4th year Nursing & Midwifery experience as RUSON

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4th year Nursing & Midwifery experience as RUSON

The profession of Nursing provides unexpected experiences throughout our careers. At every step, I get a different surprise, a unique challenge, and a workforce that is continuously making a difference in the lives of those who need help.

4th year Nursing & Midwifery experience as RUSON

“Nurses are there when the last breath is taken, and nurses are there when the first breath is taken. Although it is most enjoyable to celebrate the birth, it is just as important to comfort in death”.

-Christine Bell

Nurses do live unexpected life. One minute, they are dealing with the happy emotions of the parents of newborn, and the next minute they console someone who is about to die. From doctors to patients and their loved ones, everyone looks towards nurses to help them and guide them during hospital visits.

This is a lot of responsibility that can only be catered to by the nurses. During my studies, I only read about the roles and responsibilities of nurses. However, I also got an unexpected opportunity to get hands-on experience in the field of Nursing. Although I got a little frustrated with the changing course of action, I got to learn about the role of RUSON.

Questions I get asked a lot about RUSON

Before I start sharing my experience as a RUSON, I would like to start by thanking all of you who asked me for information about RUSON. I got many different questions regarding this such as:

  • What is a RUSON and what do they do?
  • What are some of the challenges the nurses face as RUSON?
  • What are the positive things I learned as a RUSON?
  • What are some useful tips for those keen on getting a job as RUSON?

Background and Experience

I was supposed to graduate in 2021. Unfortunately, my graduation was delayed because I had to re-enroll in one of my placement units called mental health for 4 weeks duration. The remaining three units were pushed forward to be completed in 2022.  As I mentioned earlier, I was frustrated at the situation and the fact that my graduation is getting delayed. But, at the same time, I was also looking at the positive side of the situation.

Background and Experience

Everyone has been seriously affected by the pandemic. We all struggled with plenty of emotions and mental health problems. We tried to survive on our own and many of us also bore the loss of loved ones. Along with it, we also learned to be grateful for the time we have in this life.

I also continued with my studies and tried to learn as much as I can. Due to this, I wanted my graduation to complete soon. However, I got some extra time on hand to absorb and process the things I learned.

At the end of 2021, I realized that I’m going to have more time on my hand next year. Due to the three units for 2022, I thought of a fruitful way to spend my time in 2022. It is when I decided to apply for the role of RUSON

RUSON stands for Registered Undergraduate Student of Nursing. This role has a huge focus on the basic foundations of Nursing Care. According to the RUSON Pilot Program, it is a process or form of employment for undergraduate nursing students.

The goal of the RUSON is to increase the numbers of graduates working in regional/rural areas, build a more sustainable rural nursing workforce through better utilization of students and existing staff, improve patient/client outcomes, and improve access to quality of care for people in regional and rural areas. However, it is important to share their personal perspective in order to understand what are the responsibilities of RUSON?

Primarily, the job of the RUSON is to help the nurses in managing the workload. This could involve Toileting patients, washing, changing Patients, feeding patients, and performing Vital signs on the patients. Does it seem pretty straightforward?

Some of you might think that the job is just like the theoretical concepts. But, you encounter the first hand-reality of the nurse-patient relationship. Despite being a highly engaging and beautiful experience, certain hard realities should be kept in mind while opting to be RUSON.

First of all, the job as a RUSON is not an easy task. It is important to mention it here because people involved in this job with different expectations. Although there is plenty of support and guidance available, the staff expects you to be professional, responsible, and ever-ready. Secondly, the job has a busy nature.

RUSON works in healthcare facilities where patients come in great numbers. These patients range from mild health issues to severe accidents. However, there are different departments and you will be assigned to one of them to get a comprehensive understanding of that department.

With these hardships come the unlimited benefits of opting for RUSON. You will get to meet the experts in the field and have direct communication with nurses and doctors. This is something that is not available at an academic level.

These experts guide you through their words and actions toward a wholesome practical experience. You can ask questions, observe the doctor-patient and nurse-patient dealings directly and involve to greater lengths to assist your mentors. Every medical case has a unique perspective and the practical environment provides plenty of knowledge and understanding of the field.

RUSON: Roles and Responsibilities

This question is complicated to answer as every student has a unique experience. They got first-hand experience in the areas of emergency as well as general wards. Certain things are quite clear. For instance, the job of RUSON requires you to be quite proactive.

The duties include but are not limited to answering call bells, asking patients and family if they need food or water, asking your nurses how you can help during the shift, restocking trolleys/carts, and in COVID times, ensuring precaution signs and PPE stations are available and stocked.

Although I will share my own experience, if you really want to know about the experience of a certain department, please let me know in the comments and I will provide you with as much assistance as possible.

