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General Description

This is an ideal career for analytical and logical thinkers. As a nurse, you assess and care for patients, providing a medical plan for preventative, rehabilitative or curative purposes.

Career Advice - Nurse Career

You may work in a range of environments,  including hospitals, nursing homes, specialist units, community facilities and patients’ homes. Nurses administer medications, redress wounds, and help prepare patients for surgery. You focus on the needs of your patients, rather than their illnesses or conditions, and you are the main point of contact for patients as part of a multidisciplinary health care team.

The work of a nurse often involves dealing with medical emergencies, and so you must be able to think quickly and rationally. Some tough parts of the job are losing a patient you have cared for, encountering disturbing conditions, accident injuries and attending small children in difficulty.

What you do every day?

Your daily tasks as a nurse are wide and varied. Nurses work on a rotating roster, working both nights and days, generally in eight hour shifts. During these shifts you have to maintain patient care, monitor medication dosages, treat wounds, perform routine observations (patient pulse, blood pressure, and temperature), adjust medical equipment where necessary, and prepare patients for operations.

You must continually update the records of patients’ conditions, and brief specialists when they arrive on the ward. Other common tasks include setting up drips and blood transfusions, offering support during tests and evaluations, organising staff and workloads, monitoring and ordering medical supplies and equipment, and constantly being prepared for an emergency. 

At times you may be called upon to assist with the rehabilitation and discharge of patients. Nurses also provide information to patients and families when needed. You will have to make ethical decisions regarding confidentiality and consent. If you are qualified and have enough experience you may have to supervise other nurses and staff throughout the day.

Nurses are truly “superheroes disguised in a uniform”!

Personality that best fits this occupation

As a nurse, you will need to have an interest in people and natural ability in health care. Your job will require you to have patience, tact, a high tolerance, and a gentle, caring nature. You will have to be able to cope in emergency situations, acting with initiative and speed. If you are a non-conformist, then the strict care and safety procedures are not likely to appeal.

It is important for you to have strong communication skills, as patients often need someone to talk to. They will need your support to take their mind off their problems, to make them feel calm and less alone. The ability to trust your own judgements is important, as is the ability to work both independently and as part of a larger, multidisciplinary team.

Best thing about this career

Nursing is an inspiring and satisfying job, when you are able to help patients prevent or recover from a medical condition or situation. Their improvement into a state of wellbeing is very rewarding, and often they view you as an important part of their recovery. As a nurse, you get to meet many different people from many different backgrounds and cultures.

Employment opportunities are endless, as you are able to work at a hospital, nursing home, or other health care facility either locally or internationally. You can also work for an agency, working at different hospitals, and choosing the hours you may wish to work.

Worst thing about this career

Nurses usually work on rotating rosters which include morning, afternoon, night, weekend and public holiday shifts. The rosters are usually on a seven day rotating roster and are in eight hour blocks. Working shifts means that your social life at times will have to come second to the demands of your job.

During the course of your career, depending on your area of nursing, you may lose a patient. This loss can be an emotional strain, as can patients who have severe health concerns or are unmanageable. You may see some discomforting or disturbing things during your career, which can be difficult for some nurses to deal with.