wasnt there. I assume its because of over worked staff etc.

    Actually wrote to the office of Simon Harris to complain about lack of staffing. I was told that the government doesnt run the HSE and have no authority over staffing.

    Would there be a big difference in salary and working conditions in a private run hospital?

    Do you think private insurance and more private hospitals are the way to go-although of course some people due to means do need to go through public. Would it take pressure off hse run hospitals? Cause looks like they couldnt run a piss up in a brewery (they = hse and government).

    I told office of SH that I would never vote for FG again. I wouldnt vote FF anyways. Sorry to get political. Just dont understand who runs these services, and why they just dont sort the feckin thing out. And why they cant run more efficiently.


  • Company Representative Posts: 26 Verified rep I'm a student nurse, AMA


    dellas1979 wrote: »
    I had a spinal block done today. In a private clinic. The nurses were shamazing.

    I had to get a procedure done in a public hospital a few weeks ago, and the personal care wasnt there. I assume its because of over worked staff etc.

    Actually wrote to the office of Simon Harris to complain about lack of staffing. I was told that the government doesnt run the HSE and have no authority over staffing.

    Would there be a big difference in salary and working conditions in a private run hospital?

    Do you think private insurance and more private hospitals are the way to go-although of course some people due to means do need to go through public. Would it take pressure off hse run hospitals? Cause looks like they couldnt run a piss up in a brewery (they = hse and government).

    I told office of SH that I would never vote for FG again. I wouldnt vote FF anyways. Sorry to get political. Just dont understand who runs these services, and why they just dont sort the feckin thing out. And why they cant run more efficiently.

    I'm not certain on salary but from what I've heard private hospitals are pretty decent conditions wise over public. I know a person training to be a dr, who is a qualified nurse and does shifts in a private hospital, they refuse to work as agency in the HSE hospitals as the prefer the conditions of the private hospital. As for more privatisation, I'm not certain how effective it would be but I would say to anyone, if you can stretch your budget to get private health cover do.

    What I'd love is a rebalancing of the HSE, prioritise frontline staff, dr's and consultants alongside an effective primary care service and to allow screenings, tests etc. to be done all week rather than mon-fri. Same thing with surgeries - work to clear the backlog and prevent it reoccurring. Also speeding up the Fair Deal scheme and if it hasn't already, extend it to homecare packages as well as I've seen a fair few patients who were medically fine but were waiting for a fair deal package to come through and as a result of the delay in getting the scheme were left in hospital for at least 2 weeks. Theres more I could say but I'd be here all night :o

    The day any of that happens however is the day I'll eat my hat.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,861 ✭✭✭Nokia6230i


    General nursing. I would like to specialise in cardiac care or oncology as they are 2 diseases that are prominent in my family and I have an interest in.

    I just love helping people and looking after people. Like I come out of placement tired but satisfied knowing that I've helped brighten someone's day or helped them on the way to be well or just to be there for someone else. That is what I love.

    If you were to remain on as an RGN for a bit would you consider doing a stint with K-Doc, D Doc, Caredoc etc.?

    Are they mostly agency staff appointed on a temporary/casual basis from a roster or are they contracted for specific periods by HSE (sorry if that question is a bit clumsily asked!)?

    Obviously you're dealing then with all the anti-social shifts, the Friday evenings 6pm to Monday mornings 8 or 9am & Bank Holidays, Easter Weekend, Christmas Eve/Christmas Day/St. Stephens Day & NYE/NYD as well as St. Patks. Day.; wonder is the pay worth the inconvenience or is the pay off worth it?


  • Company Representative Posts: 26 Verified rep I'm a student nurse, AMA


    Nokia6230i wrote: »
    If you were to remain on as an RGN for a bit would you consider doing a stint with K-Doc, D Doc, Caredoc etc.?

    Are they mostly agency staff appointed on a temporary/casual basis from a roster or are they contracted for specific periods by HSE (sorry if that question is a bit clumsily asked!)?

    Obviously you're dealing then with all the anti-social shifts, the Friday evenings 6pm to Monday mornings 8 or 9am & Bank Holidays, Easter Weekend, Christmas Eve/Christmas Day/St. Stephens Day & NYE/NYD as well as St. Patks. Day.; wonder is the pay worth the inconvenience or is the pay off worth it?

