by Aussie Nurse Educator | Sunday, October 10, 2021
Seafood Pasta Recipe
Hey Friends,
I was on cooking duties one night a few weeks ago and I remember making this one awesome seafood pasta dish and thinking…yummo! I am going to share this with the gang! Here it is.
First of all, I started with how all my recipes start. A simple google search. This gem showed up (CLICK HERE) and with this recipe as inspiration I created my beauty!
Recipe Modifications
Due to not having all of the ingredients, I improvised and modified the recipe:
- Added more garlic, chilli and herbs (mixed herbs and thyme), brussel sprouts and beans in the main dish.
- In the sauce I included honey instead of sugar and veggie stock (homemade) instead of chicken stock
- I used pasta as I love it more than rice!
The Recipe
Garlic (& Chilli) Seafood Pasta
Optional: Garlic Bread
Equipment
- [ ] Wok (or frypan)
- [ ] Spatula
- [ ] Bowls
- [ ] Measuring Items
- [ ] Pot to cook pasta
Ingredients
- 600g seafood marinara mix
- 1 cm of ginger peeled cut into matchsticks
- 4 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 large carrot peeled cut into matchsticks
- 1 broccoli broken into florets
- 1 celery stalk thinly sliced
- A handful of Beans
- 3 Brussel Sprouts chopped finely (optional)
- 3 spring onions chopped finely
- 3 tbs vegetable oil (I used grapeseed oil)
Sauce
- 1/2 cup vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbs oyster sauce
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tbs soy sauce
- 1 tbs cornflour
Pasta
Choice of Pasta
Seafood
500 g marinara seafood mix (or your choice of seafood, fresh prawns would work well!)
Method
- Mix sauce ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
- Boil the water in a pot and cook pasta for time specified on the packet.
- Heat wok, then add oil and heat until oil is shimmering.
- Add 1 crushed garlic clove to the oil and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the seafood marinara mix (or your seafood choice) and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, or until the seafood is almost cooked. Remove from wok and place in a bowl.
- Add a dash of oil if required to the wok and return to heat.
- Add the remaining garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 secs to 1 minute.
- Add all vegetables, except spring onions, to the wok and stir-fry for approximately 2-5 minutes until slightly softened.
- Add chilli and herbs.
- Add seafood mix back into the wok with the spring onions.
- Stir sauce ingredients agin to redistribute the cornflour and add to the wok.
- Stir-fry briefly to thicken the sauce and cook seafood through.
- Serve pasta (or steamed rice!)
by Aussie Nurse Educator | Sunday, September 26, 2021
Hey Friends, my name is Rory! Nice to meet you! Thanks again for stopping by and reading my blog.
I have been going on instagram now for almost 8 months and throughout that time, I have kept my face hidden, except for the logo. I have been wanting to show my face, get to know and interact with you all so today, I am going to share a bit about me.
The Aussie Nurse Educator
As you know, I am a Registered Nurse and the Aussie Nurse Educator on Instagram. A couple months after starting on instagram, I started this website. Welcome, please look around after reading this blog. The journey from the beginning to starting the website was a steep and fast road that I have immensely enjoyed. What has kept me constantly busy and working hard is creating the educational content for you all!
About me
Ok, so what about before I started the Aussie Nurse Educator? I was born in Lake Macquarie, just south of Newcastle. Since a young age, I was quite fond of sports and anything to do with water! From about 8 years old, I was training every day as a swimmer, amongst other things. By the time I was 13 years old, I was training multiple times a day as well as competing in still water swimming, ocean iron man and long distance open water swimming at a local, state and national level. For the next 5 years, I competed around Australia enjoying the athlete lifestyle, beautiful coastlines and being super fit! A few injuries later and with a passion for life and other goals, at the age of 18, I gave my competitive days (at that level) away.
