any nurses on OB?
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Topic: any nurses on OB?
Posted By: nicandtyler
Subject: any nurses on OB?
Date Posted: 28 May 2010 at 6:49pm
ok, so im a third year nursing student and ive got one semester (2 papers left, doing one mid year this year and then my pre-reg paper/placement start of next year), im stuck for ideas for where to go for my pre-reg placement  over the 3 years i have done one adult orthopaedics placement, childrens theatre, mental health, and community and am stuck between whether or not to do adult health or paediatrics...and also (if anyone knows) if i do my pre-reg placement in adult health can i then do my new grad at childrens health or vice versa...soo hard to choose where to go, so what im aksing (sorry for the ramble on) is if there are any nurses (or anyone in the hospital/healthcare setting) do you have any suggestions (and if possible a reason why  ) for a good area to do pre-reg placement (which is ten weeks) im in auckland btw....am already thinking starship (oncology), or ICU at north shore....help! and TIA------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
 April '11
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Replies:
Posted By: Kellz
Date Posted: 28 May 2010 at 7:20pm
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I graduated in 2000 from AUT, did my new grad cert year with 6 months on ortho, and 6 months adult oncology which I loved, in the old Auckland Hospital.
It may have changed, but back then you got employed by the new grad programme who then put you onto wards, and you were not employed by a specific ward for the new grad year- if that is still the case, then it wont matter if you chose not to return to one of your pre-reg placement wards as a new grad. If u are employed by a particular ward for the new grad placement, then it would be better to do your pre-reg on a ward that u want to work on as a new grad, cos you will be more likely to get a job there if they know you, over another newgrad who hasnt been there before. Generally its easier to get a job after your new grad year on one of the wards you have done your new grad placements on. Cos if a ward has had newgrads there that want to stay once the new grad year is over, they are more likely to give them jobs, than other newgrads who have not worked on that ward before. Hope that makes sense! Am happy to answer any Q's, even tho my answers may be a little out of date, lol! I love nursing. I continues to wok on the oncology ward for another yr after the new grad programme, then did a similar day ward job at middlemore, then similar day shifts mostly in private oncology units in London for 2 years. When back in NZ we moved to Whakatane where there was only a tiny oncology unit, so I worked on a general medical ward. Left when preg with Isla, moved towns. Went back to work after 2 yrs to surgical ward- although I hadnt done surg since I was a new grad, it wasnt that hard to pick it up, and most of my genereal nusring skills came back to me quickly, it was just specific surgical things that I needed to learn. Ive just had 6 months off and am going back 2 days a week from Mon! |
Posted By: NewPhoenix
Date Posted: 28 May 2010 at 7:30pm
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Posted By: nicandtyler
Date Posted: 28 May 2010 at 7:40pm
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thanks Kellz, yea im not 100% sure how they employ now,i just saw that auckland and starship you do your new grad in specific areas (i think, been looking at at stuff online) but there is so much to choose from, the thing about ICU at north shore hospital is that it is 3 12 hour days a week, so mon-wed so i would have thurs and friday off with my son...which i know shouldnt affect my decision too much but would make it alot easier, but then am quite interested in childrens oncolgy...have you done children's oncology before or just adults??anthea-iim studying at aut on the north shore ------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
April '11
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Posted By: Kellz
Date Posted: 28 May 2010 at 8:40pm
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Thats where I did mine too, was awesome- started in 1997 as a 17yr old!