    Honestly? I don't know. Tried googling their salary details(especially for community nurses) but I couldn't find anything. It's not an area I'd normally consider but if the salary is right? I could change my mind :D

    From what I googled it seems to be a case of(again I don't know 100%) nurses on part-time or full-time contracts, with the ability to choose their own hours(I'd imagine its a case of you have to work x hours a week, choose what shifts you need to make up those hours).

    As for whether its worth it all depends on differing factors, if you're doing gp style nursing with no travel then already its more appealing however if there's travel involved then no thanks(unless the pay is good).

    Sorry for the very roundabout answer, I wish there was more details available so I could answer fully.


  • Registered Users Posts: 222 ✭✭QueenRizla


    You mention a lot of your class are planning to leave the country once qualified. It seems like encouraging opportunities for mature students to take up nursing is a better long term plan for the HSE, they are more likely to stick around?
    You seem very engaged and dedicated, do you think enough is done to encourage nursing as a career for mature students? What percentage of the classes would be mature?


  • Company Representative Posts: 26 Verified rep I'm a student nurse, AMA


    QueenRizla wrote: »
    You mention a lot of your class are planning to leave the country once qualified. It seems like encouraging opportunities for mature students to take up nursing is a better long term plan for the HSE, they are more likely to stick around?
    You seem very engaged and dedicated, do you think enough is done to encourage nursing as a career for mature students? What percentage of the classes would be mature?

    I think it would be a better option yes as the majority of matures in my class are more settled, have kids or feel that when compleleted the degree that they will need to be established here(buy a house etc.). The frustrating thing is that the odds are against mature students getting into nursing, some colleges have as many as 6 places for matures while others might only have 1 or 2. On top of that we have our own points race in the form of an aptitude test(which I completely agree with) which is quite difficult and like the cao, the points of that determine whether you're in or not. So rather than funding a few more places(they control the course numbers via funding AFAIK), instead the HSE is like, "let all the young wans get experience overseas and then throw a small bit of cash at them to entice them home, despite not improving conditions, standards etc." which is why so few nurses come back on that scheme, whereas matures are there, ready and willing to work in the hospitals and not just use them as experience builders(not that there's anything wrong with that).

    In my honest opinion, it feels like little is done to encourage matures. From the way it comes across it very much feels like we are last in line - we have less places in college, have more hoops to jump through and are not as valued as trying to recruit nurses who emigrated. If all the HSE did was increase funding for extra mature places, it would be a massive step, I think, in the right direction.

    As for percentages, I think about 10% are matures(give or take)


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,861 ✭✭✭Nokia6230i


    There's something I've always wondered and it relates to a recent appt. I had with "my" Nurse.

    The good lady Nurse based on signs, symptoms & diagnosis (much prodding & poking involved) issued her prescription/s to me; however she'd to go to Dr. in his (normally it's a her but found out this GP sits in of a Friday) office to okay 'em, get them signed off on.

    This an insurance issue or something to do with a Nurse not being permitted to issue prescriptions?

    I'd've'd zero issues with prescription coming straight from Nurse; I trust her with my life like.

    Just feel it undermines a Nurse in a Dr. Surgery; so is this normal or.........?


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  • Company Representative Posts: 26 Verified rep I'm a student nurse, AMA


    Nokia6230i wrote: »
    There's something I've always wondered and it relates to a recent appt. I had with "my" Nurse.

    The good lady Nurse based on signs, symptoms & diagnosis (much prodding & poking involved) issued her prescription/s to me; however she'd to go to Dr. in his (normally it's a her but found out this GP sits in of a Friday) office to okay 'em, get them signed off on.

    This an insurance issue or something to do with a Nurse not being permitted to issue prescriptions?

    I'd've'd zero issues with prescription coming straight from Nurse; I trust her with my life like.

    Just feel it undermines a Nurse in a Dr. Surgery; so is this normal or.........?

    The nurse in question may be training to be a nurse prescriber(a nurse who can prescribe medication) and they have to have anything checked and countersigned. It could also be practice policy where the GP double checks. It's such a specialised role, that I don't know a huge amount about it. However it wouldn't come across to me as undermining as there must be an underlying reason as to why it is necessary.

    Ordinary nurses can't prescribe but specialist nurse prescribers can. Sorry I can't be much help - it's a role that I haven't thought about or researched a whole lot.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 353 ✭✭Creative83


    I was always curious as to why student nurses are paid a set rate for their work experience but in other sectors most people get paid little or nothing.

    I asked a nurse about this before and she said "it's because we save lives" and that their line of work wasn't comparable to those in Business or IT courses etc doing work experience. Therefore they are more entitled to it then anyone else :/

    What is your view?