Growing up
During year 11 and 12 at school, I had a beautiful girlfriend (who is now my wife!) and I worked at the local supermarket, as a surf instructor and as a swimming coach. Near the end of year 12, I had applied for university and also applied for a beach lifeguard position. As a requirement of my volunteer commitments from sport, I had been trained in CPR, first aid and various aquatic rescue techniques. When I found out I was successful in becoming a professional lifeguard, I completed more advanced pre-hospital care training, including advanced resuscitation, spinal management and aquatic rescue management. I worked on the beaches as a Lifeguard for 5 years and throughout this time I completed my University studies including my Bachelor of Nursing at the University of Newcastle, as well as completing my Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and Diploma in Vocation Education and Training.
Starting my first business…
During my aquatic rescue days, I fell in love with education and training. I completed the training (mentioned above) to be able to teach, assess, facilitate and mentor junior surf life savers and aspiring lifeguards. I did this for a number of years in a volunteer capacity at my local surf life saving club. After a few years I decided to start a business doing just that!
I started Hunter First Aid in early 2016. We started by providing mobile and classroom CPR and First Aid training, as well as aquatic rescue and lifeguard training. After a short while, we transitioned into providing mobile based training and now, after almost 6 years, I have tackled a rebrand of the business, Life Saving Education!. The new website is on its way! Our primary area of business now is providing mobile training for businesses. We provide courses for hospitals, health services, heavy industry, the department of education and more. If you are keen to follow or you do not work in a hospital and would like help maintaining your CPR/BLS then follow @lifesavingeducation on instagram and checkout the website here.
University studies
Nursing
I started my Bachelor of Nursing straight out of school and completed the degree full time, whilst living at home and working as a Beach Lifeguard and Swim Coach. I found the first year of the degree quite slow, until we began the in depth clinical skills! We only went to uni one day per week and the rest was learning from home. I really enjoyed the labs and placements. I graduated in 2014 and immediately started studying para-medicine.
Paramedics
I undertook my training in para-medicine to further my pre-hospital training and experience I had gained whilst lifeguarding. The study was via distance education with block schools. The study complemented my experience lifeguarding and working in the Emergency Department. Due to starting my business and the opportunities presented to me within nursing, I completed half of the training before moving onto anaesthetic training.
Specialisation
Following my new graduate year I fell in love with anaesthesia and began working in the area full time. I signed up and became a member of ACPAN who were coving University fees with the University of Tasmania entirely at this stage. I applied for and completed my speciality training in Peri Anaesthesia Nursing care which includes anaesthesia and recovery (PACU) nursing.
The New Graduate Year
I had the best new graduate year of all time! First of all, I was offered three out of the many new graduate positions I applied for. Two of these offers were in private, theatre specific programs and the other was with the public hospital system on a multi ward rotation. At the time, I thought this was one of the hardest decisions! I ended up choosing my local private hospital which offered me either a scrub/scout or anaesthetics/recovery program and I chose anaesthetics/recovery also known as peri-anaesthesia.
The private hospital I completed my program at had a newly built emergency department and a an ICU supporting its complex peri-operative services, including cardio-thoracic surgery. It was exactly the program that interested me and fit well with my previous experience. I had a great year, working the first 6 months in PACU and then moving into anaesthetics, before being offered a permanent position. This is where I progressed in my career and moved into cardiac surgery and trauma from the ED (and included on-call overnight and weekends). I had the time of my life working between the great departments and working with some awesome Doctors and Nurses as well as Wardsmen, Radiographers and more.
The time in between
Getting married
At the end of 2020 there was a short window of opportunity between COVID lockdowns where my then fiance and I could get away. My Fiancé and I travelled to the Blue Mountains, eloped and got married in a tree house! It was the most amazing and memorable experience of my life!
ADHD
I have always suffered from symptoms of ADHD, even as a child right up until now. I have always been open with my struggles and issues related to this and other than speaking with my GP, I had done nothing about it other than self help through education, awareness and mindfulness. Recently I started journalling and doing meditation to help with all areas of wellbeing and self care. I decided it was time to do something about it. I got my referral, was lucky enough to get a cancellation appointment and now, I have a formal diagnosis of ADHD and am beginning to gain even more understanding and control over my life. I am really passionate about advocating for mental health and being open about it, it is a part of life and more awareness and open discussion can help others.
