What I learned from my first month as a graduate nurse

Registered nurse Melanie Challen finished her graduate year at Peninsula Health’s Frankston Hospital in Victoria in February. She undertook three rotations throughout the year, working in gastroenterology and general medicine, the orthopaedic and plastics surgical ward and lastly in the emergency department. Melanie followed in the footsteps of her mother to become a nurse. She […]

My 7 top tips for new graduate nurses

Victorian graduate nurse Tess Carr-Howard is on the cusp of completing her graduate year at Barwon Health’s University Hospital in Geelong. She spent the first six months working on the Adult Acute Ward before moving to the hospital’s Special Care Nursery, a neonatal unit providing care for babies in the region. The 36-year-old always had […]

Council of Deans supports development of new clinical Placement Evaluation Tool

Clinical placements are vital for nursing students’ education, for workplace culture exposure and to enable translation of theory into practice. However, the quality of nursing students’ clinical education varies greatly with Australian students exposed to negative (Jarvelainen et al.(2018) and positive experiences (Paliadelis & Wood, 2016). The Council of Deans Nursing and Midwifery (Aust & […]

Tag team simulation

An innovative simulation which uses theatre, drama and improvised acting is helping to prepare undergraduate nurses for the workforce in the context of patient safety. CQUniversity’s Tag Team Patient Safety Simulation (TTPSS) has been developed to help students focus on patient safety before they graduate. “TTPSS is unique as it promotes an ‘all-inclusive’ approach to […]

Mannikins help nursing students gain experience

As part of their education, nursing students at the University of Adelaide gain hands-on experience through life-like mannikins that display all the signs and responses of real people and actors employed as standardised patients who portray health problems. The university’s state-of-the-art simulation lab, Adelaide Health Simulation (AHS), replicates hospital suites with resuscitation, neonatal and anaesthetic […]

10 time management tips for nurses and midwives

For the novice nurse or midwife time management may seem an elusive skill. Even those with years of experience and adept at managing their time have bad days. Being realistic about what you can achieve in a shift is a start. Here are 10 top tips to help with time management.  Arrive early Even giving […]

Surviving your first day of clinical placement

A Placement Educator at Flinders University’s College of Nursing & Health Sciences in Adelaide, Registered Nurse Deb Hastings helps student nurses navigate their way through real-life professional experience. Clinical placements provide students the opportunity to transfer theory into practice and hone their skills for future practice in nursing or midwifery. Placement Educators like Deb assist […]

Virtual reality in nursing and midwifery

University of Newcastle researchers are leading the world in ground-breaking virtual reality (VR) technology in the nursing and midwifery curriculum. The world-first technology was presented at the Professional Day of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association 73rd annual delegates’ conference recently. Project lead and Lecturer in Midwifery at the University of Newcastle (UON) Donovan Jones […]

Five tips on finding your nursing speciality

There may come a point in a nurse’s career when it’s time to specialise. But with multiple specialities to choose from, how do you find one that’s right for you? Why specialise Specialising in a field of nursing can create numerous professional opportunities resulting in greater work satisfaction. Benefits include: Yet discovering your passion for […]