First off, I’d like to thank you for agreeing to have your real-life story featured on Nursingpreneur. I’m building a high-quality resource platform for all budding nursing and midwifery students. Therefore, your experiences, thoughts, preferences, and suggestions are immensely valuable for Nursingpreneur’s growth.
To that end, I must say that it’s great to have you here.
Now, I’d like you to answer the following questions so that we can shed light on your story and experiences in an engaging way.
Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hi there, first of all, I would like to say thank you to Fatima for reaching out to me for this opportunity and I am so so so proud of the greatness you’re achieving and the motivations you give us daily! May Allah reward you immensely and CONTINUE blessing you for all your hard work!
My name’s Najmah Adan, a 24-year-old nurse living in Australia and also the person behind the new cosmetics brand Hushh Cosmetics AU. Like most nurses, I love my job for the continuous reward and humbling experiences it throws at us. But this year 2020; I did a big switch up with my registrations. I’ll explain it further along. Keep reading!
How did you get into your current field? And do you enjoy doing it? (E.g. of Fields such as nursing, and midwifery)
I started working as a nurse at the age of 19 as a Division 2 Nurse and went straight into psychiatry (the scariest thing ever at that age). Gradually I made my way up to nursing in Melbourne. Presently, I have been working for almost a year as a general/med nurse.
The way I got into my current field was for the simple fact that psychiatry was beginning to take a toll on me not just physically but also mentally principally because I worked in the secured units in Melbourne. Due to privacy and confidentiality, I cannot really write much about the experiences.
General medicine allows me to do what I love (nursing) and to also experience many other clinical things without having a significant toll on me in the long run (other than sore feet and some sleepless nights thanks to the rostering team).
Can you tell us about your favorite nursing or midwifery moment? (keeping things confidential for clients involved)
My most favorite moment as a nurse was when I had to do my first ever resuscitation on a patient that had quickly deteriorated, (quietly too if I may add—I and the other nurse had thought he was having a nap) whilst doing bedside handover. I believe that was the first time I can actually say I FELT adrenaline rushing through my body.
Why is this my favorite moment? I always doubted if nursing was the right career for me, and that moment—that relief I had when that patient revived—you could say was the sign I needed that it was the right career. Cliché but that is my forever favorite moment.
How did you maintain consistency in your doings?
The way I maintain consistency in anything I do is by having a planner and to-do list to tick off. Making sure whatever it is that I am doing is realistic to tick off at a certain period. If I see myself losing consistency, I simply take a break. I’m probably overwhelmed or reaching burnout. And if you work full time or in my case over time and have a side business, burnouts happen very regularly, and it’s best to learn the signs in order to take the break when you need.
I live by a quote by Bansky, “If you get tired, learn to rest and not to quit.” And I have been consistent ever since I figured out this small trick.
What is the most striking moment of personal “failure” you’ve experienced in nursing or midwifery?
I was an inexperienced shy nurse at that time and had only 6 months training in my post-graduate and was really afraid in speaking up and correcting Doctors. What does a 20-year-old EEN know that a doctor with many years of studying doesn’t know? That was how my brain worked at the beginning as a young nurse, which is not the case now thankfully.
I noticed something about a patient and was afraid to speak up at that moment, and they got discharged. I didn’t sleep for days and knew I failed that patient, as we nurses are the advocates for them. However, thank the good lord, the patient returned to the hospital and got the right treatment. Ever since I’ve become the nagging nurse and that’s for a good cause.
How did you cope up with your failure?
I cope with failure by simply comprehending that we humans make mistakes, and I would like to say I personally see my failures in my learning curves or life lessons. I still subconsciously see that failure comes with punishment (consequences). So it’s up to me to choose whether those consequences I learn from or ignore as some failures can be hard to overcome. Basically, to conclude this, I’m still learning to cope with failures, big or small.
Caffeine or not caffeine for shift work?
In a perfect world, it’s no caffeine. However, the world is flawed and so is caffeine (lol). I don’t drink coffee, maybe once every blue moon which is rare. My sources of caffeine are energy drinks or coca-cola, which I drink probably towards the 3rd or 4th shift of the week when I start to feel fatigued and brain dead.
Where do you see yourself in 3-5 years? (Any reference to short- and long-term objectives)
Now, the big change in 2020 was going back to Division 2 in May this year. Alhamdulilah for AHPRA where if I change my mind, I can always change back to division 1. This significant change was for my 3-year goal in fully becoming self-employed, where Insha’Allah my side business becomes my primary income source.
I love nursing and plan to make nursing a casual pick-up job in order to keep my clinical skills up to date and valid. And right now, division 1 isn’t my ideal registration to work with. Seeing as I have been a division 2 for 3 years and the SCOPE of practices I work within, I really love it! Plus, there’s not much difference, so I encourage anyone that completes Division 2 to study onwards and complete your Division 1, you can do it!
How do you set priorities in your work?
On the ward, a time plan really helps even though sometimes it doesn’t go according to the plan. It structures out how you wish to prioritize your schedule throughout your shift, which makes a huge difference and helps a lot. With my other works, I try to implement the same ethics and just jot down the essential tasks and events monthly and work around them making sure they are prioritized and completed before moving on to future tasks.
If you had one piece of advice to give an aspiring nursing and midwifery student, what would it be?
One piece of advice I would give to aspiring nurses and midwives is to learn time management and practice it as much as you can throughout your studies. Not just on placements but also with assignments, examinations, and general studies. This is to teach yourself to achieve great performances and receive great results accordingly. Not just a great skill to have as a future nurse or midwife, but this skill comes handy with any endeavours you wish to take in the future! Best of luck and you’ve got this!
Where can people reach out to you? (social media and email)
Email: naj.adan@outlook.com
Instagram: @_whoisnaj
Website: www.hushhcosmetics.com
