October 16...

I had to go to work today for a couple of hours to present at a study day. There are no dialysis patients in on a Sunday so all the staff get paid for the day and lots of education, competencies and assessments get completed. Our management is supportive of measures like this even though our continuing professional development is a personal responsibility.

I've been a nurse now for 27 years. The first three were spent at the Alfred Hospital School of Nursing when training to be a nurse was more like an apprenticeship, learning on the job. And much like apprentices everywhere you start at the bottom (literally) and do all the jobs that no-one else wants to do. As you rose up the ranks to second and third year things started to improve. Study block and exams took you away from the wards for a while and out of hospital placements showed you things that lay beyond the wards. No more hospital based training nowadays, students are uni based and do clinical placements. I personally think it is a much better system, producing better educated nurses for our times.

I often hear from older nurses tales from 'back in my day'. Nursing has changed dramatically since those 'good ol days' and the pressures and expectations are very different. There is no comparing. Surgical wards had patients admitted the day before so often you had half the ward filled with well pre op independant people. After surgery a patient might have stayed for a week after relatively minor surgery. Not these days, as my brother in law will attest, even after a hip replacement you don't get a chance to lounge around, thats what home is for!

Here I am, quite off the track! This thought began tonight when Chris & I were discussing whether or not we would ever make a big move in life, like move interstate.  Chris would be a bit restricted in his employment but as a nurse I have the flexibility of being able to work pretty much anywhere. The only thing I would not like is to have to go back to shift work. After 27 years I have done my fair share and now have found a very nice position with work I enjoy, am good at* and it doesn't involve shifts. Shift work is for the newly graduated to negotiate around  (there are some things that the pecking order needs to remain in place for).

*I can confidently say I am good at my job because I just had my performance appraisal and independant sources confirm it!