Its good that ICU will give you regular shifts, I doubt you would get that many places. They would normally expect you to do rostered shifts including nights. Do u do your whole new grad year in one place? Would probably pay to ring and find out more about the new grad programmes before making your decision on where to do pre-reg. Ive never worked in Paed onc, only adult. |
Posted By: JoJames
Date Posted: 28 May 2010 at 10:59pm
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Hey, I graduated from AUT 2004, did my pre-reg in Starship cardiac, then did my new grad year at Waitakere Hospital in Gen med (starship didn't hire many people that year). After my new grad year in adults I had no problem getting a job in ED at Starship. If you do your pre-reg in a certain place there is definately a higher chance you will get a new grad job there, but other places wil be hiring, it all depends on skill mix and ratios. I loved working at Starship and they also do 12hr shifts. The other thing to just be aware of is that even if you don't get where you want to be for you pre-reg placement or your new-grad year, you can always swap and change later, New grad year year is all about learning who you are as a nurse, learning new skills and solidifying your practice. In the 5 years that I have been a nurse I have changed my job 5 times (apprentice of everything, master of nothing) and people still want to hire me. Also Oncology at Starship is a great place to work and the staff there are very committed in their jobs and are very smart.
Hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions ------------- http://www.alterna-tickers.com"> 
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Posted By: JoJames
Date Posted: 28 May 2010 at 11:01pm
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Oh and good luck going back to work Kellz! I'm struggling at the moment with the thought of working again. ------------- http://www.alterna-tickers.com">
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Posted By: Kellz
Date Posted: 29 May 2010 at 7:01am
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Thanks! Im getting nervous about how its gonna go- not worried about work, but Im still not getting a lot of sleep, and will still be exclusively bf so will have to express at work or hopefully go home at lunch to feed Aiden. Eekk, dont know how its all gonna work out.
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Posted By: nicandtyler
Date Posted: 29 May 2010 at 10:33am
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oh k thanks jo, that makes me feel a little better i can imagine ill probably be changing my mind quite a few times before i settle on something cos there is waaay too much to choose from and im really unsure what i want to do....i guess ill find that out along the way! ------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
April '11
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Posted By: bebebaby
Date Posted: 29 May 2010 at 11:22am
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nicandtyler, Im a nurse too. From what I have seen, it usually helps if you've done a placement in the job that you want, but thats not always the case. If your awesome (and I'm sure you are) and you have great reviews then they will hire you.
If you think you want to work in peadiatrics of some kind I would try to get a placement in that area. As you will always get a job in adult health, but it can be hard to get a job in childrens health. Just my two cents worth. Nursing is great! So all the best ------------- http://alterna-tickers.com"> 
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Posted By: mum2paris
Date Posted: 30 May 2010 at 9:35pm
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Hey there, I'm not too sure about how auckland does it, but i went straight into neonates for my new grad year, I had never set foot in there ever before, I had only done 1 week in children's ward in my first year and i did my 6 week transition placement in a medical centre/gp office/accident department doing everything from normal practice things to plaster casts to ecgs, etc.
Basically I had the passion for the job, but had still not really thought too much about where i'd end up, just thought that'd kinda be my first choice and here i am 4 years on. If you are wanting to end up in ICU then really I would say try and get a placement there as it is good to try and go into your new grad job with some experience in the area, because the bookwork is pretty hectic so if you already know the area nd the practices a little then it makes it less of a shock overall. Also with it being more specialised, if there is only limited places going in that area, and they have already had a person there for their transition that is awesome and the chargenurse knows them etc, they are more likely to be picked over someone who is unknown. the other side of this is also, that to be honest, going from my nursing studies straight into a specialised area dealing with babies... I have found that the idea of going to work in an adult setting now scares me. Adult nursing can be a great way to really consolidate all that knowledge you've built up in the last 3 years... I feel that is the one thing i have missed out on and it does worry me that really it would be a huge huge huge learning curvenow to build that all up if i were to ever change. It can be easy to get stuck in one area if you haven't alreay gotten a really good grounding of all that you have learnt. The ladies that have moved from general and icu nursing into paeds have a great understandingo f all the body systems overall, and not just in relation to the differences for children... I feel that I am lacking that. If you really want to go icu nursing then i'd say start with that... then you can always move on, but starting in ICU would set you up wonderfully for any other area you move into. good luck with making your choice. Just remember you can always move on...... ------------- Janine and her 2 cool chicks, Paris & Ayja 
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