  • Company Representative Posts: 26 Verified rep I'm a student nurse, AMA


    Creative83 wrote: »
    I was always curious as to why student nurses are paid a set rate for their work experience but in other sectors most people get paid little or nothing.

    I asked a nurse about this before and she said "it's because we save lives" and that their line of work wasn't comparable to those in Business or IT courses etc doing work experience. Therefore they are more entitled to it then anyone else :/

    What is your view?

    I want to clarify something, up until we do our internship in 4th year student nurses are not paid for their work experience. We do get some travel and accomodation expenses back(not much and we have to wait a long time to receive it).

    That aside, when we do get paid for our internship(36 weeks) its purely because it's very difficult to keep a part time job alongside the internship schedule as we are expected to work hours similar to a fully qualified staff member(so we could be doing nights, long days etc.) and have a lot of responsibility compared to a 1st year student nurse.

    In short the sole reason why we get paid(for 36 weeks) is due to the impracticality of working a seperate job while on internship due to the hours and nothing to do with the fact that we save lives.

    ETA: If anyone is on a course that requires them to work hours that prevent them getting a part time job e.g. long hours or whatever then they should also be paid something for doing it - whether its IT or business or whatever.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 353 ✭✭Creative83


    I want to clarify something, up until we do our internship in 4th year student nurses are not paid for their work experience. We do get some travel and accomodation expenses back(not much and we have to wait a long time to receive it).

    That aside, when we do get paid for our internship(36 weeks) its purely because it's very difficult to keep a part time job alongside the internship schedule as we are expected to work hours similar to a fully qualified staff member(so we could be doing nights, long days etc.) and have a lot of responsibility compared to a 1st year student nurse.

    In short the sole reason why we get paid(for 36 weeks) is due to the impracticality of working a seperate job while on internship due to the hours and nothing to do with the fact that we save lives.

    ETA: If anyone is on a course that requires them to work hours that prevent them getting a part time job e.g. long hours or whatever then they should also be paid something for doing it - whether its IT or business or whatever.

    Thanks for the response. Makes sense.


  • Registered Users Posts: 691 ✭✭✭jodaw


    What advise would you give to someone looking to get a place in 2019 as a mature student. What should be done now in advance to prepare?

    What are the steps to making an application? and what are the timelines in applying?

    Is the course harder or easier than you expected?


  • Registered Users Posts: 400 ✭✭mickmac76


    Well done on returning to college and working towards your degree I hope you succeed. I agree with your comments about making more places available for mature students. Since I was diagnosed with motor neuron disease 3 years ago I've met and interacted with a mind boggling number of nurses and other health care professionals like doctors physiotherapists and occupational therapists. Have you ever considered a different role in health care apart from nursing. Some of the nurses I've met also have roles that I would never have thought of like being in charge of clinical trials the mnd nurse who works with me and spends a lot of time on the road and coordinating with other health care providers and the palliative care nurses whom I would have thought have a job that could be very hard at times but they seem to enjoy their work hugely when I went in for a few days of respite for the first time last week. Anyways I just wanted to thank you for the job you and people like you are doing as I'd be all at sea with out the guidance and support I've received in the last few years. And good luck with your future choices there's an awful lot of them to choose from.


  • Company Representative Posts: 26 Verified rep I'm a student nurse, AMA


    jodaw wrote: »
    What advise would you give to someone looking to get a place in 2019 as a mature student. What should be done now in advance to prepare?

    What are the steps to making an application? and what are the timelines in applying?

    Is the course harder or easier than you expected?
    The first thing I'd recommend is to look into grant eligibility, fees etc. before applying. I know 1 or 2 were caught out and 1 is paying fees while the other had to drop out. This is so there are no nasty surprises should you then apply.

    The next thing I would recommend is to consider doing a fetac healthcare support or prenursing feta courses. These will help you in a few ways, the first is to ensure whether you'd be up for that line of work - some people have an idea of what nursing is while the reality is different. The second is it will prepare you for college, as you'll learn referencing, get used to assignments and also will help you when it comes to first year and the 1st placements (if for general nursing). Finally it will help in securing part time work as a hca should you need it when you are a student.

    Finally I would also keep an eye out for the aptitude test dates and apply as soon as you are able to. Alongside this pick up any practice books on aptitude tests(libraries usually have copies) and do them regularly. I can't recommend a book of the top of my head but most have similar content.

