Reading Margaret's blog has brought back many memories of my nurse training. It was hard work, but also good fun, probably the best 3 years of my life. I had a secondment for my Psychiatric training waiting for me after completing my RGN. Before the training I had done voluntary work at the ESMI Unit at Accy Vic. I loved it there and the ward sister and manager had arranged for me to have a psychiatric training secondment so that I could go back to work on the psychiatric unit with dual qualifications.
I looked forward to my psychiatric placement during my general training, I thought I would feel at home there and I already knew some of the staff. How wrong I was......
I wouldn't go so far as to say that I hated it. It was just different and we didn't seem to do very much. A lot of it was just sitting around and chatting to the patients. As a general trainee I was dying to jump up and make a bed, do someone's blood pressure or a bedbath but instead, I was playing pool, boardgames, taking patients to the pub and generally loafing around. None of these activities ever encouraged any of the patients to discuss their problems and I felt like a spare part.....
I knew that psychiatry was not for me, but didn't tell anybody. I hadn't decided what I wanted to do and felt awful for accepting the darned secondment. I couldn't stand the thought of having to do an extra 18 months training in order to sit around drinking tea and playing monopoly.....
I went back into block feeling very disappointed and just looking forward to getting back onto a general ward. I then found that I'd been allocated to Accy Vic Maternity Unit. The tutor (Mrs G) warned us that the maternity side of things is completely different to the general side......... I was dreading it.
To be continued.....
I looked forward to my psychiatric placement during my general training, I thought I would feel at home there and I already knew some of the staff. How wrong I was......
I wouldn't go so far as to say that I hated it. It was just different and we didn't seem to do very much. A lot of it was just sitting around and chatting to the patients. As a general trainee I was dying to jump up and make a bed, do someone's blood pressure or a bedbath but instead, I was playing pool, boardgames, taking patients to the pub and generally loafing around. None of these activities ever encouraged any of the patients to discuss their problems and I felt like a spare part.....
I knew that psychiatry was not for me, but didn't tell anybody. I hadn't decided what I wanted to do and felt awful for accepting the darned secondment. I couldn't stand the thought of having to do an extra 18 months training in order to sit around drinking tea and playing monopoly.....
I went back into block feeling very disappointed and just looking forward to getting back onto a general ward. I then found that I'd been allocated to Accy Vic Maternity Unit. The tutor (Mrs G) warned us that the maternity side of things is completely different to the general side......... I was dreading it.
To be continued.....