What I do for fun
Swim – I love it!
Surf – absolutely love it!
Fly, well, I want to!
Family Time – spending time with my beautiful wife and English Staff, Sassy.
Interest in tech and web development – I have loved tech from a young age. I use and love my apple products including MacBook, iPad, Airpods and iPhone. My wife calls me an “Apple fan boy”.
What I do now
Anaesthetic CNS & Educator
I work in day surgery at a private hospital in Newcastle. I am the Anaesthetic Clinical Nurse Specialist and Educator and have worked there for about 4 years. I absolutely love working in anaesthetics and leading education, mentoring and assisting others to strive and achieve their goals, both professionally and personally.
Life Saving Education
As I mentioned above, we rebranded Hunter First Aid to Life Saving Education only this month. We are still working on the website! Life Saving Education provides mobile based CPR, First Aid, Aquatic Rescue, Fire and other training to businesses and workplaces. We are entering our 6th year of operating and are excited for our rebrand and fresh look! You can check us out and follow our journey – @lifesavingeducation on instagram and checkout the website here.
Get to know more and see my website – About me
If you haven’t already, head over to the about page and read more about the Aussie Nurse Educator.
Thank you for stopping by!
by Aussie Nurse Educator | Sunday, August 29, 2021
Hey Friends, welcome back to today’s blog where I talk about a ‘Time Out’. A couple of weeks ago in my instagram stories I asked if the Aussie Nurse Educator (ANE) community knew what a ‘time out’ was. Of the group who responded, almost 50% indicated they did not know what this was. I also had a number of DM’s requesting more information about the topic. Here it is…
In this post I am going to look at what a ‘time out’ is, where it came from and why we do it. Within the post, you will find the answers to the frequently asked questions among nurses in regards to time out. Let’s start with a tiny bit of history.
Over 20 years ago, wrong sided and wrong patient surgery was identified and the World Health Organisation (WHO) developed the Surgical Safety Checklist. These checklists were developed to facilitate patient care through operating theatres by providing a process for identification, equipment set up, imaging requirements and clinical care. These checklists were adopted globally and includes ‘time out’ as one of the checklists components. The ‘time out’ is an essential and necessary component of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist (SCC)(1).
If you would like to see the WHO’s Surgical Checklist example: CLICK HERE
The WHO guidelines for safe surgery (2009) defines a ‘time out’ or ‘surgical pause’ as a “brief, less than one minute stop in the operating room immediately prior to skin excision”. At this time, all team members of the operating team verbally confirm the identity of the patient, the operative site and the procedure to be performed. It is a means to ensure clear communication among the team and avoiding wrong site and wrong patient errors (1).
Time out is performed immediately before incision, involving all members of the operating team. Elements of time out include the confirmation of name and role of team members, patient’s identity, surgical site and procedure, the review of anticipated critical events, confirmation that prophylactic antibiotics have been administered ≤60 min before incision is made or that antibiotics are not indicated, and confirmation that all essential imaging results for the correct patient are displayed in the operating room. Checks must be documented (1).
To further support the WHO Guidelines and implementation of surgical checklists and time out procedures here in Australia the Safety and Quality Commission implemented the ‘Ensuring Correct Patient, Correct Site, Correct Procedure’ protocol in conjunction with the college of surgeons (2). Check out the 5 step info graphic HERE on page 3 (or 5).
Frequently Asked Questions
When should a ‘time out’ it occur?
The WHO says the time out or surgical pause should occur immediately prior to the skin incision. However, the safety and quality commission say it is best performed prior to the commencement of anaesthesia with all team members including the patient involved. If the opportunity to perform the time out, prior to the anaesthetic, is missed, then it is recommended to perform the time out prior to the incision.
Who should initiate a ‘time out’?
Ideally the person performing the surgery. In this case, that being the surgeon. If they do not initiate, it is often commenced by a nursing team member.
Who marks the surgical site?
