Q: Why did you pick nursing?
A: I had a family member experience a trauma that required significant medical attention. It was in this time that I realised the impact that a nurse has on someone’s life.
When someone is sick or injured, often they have no control over what’s happening to them. I know first-hand how scary that can be for the individual and the people around them. Beyond the clinical care that nurses give, they are also the ones who can calm the situation. So I guess the caring element really appealed to me.
Q: What is studying at Charles Sturt University (CSU) like?
A: The course is amazing. I love it and couldn’t recommend it more. The course is so practical – the set-up is just like a real hospital. We are trained as if we are working with real patients from day one.
When I walked into my first practical (which was organised through the university), I realised how good the facilities on campus were – it was practically the same.
Q: What’s been an experience that you think is unique to CSU?
A: There are smaller classes so you have the opportunity to liaise with the teachers better than if there were big classes. Also, the simulation labs give us a lot of experience.
In the simulation labs, our manikins are programmed with real-life symptoms. They can have normal or abnormal blood pressure and heart rates, or abnormal sounds in the lungs like crackles and wheezing. So if they have pneumonia we can pick that up.
It gives you the experience of being able to practice all your skills and then utilise that in your placement. And it’s a safe environment for you to make mistake with your teacher’s support.
Q: What do you love about nursing?
A: Nursing is such a unique career and not just in the way that lecturers tell you about in your first week of university – where the possibilities are endless and that there are so many different paths nursing can take you – but in the actual nature of the work and the way it shapes and changes you as a person. You become emotionally mature – you learn how to cope with challenging situations – and you really get to help people.
Q: Do you have any advice for future students?
A: I’d recommend going to university over a TAFE degree or private college because at university you graduate as a registered nurse (RN) rather than an enrolled nurse (EN).
An RN is able to think critically and assess patient care need while an EN is trained for practicality. For example, an RN can administer drugs, an EN can’t. There is a greater earning potential as an RN.
In saying that, if you are an EN you can do a pathway straight into second year nursing at CSU and graduate as an RN.
Our Footnotes: The RN completes 3 years or equivalent of tertiary study in a Bachelor of Nursing, and the EN completes a 2-year or equivalent diploma of nursing within the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector: two very different sectors which produce two different types of nurses.