Are you taking your meal breaks? Photo by Asnim Asnim/Unsplash
Starting your career as a professional nurse or midwifery can be challenging and daunting. Got a question for the ANMF grad officers? We’re here to help.
I am working in a heavy gen med ward, and I am often not getting my meal breaks or finishing on time. What can I do? – Jessica
Hey Jessica – firstly, you are doing great. Your graduate year is all about learning and I’m glad to see you reaching out for help. Here’s some tips for managing difficult shifts:
- Escalate early – if you’re swamped and feeling overwhelmed, seek assistance from your ANUM/in-charge/educator, who can help with reprioritisation and delegation. If you’re worried about your patient load, it’s so important (and required of you) to escalate this at the beginning of the shift, so your colleagues know and there’s more opportunities for them to help in a timely way.
- Plan to ask for help – review your planner and look out for tasks you may need help with, such as a 2-nurse assist with patient transfer. Communicate as soon as you can with your ANUM/in-charge/educator and plan a time to complete tasks together so they can also organise their time and you get the support you need.
- Do big jobs early and prioritise urgent tasks – if you have a high priority task or a complex procedure to do, try and get them done as early as possible whilst you are fresh and still have time to troubleshoot.
- Prioritise your notes (and make sure that when required they’re done contemporaneously) – documentation is essential to protect your practice. It’s also a task you cannot handover to a colleague for obvious reasons. So, for example, you could attempt to complete at least two patient notes prior to your main break to reduce staying back after your shift to finish all patient notes. When it comes to medication administration and patient observations, you need to record these activities as they’re done. There are some tasks you can come back to, and some you can’t.
- Cluster tasks – when heading to the bedside, check first to see if you can complete any other tasks at the same time.
- Drink water and listen to your bladder – please go to the loo! Stay hydrated. Don’t put yourself last. Don’t put off a break, your health matters!
Are you having the same experience as Jessica and have tried these tips? We encourage you to email us so we discuss this in more depth about your personal circumstances.