Again ideally the person performing the procedure. This talk may be delegated to other team members as required.
What mark should be at the surgical site?
An arrow pointing to the surgical area is the most common practice.
Issues & Recommendations
Key components of successful checklist implementation includes enlisting support from institutional leaders, training staff on using the checklist, adapting the checklist to incorporate staff feedback, avoiding the duplication of information, and a positive change in attitudes/culture that enforces teamwork (2).
The sustained use of surgical checklists is more successful if medical practitioners are actively engaged and leading implementation; as well as being involved in tailoring the checklist to their context and encouraging them to reflect on and evaluate the implementation process enables greater participation and ownership (2).
A team ‘time out’ or final check is a core part of the protocol and should be mandatory. Where an organisational decision is taken to remove part of the protocol, this must be clearly documented to all staff and an additional process of risk assessment and risk management should be added. This is to reduce the patient risk of procedural mismatching and must be undertaken and documented (2).
The person responsible for undertaking the procedure is also responsible for ensuring that the time out has occurred. Local procedures should specify who may initiate the time out process, but the responsibility remains with the lead clinician. For surgery, the surgeon, anaesthetist and anaesthetic and/or scrub nurse must confer and agree on the correct patient, side and procedure as part of the time out. If this check does not occur, none of these clinicians are authorised to proceed with the procedure (1).
Patient involvement in the time out reduces the risk of wrong site surgery. However this is not always possible or appropriate. If an organisational decision is made to conduct the time out after anaesthesia, an additional process of risk assessment and risk management to reduce patient risk of procedural mismatching must be undertaken and documented (1).
My piece
As a passionate Anaesthetic Clinical Nurse Specialist, medical consent validity, patient identification and the commencement of the Surgical Safety Checklists are all a part of my role in maintaining the safety of the patients I look after. ‘Time out’ and communication between the operating theatre team members is a vital aspect to delivering the safest possible care for our patients during their peri-operative period. I do find it annoying that as Nurses we seem to be always enforcing the time out procedure rather than the medical team who are responsible for providing the treatment. The more surgeons who are on board, lead and initiate time out procedures and help the nursing staff the better!
I am an advocator for time out procedures to keep our patients safe!
Here is an example of a surgical timeout. Although based in America, the foundations are the same –
Thanks for reading!
References
- Yap, G. & Melder A. 2017. Time Out – Informing best practice in using surgical checklists. A Rapid Review. Centre for Clinical Effectiveness, Monash Health, Melbourne, Australia.
- Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. 2008. Ensuring correct patient, correct site, correct procedure protocol for surgery: Review of implementation and proposals for action. Available from: https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/sites/default/files/migrated/19793-ReviewCPCSCP.pdf
- Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Time Out General Surgery [Video]. 2012. Available from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHWQPVY54pA[Accessed 29 August 2021].
by Aussie Nurse Educator | Sunday, August 22, 2021
Hey Friends, welcome back to today’s blog post where I talk about time management.
Time management is a core skill of any nurse at any level, from students, to assistants to experienced registered nurses. Nurses work shift work, on different wards and deal with different loads of stress. Juggling the workload and managing the stress is required by any nurse during their shift.
To master the stressful and busy environments, a nurse needs to promptly organise information, prioritise and learn to roll with the inevitable interruptions, to ensure care continues safely and appropriately.
Facilitating and providing safe and appropriate care can be made easier with the below time management tips. In this blog post I first discuss the main areas to focus on to improve your time management. Secondly, I outline my top 10 tips to supercharge your time management.
Time management in nursing looks at how we can safely and efficiently provide care through the prioritisation of tasks. These tasks are impacted by our time, our colleagues, other healthcare teams, the amount of patients we are attempting to provide care for and so on. I have broken down the areas that have worked for me and other students I have mentored. Let’s have a look…
Tasks and Priorities
At handover, vital information will be relayed about specific patients such as urgent lab work, strict timing of medications or increased frequency to vital sign monitoring, all of which will require you to prioritise their execution.
