Nursing Reality Shock

Kenyan trip life-changing for Campbellford nursing student

CAMPBELLFORD - Kayla Petts knew before she went to Kenya that helping children affected by HIV/AIDS would touch her, but she wasn't prepared for how much of an impact it would ultimately have.

"It was one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced in my life. It was completely life-changing," Ms. Petts said last week while visiting her mother in Campbellford a day after her return from Africa. "I knew the statistics but it's nothing compared to seeing how these people live, seeing how they deal with (HIV and AIDS)."

Ms. Petts, a second-year nursing student at the University of Ontario in Oshawa, was one of 13 university students from across the country chosen to take part in the trip, organized by the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR). They went there to work on a pair of development projects to help the people of Nanyuki, north of Nairobi, and to use what they learned from their trip to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS back home.

CANFAR is the only national charitable organization dedicated to eliminating the global scourge through research and educational campaigns. It's funded such breakthroughs as the development of an antiretroviral cocktail that keeps millions alive today and a reduction in the rate of transmission between an HIV-positive mother and her baby from 50 per cent to less than 10.

Ms. Petts, 21, said the group built a washroom, painted classrooms, taught children and visited orphanages in their travels throughout the area. One group of children they spoke to knew nothing about how AIDS is transmitted.

"They thought you could get it from kissing, and from holding hands," Ms. Petts said.

A daycare centre they attended looked after more than 130 children and all of them were HIV-positive, she said. Living conditions were deplorable, especially in the slums -- essentially "clusters of huts" that were incredibly small and lacked basic services, she said.

Ms. Petts encountered one girl, about four, who was looking after her baby sister and a younger brother who had an infection that had caused part of his face to rot away. â?¨ "It was just horrendous," she said. The children had lost their parents and were living by themselves, with some help from the community."

Ms. Petts had to hide her emotions by wearing sunglasses. "You cannot cry in front of these kids because immediately they feel guilty, (that) it's their fault ... they're so polite."

And yet, incredibly, "everyone we met was just so happy," Ms. Petts said. "I don't think they realize how bad their life is, compared to what we have.

Reality Shock For Graduate Nurses | My Nursing Education

By Nancy Lydia Kimmel R.N., Ph.D., C.H.M.M.

So now you are close to graduating from nursing school or you have graduated recently. Whichever the case, you will be in for a reality shock when you begin your career as a Registered Nurse. What do we mean by the term, “reality shock”? Well, like the term says, it is the reality that shocks us. The question you may ask is, “so there is a difference in the reality of being a student or graduate nurse”? The answer is an emphatic, YES! First of all, as a student nurse you were given assignments that were not beyond the scope of your practice or ability. In addition to that, you were working under your instructor’s license and whether or not you were aware, they kept a very close watch on you. Therefore, there was a safety net that always hovered beneath you in case you were to fall.

This is not the case as you take on the title, Registered Nurse. There is no safety net. You are out there by yourself, free to make decisions and make mistakes. With those decisions and mistakes you are also, FULLY ACCOUNTABLE. Now imagine yourself with eight or more patients. You may be asking yourself, “What do you mean eight or MORE patients?” Most student nurses never have more than six or seven patients and that is only at the very end of the program. Even then, the student nurses can delegate tasks to assistive personnel thereby lessening their work load. However, there will be time that you will be on a floor, without any assistive personnel, with more than eight patients and no one to rely on except yourself. To compound this scenario, there may be patients that have very critical care pathways that you must follow, incoming calls from patient’s families, doctor’s, operating room staff, and other collaborative care departments requesting information. Now, let’s stop this scenario in its tracks. You probably feel the stress building by just reading the previous passage. If so, don’t worry, it is a perfectly normal reaction. So, relax, and know that there are ways to ease this inevitable right of passage. Let’s take a look at some of the ways to help ease and deal with reality shock.

1. First of all, it is important to understand that, “reality shock” does indeed exist and you will come face to face with it. Knowing what you will face is most of the battle. The task at hand then becomes, knowing what steps to take and resources to use, and how to use them.

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