I have been a Registered Nurse for two years and what I have found is that no two days are the same. I love that with my job I am able to help people and make a difference in their lives. Here is a day in my life as a Registered Nurse in an Aged Care Facility.

Day in the life of an Aged Care Registered Nurse

5:45 am – My alarm goes off and it seems to be getting earlier every day, but it is time to get up and get ready for the day ahead.

7:30 am – Hand Over – After arriving at the Aged Care Facility it is time for handover with the night shift staff, this is the time where I get an update on all residents and how they went yesterday afternoon and overnight. I learnt that John only ate half his dinner for the 3^rd night in a row so I will need to ensure that the nutritionist has a chat with him and that Mary was still wide awake at 3 am. After hand over, I meet with the other care staff which consists of Enrolled Nurses and Personal Care Assistants and I give out their assignments for the day. Once this is all done I log into the computer and read through any notes made by doctors and any other health care professionals.

8:00 am – Morning Rounds – It is time to go and see every resident and ensure that they are happy and well looked after and of course give them their morning medication. While I am on my rounds I keep an eye out on the other care staff to make sure everything is running smoothly and that Bob isn’t giving the Personal Care Assistants a hard time about having a shower again. Once my rounds are completed I go back to the office and ensure that all my charting is done correctly.

12:00 pm – Lunch – Before I know it, it is 12 pm and time for the residents to have their lunch, I am thankful that the Care Staff are fantastic and they have most residents in the dining room ready for lunch before I even realise it is that time. During lunch, I like to take the time to go and speak to the residents about their days and see if there is anything they need.

2:00 pm – Afternoon Rounds – It is medication time again! Once I get my medication trolley I am off on rounds again ensuring that every resident gets the medication they need. I find that afternoon rounds are a good time to have a one on one chat with the residents and to address any concerns they have, today I have learnt that Ron has been taking Alice’s chocolates again and off I go to talk to Ron.

3:00pm – Hand Over – My day is nearly over and it is time for me to pass on all relevant resident information to the afternoon nurses, I inform my colleague that I have spoken to the nutritionist about Bob and she will be coming to see him this afternoon and also that I had a chat with Ron about taking Alice’s chocolates.

3:30 pm – It is time to go home, all in all, it was a quiet day today at the Aged Care Facility which is exactly the way we like it.

Next time you pass a health care professional who looks stressed or tired I hope that you remember this and see how hard they work.