    As for steps, this link should cover how to apply
    https://www.nmbi.ie/Careers-in-Nursing-Midwifery/How-to-apply/Mature-Applicants

    As for the course, it's a mixed bag to be honest. The nursing subjects are difficult to do well in unless you have covered every base(which makes sense because that's how you need to be as a nurse), but all in all I like it. I will say thought that 1st years starting from this year onwards will be doing a different course to me. The new curriculum aims to promote community care as opposed to hospital care, health promotion and prioritised care of the elderly. In all honesty I am kind of jealous of the new first years as I would rather be doing that course instead of the old curriculum.


  • Company Representative Posts: 26 Verified rep I'm a student nurse, AMA


    mickmac76 wrote: »
    Well done on returning to college and working towards your degree I hope you succeed. I agree with your comments about making more places available for mature students. Since I was diagnosed with motor neuron disease 3 years ago I've met and interacted with a mind boggling number of nurses and other health care professionals like doctors physiotherapists and occupational therapists. Have you ever considered a different role in health care apart from nursing. Some of the nurses I've met also have roles that I would never have thought of like being in charge of clinical trials the mnd nurse who works with me and spends a lot of time on the road and coordinating with other health care providers and the palliative care nurses whom I would have thought have a job that could be very hard at times but they seem to enjoy their work hugely when I went in for a few days of respite for the first time last week. Anyways I just wanted to thank you for the job you and people like you are doing as I'd be all at sea with out the guidance and support I've received in the last few years. And good luck with your future choices there's an awful lot of them to choose from.

    Thank you so much for your kind words!
    If I hadn't a child or if I had a bigger income than what I do atm, I'd have loved to do graduate entry medical school(obviously that would be based off a good Gamsat aptitude test score and a good degree) and become a Dr. I have also recently been thinking about possibly doing a masters in occupational therapy as that is an area of healthcare that I think is important and also interesting. I'm not 100% on what I want to do but I'm hoping that once I've qualified and have been on the wards for a bit I'll figure out exactly what I want to do.

    It's crazy though in the past 10 years how much the role of the nurse has changed, even now as I progress through the course I hear from lecturers all the time, about how nursing is favouring x thing or y course or z speciality. I think it's a good thing for nursing as there is still this attitude out there that nurses just dole out medicine and get people washed and dressed etc. (Which is 100% important) when in fact we do a bit more than that.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,078 ✭✭✭salonfire


    I wish it paid better in all honesty, I know the pay increases with each year but still. That's why nurses leave and it feels like noone is listening, be it the minister for health or in the HSE.

    But how much extra should be paid, given the limited resources in Health?

    Throwing more money at staff is not a solution, as we saw during the boom years.

    Nurses also get allowances (which I don't see mentioned in this thread) based on shift work and for working in specific departments. These extras are never mentioned by nurses and nurses unions.

    For those living and working in Dublin, what they are paid is nowhere near enough and targeted living allowances should be given to them IMO.

    But for the nurses outside Dublin and working in the regions, the salary should be plenty adequate.

    I think the problems with nurses emigrating runs much more than salaries alone.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 7,981 ✭✭✭funkey_monkey


    It must be embarrassing for patients to be naked and/or having issues with bodily functions in front of nurses. How do you handle these situations? It must be difficult not to chat with a colleague about something you seen during work. Is there a rule (unwritten or otherwise) about how much you discuss?
    I know there must be chats in the wards, but how likely are people to go home and chat to the partner/spouse about something that happened at work that day - anonymously or otherwise. "How was your day?" "Well, there was a young guy came in with xyz stuck up his urethra, Mary Kate had to burst a cyst on Johnny McGuires hole and got covered in pus. Dr. Flannagan was caught in the morgue with two of the students and Father Ralph de Bricassart came in to give last rites to a woman who got her head stuck in a car window."

    What is the most difficult part of the job for you?

    Have you ever witnessed a patient dying? How did it affect you?

    How do you feel about having people dependent on you for their well-being? Is it a burden or something you are proud of?

    Is the job pressure/stressful due to the amount of tasks to complete or the difficulty of the tasks?

    Do the staff tend to work at different paces? i.e. in most work environments there are quick workers and slow workers. Do you see some staff being quicker than other and if so what prevents rushed tasks being done haphazardly?

    Are there rules on make-up, perfume etc?

    Have you ever seen anything that disturbed you? i.e. a very sick child, family at the passing of loved one, or someone just in severe pain. If so, can you say?


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