Okay, so the time has finally arrived. After the years of literal blood, sweat, and tears, the countless hours of study, the student debt, and the ups and downs of life as a nursing student, you\u2019re finally ready to hit the wards and begin your first shift as a newly qualified nurse in the UK.<\/p>\n
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Here in the UK, our NHS (National Health Service) is vastly understaffed, and the demand for nurses<\/a> has never been greater. Currently, it is estimated that there are more than 758,000 nurses on the NMC<\/a> (Nursing and Midwifery Council) register, and while the numbers are increasing, there is still a huge demand for nurses.<\/p>\n Before your first shift as a nurse, you\u2019ll no doubt be eager to start, yet you\u2019ll likely find yourself intimidated and nervous. The thing to remember is that as nervous as you are, you\u2019ve been preparing for this moment, and this career, for years. You\u2019ve got this!<\/p>\n To ensure you are indeed ready for life on the wards, here are several helpful tips for newbie nurses in the UK.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ask questions<\/strong><\/p>\n No matter how well prepared for the first shift you may be, you can\u2019t possibly know everything. In fact, once you get started, it will be painfully obvious just how little you really know about being a nurse, and that\u2019s okay\u2013 that\u2019s how we learn.<\/p>\n A good nurse is not afraid to ask questions; in fact, a good nurse should ask questions, as this is how they will learn and better themselves.<\/p>\n Remember, you\u2019re no longer studying at college or university; this is now real life; you have human beings\u2019 health, and even lives, in your hands. Patient safety is your main priority, so don\u2019t be afraid to ask questions, no matter what they may be.<\/p>\n Top Tip \u2013 Never guess with patient safety or care!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n If you don\u2019t know something about being a nurse, you don\u2019t know. Asking a question to somebody that does know is a great way of finding out what you need to know. It is always better to ask a \u201csilly\u201d question and get an answer than not to ask the question at all and end up making a mistake that could easily have been avoided. Mistakes in some jobs cost money. Mistakes in hospital wards can cost lives. Don\u2019t leave anything to chance. If you\u2019re unsure, just ask.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Invest in good footwear<\/strong><\/p>\n One thing you\u2019ll quickly discover about nursing is just how much of a difference good quality footwear can make and just how much pain your feet will be in if you\u2019re wearing poor quality footwear.<\/p>\n Nurses work long shifts, and the last thing you want while being on your feet for the best part of 12 hours is to find that your feet are causing you pain and discomfort.<\/p>\n Take a look online for shoes designed specifically for nurses. Look for durable, comfortable, and supportive shoes, and don\u2019t scrimp on the price. Seriously, your feet will thank you for it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stay organised<\/strong><\/p>\n If you want to make your transition over to being a full-time nurse run smoother than ever, then make sure you\u2019re organised.<\/p>\n What do we mean by this? Basically, make sure you have all of the things that you\u2019re going to need as a nurse without even realising that you need them. Things such as notepads, pens, pencils, paper, key cards, I.Ds, lanyards, and anything that you need on a daily basis while working as a nurse.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Learn how to prioritise<\/strong><\/p>\n As a nurse, you will have to learn how to prioritise very quickly.<\/p>\n Nurses need to learn how to prioritise tasks and, indeed, how to prioritise patients. For example, a patient that is a little bit thirsty but otherwise perfectly healthy should not be prioritised over a patient in an extreme amount of pain that requires pain relief.<\/p>\n Top Tip \u2013 Always treat the most serious case first!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Ask other nurses how they prioritise tasks, look for ways of delegating less important tasks, but make sure that all patient needs are met. For example, the patient requiring a drink of water may not be prioritised, but they still need and deserve a drink, so make sure they get what they need once you\u2019ve taken care of the more pressing jobs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Understand that things will get tough<\/strong><\/p>\n Working in the NHS<\/a> is considered stressful enough, but working as a nurse that\u2019s considered a particularly high-stress job.<\/p>\n Nursing is often challenging; the hours are long, your feet will hurt, you will encounter difficult patients, and you will have shifts where you question whether it\u2019s the right career path for you.<\/p>\n While we can\u2019t say for certain whether nursing is the perfect career for you, we can comfortably say that it is an enriching career path. As well as lows, there will be plenty of highs, especially when you see what a difference you are making to the lives of your patients and, indeed, to the lives of their loved ones too.<\/p>\n Yes, it\u2019s difficult, stressful, and demanding, but you will have to go a long way to find a career as dynamic and fulfilling as nursing can be! While some nurses may leave to venture other paths, most nurses will tell you they don\u2019t regret training, and they don\u2019t regret the patients that they met along the way. If there\u2019s one certainty in nursing,<\/a> it’s that you will make a difference in so many lives. Just remember safety first, and work in the best interest of the patient \u2013always!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Learn some useful tips to help you transition from student to nurse. New to the wards? Tips to support you as a newbie nurse!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":29498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-healthcare"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.promedical.co.uk\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.promedical.co.uk\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.promedical.co.uk\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.promedical.co.uk\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.promedical.co.uk\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.promedical.co.uk\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.promedical.co.uk\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/29498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.promedical.co.uk\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.promedical.co.uk\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.promedical.co.uk\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}