Hi Kiri, Thanks for agreeing to chat with me! Can I start out by asking which state you are from, what year you graduated and whether you are RN or EN?
Hi Meg, no worries at all! I'm from NSW, I graduated in 2017, I'm an RN.
Awesome! So when you graduated did you apply for any grad programs?
Yes I did. I applied for NSW health, Ramsay health and healthcare (Woy Woy, north Gosford private).
And were you offered a position at all?
I actually got one with NSW health but it was up in Kempsey and I resided in Morisset so it was a good 4 hour drive and I would of had to move. So I end up declining and started applying for RN1 positions. I worked as an AIN at a private hospital and was lucky enough that they put me on as an RN until I found the full time position I've now been at for 3 years.
When you started as an RN with the private hospital did you feel well supported?
Not at all. We didn't even have an educator on site. I was left in charge of the hospital numerous time after only 6 weeks.
Oh wow that is crazy! Although I'm guessing you learnt some great skills to set you up for your career... How did you end up getting your full time role?
Yes definitely learnt a lot and quickly haha. I pretty much applied for every RN role I could find and end up getting a few interviews for different wards but got given a chance to start on the ward I'm on now.
And what area are you in now?
I work in an acute medical ward specialising in respiratory, endocrinology and gastroenterology.
Ooh sounds very interesting! Are you enjoying it?
Yes definitely. It's a great ward to learn new skills. It's busy and high acuity so it's a great ward to gain clinical skills. And there's lots of support from senior staff which is great.
Do you feel now that you were disadvantaged by not doing a grad program?
Honestly, the only disadvantage would be that I didn't get to do a rotation in another ward to gain experience elsewhere but other than that I don't feel disadvantaged.
That's great. Is there anything else you would like to share with students or grads worried about what they will do after graduation?
I think throughout uni they put so much pressure on students and make them believe that if you don't get a grad position it's impossible to get a job. It's definitely doable. And when going for any type of interview whether it's for a grad position or not, don't stress or worry if you can't answer a question. Always be honest and explain to them that you're unsure but would take appropriate steps on how you'd gain that knowledge. I think it shows safe practice and that you're willing to ask for help. This actually happened in my job interview for the job I'm at now!
Thank you so much for sharing 
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