Five weeks ago I went and applied at the local Nursing Home to be a Volunteer Carer. This is mainly to back up my application to go to Uni next year. As part of the application process I have to submit a written proposal stating among other things what I have done ie. community involvement, work experience in the nursing field.
If my score on the STAT test is high enough I will get in with no problems, but if my score is average these extra things will be the one's to push me over that line and get my application approved. So I have enrolled in all sorts of classes etc but according to the Uni Entrance Officer the voluntary work will be looked upon very favourably and count for big points. So I have submitted my application for Police Clearance, but in the mean time I can start at the NH with just a Stat Dec signed by one of their senior staff.
I have been up there three times to get the Stat Dec signed by this woman but every time she has been out of the office. But to tell you the truth I have not exactly chased this woman down as I am not exactly excited about the whole thing.
OK, so it was completely my idea, and I know I will probably love doing it but.... As a VC I will spend my time working for the Leisure and Lifestyle Department, which basically means as well as spending 1 day running the Op-Shop, I will be filling 3 days a week taking LOL's for walks and drinking lots of cups of tea. I will probably enjoy this immensely but there are so many other things I am feeling the pressure to do.
So I got a call from the NH Office last week which made me feel incredibly guilty. They are so excited to have me on the team and can't wait for me to start. I have met the ladies I will be working with and they seem really great. We spent a lot of my initial meeting with them laughing and I have no doubt that I will fit in well, but it is not ultimately where I want to end up. In fact Aged Care would probably be my last choice.
I was chatting online with my Aunt who lives on the other side of Oz last week and she asked what I was hoping to study. When I told her Nursing her response was 'Great! You will be able to take care of all us oldies in years to come'. BLOODY HELL! Glad she could not see the look on my face at that one! I love my family but the thought of combining them and aged care is the stuff nightmares are made of!
So tomorrow I will go and sign off on the last of the paper work and organise when I am starting. I will no doubt enjoy the whole experience and make some useful contacts, so it is time to get my act together and just do it!
Monster Brownies
7 months ago
Unless you plan to specialise in general mental health, paeds or do your middy versus general adults, 70% of the general adults population in our hospitals are the elderly. Stark facts that they taught us at uni when the lecturer asked, "who wants to go into aged-care". There was a minimal response and show of hands. LOL.
ReplyDeleteVolunteer work will be good standing for you for the uni entrance selection criteria as you say, and good background experience in aged care that can lead to paid part-time work as a nursing assistant/PCA during your studies.
Not to mention it looks great on your CV. In my 2nd year of nursing, I worked as a community aged carer up until I graduated and loved it. Going to a bunch of old biddies homes, and helping them with to shower/dress, do simple meal prep(coz they eat bugger all, and alot of them have meals on wheels), medication prompt, shopping and general tidy.