Speaking of assistance, I was fortunate enough to work in the vaccination hubs Rollout at Victoria at the start of March 2021. My role as RUSON in the vaccination hub changed over time and I gradually move from simple to complex tasks.

It was quite interesting on the part of my mentors as they guided me through the process quite uniformly. My first role was as a runner. As the name provides a hint, I was tasked with the duty to get the patients to line up and guide them to the room to get their vaccination. After doing this for some time, they assigned me a second role. In this role, I was involved in the Check-in and Check out procedures of the patients.

Those were quite simple tasks but gradually I moved on to the complex roles. During mid-2021, I started to do extra training where I was allowed to administer injections to my patients. These patients included people with the age range of 12+ years. In this role, I gain quite an interesting experience.

The syringe that once made most of us terrified was used by me to help others. In spite of the fact that this role was challenging, I was not done. I wanted to gain further experience with increasing complexity. I wanted a role in which I could combine both my hard and soft skills. Fortunately, I got this opportunity as well.

I ended up leaving the vaccination Hub and started working in the covid-19 positive pathway as RUSON. I was monitoring patients that had covid-19 in their homes. My responsibility was to call the patients once or twice a day depending on the severity of their symptoms and knowing their well-being.

I was also creating their records and their improved health made me feel great. In this role, I practiced my nursing duties as well as enhanced my communication skills. I enjoyed the whole process.

On the side of RUSON, I also applied for the job at RUSOM which stands for registered Undergraduate student of Midwifery. It is because I also wanted to gain more experience and skills related to midwifery. As I recently started working at RUSOM, I can also provide a first-hand experience story for you. If you are interested in RUSOM, comment below and I will come up with a blog post on the topic.

The specific challenges for RUSON

Working with nurses every week has made me realize how busy and hectic nursing is. There is ALWAYS something to do or someone who can assist. The constant influx of patients, and the fact that each patient seems to be more acute than the last, means that nurses are frequently juggling multiple tasks at once.

It’s demonstrated to me how important time management is as a skill for a nurse. Working during a pandemic and witnessing the toll that full PPE can take was also eye-opening. Sometimes nurses are with a patient for over an hour while wearing full PPE and under bright hospital lights; it’s exhausting just to watch! This job has made me more aware of the need. While in the hospital, patients rely on nurses for everything.

Nurses are what keep a hospital running, whether it’s as simple as getting a glass of water or as complex as a 7-page medication chart.

Hence, it is not an easy job and it requires continuous empathy toward the patients. During COVID-19, the challenge of burnout staff was also acute. I appreciate the courage and effort of the nurses and the other healthcare staff that made it possible for patients to face the challenges in an effective manner.

Positives of being a RUSON

Every shift, I work with experts in the field that I am studying. My knowledge has grown at an exponential rate. I could ask any questions I want, whether they are about practice or medications. Furthermore, I could also observe nurses and doctors in real-time and pick up on some tips and tricks that come with experience.

I’ve discovered the value of collaboration. Nursing places a strong emphasis on teamwork, and no one is too busy to assist someone else. I’ve learned that a cup of tea or a quick check-in can make someone feel important. I’ve learned so much in the 12 months as to what RUSON is and how beneficial this post is for us and others.

JOB as a RUSON: TIPS

First of all, you should be passionate about the field you are entering into! It would help you a lot in academics as well. It was the best decision for me to get a career-relevant job before my graduation as it had added strength to my resume as a nurse.

JOB as a RUSON TIPS

During my job as RUSON for 5 months, I constantly got a chance to observe procedures or ask questions to nurses and think critically about the patients I’m helping. This has greatly increased my knowledge. To get a wholesome experience while working as a RUSON in a hospital, you need to be proactive! Don’t wait for a nurse to find you and ask the nurses how you can Help out.

For me, It’s been the best thing I’ve done and has made me so eager to start and finish this year so I can be a nurse!

Now, it’s your turn!

BONUS

It will be wrong to mention the most memorable thing during my experience as a RUSON that kept me motivated in the hectic environment, FRIENDSHIP. Yes, as I was starved of social bonding like others during COVID-19, the job at RUSON has helped me build new friendships.

I met a lot of great people. We laughed and cried together. We shared our experiences. We motivated each other in difficult times and during difficult tasks. Most importantly, we learned from each other. We all had a unique perspective based on our personalized experiences. Combining all these experiences has helped me use treading smoothly through the job. This experience has kept me motivated and helped me to apply for a job as RUSOM!

That was my experience. I tried to provide a complete picture of the experience and scenarios I encountered during the job. If you want to know more and have specific queries, please let me know in the comments!

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