On the commencement of a new shift, following handover you will have a set of tasks to be completed. These tasks will vary between different patients and require completion by certain times. Therefore they will require a priority to ensure they are completed in a timely and appropriate manner.
This may seem obvious or common sense, however when you are caring for 4-8 patients, it can become challenging to deliver care to all without prioritisation and organisation.
The following strategies and tools will assist with prioritising your task during your shift.
Time Management Strategies and Tools
For years, one of the standards for managing your time is to work to a schedule. Many nurses achieve this by using a worksheet, notepad and/or pen. Nurses utilise this method by writing down important and vital information about their patient from handover and during their shift. This would then be used again throughout the shift. A notepad or basic worksheet is good, however, it is much easier to use a template.
The template for your time management sheet often begins with a simple one provided by work or your training institution. A good time management sheet has spaces for handover notes, patient details and demographics, lab work, new orders, medication times and specific other care information for that patient. Having a tool to manage your time throughout a shift is key to a smooth shift.
I have created a shift planner for you all – CLICK HERE – Shift Planner
10 Strategies & Tips to Supercharge your Time Management
1. Arrive early
That extra 5-10 minutes will give you the chance to settle in and get the vibe for the shift ahead. With this time you are able to get changed (if you need to), place your lunch in the fridge, check out your allocations and begin planning your day, all prior to handover.
2. Use a shift planner
Write things down so you can remember, organise and prioritise your work. As I mentioned above, using a shift planner is ideal to capture your shift ahead, plan and monitor the execution of your cares and to use when writing progress notes. Check out my Shift Planner – Here.
3. Prioritise
Use your own method. It is great to utilise a system which works with your shift planner. whether you tick or allocate tasks to certain times or asterisk or highlight those activities that must be completed during the shift or at specific times, ie. a wound dressing, IV antibiotics etc.
Ask yourself:
- What am I going to do first and why?
- Which is more important to do and why?
- What will happen if this task is not done now or during this shift?
- What is most important to the patient?
4. Limit distractions and factor in the interruptions
As a nurse, it’s important to avoid being distracted as this could affect your concentration and focus. Distractions cause a decrease in productivity which may cause extra stress with the workload to complete. Clinical situations occurring with other patients who you are not caring for, others staff asking for assistance, mobile phones, doctors visiting wards, all provide distractions.
You have to figure out strategies to stop these impeding your ability to do your job:
- Do whatever it takes to put yourself “in the zone”
- Prioritise your tasks
- Use short breaks as outlets (if possible)
In between the distractions, you will encounter interruptions. Being adaptable and flexible while on shift is a key skill to regulate stress and the workflow. Sudden deteriorations, codes, admissions, post operative patients, doctors making rounds, relatives visiting, staff sick leave all require continuous flexibility and sometimes replanning.
5. Be organised
Having a clean, tidy and organised work area facilitates the progression of work. Have a system for your work progression and stick to it. This will facilitate flow as well as enable you to develop skills along the way.
6. Be efficient and get things right
Don’t take shortcuts and don’t guess. Be thorough with your patient care.
If you need to take an extra couple of minutes to double-check patient notes, or something you are unsure of, do it.
The consequences of an adverse event may be more than extra time.
Likewise when writing notes or handing over be concise and detailed but avoid babbling and waffling on or gossiping. Knowing what to include and what can be left out takes practice.
7. Learn how to delegate to get more done
If you’re working in pairs or a team with healthcare workers or students, allocate tasks appropriate to skill level that will allow you to complete what you need to whilst also supervising.
Make sure you delegate the right task to the right person. Be aware of others scope of practice including students. Are they student RN’s, if so, what year of study are they? They usually carry a scope of practice document with them. Check it out.
Keep communication channels open, for example clinical observations are performed so that any irregularities are reported back to you.
8. Learn to say ‘no’ and set the boundaries
This is a key skill to learn and use. You will have many competing tasks during your shift and basically one of them will be of priority and get done and the others will not. Learning when to say no ties in with prioritising your tasks.
9. Take a breath or two and a break!
Taking a few minutes out to reassess where you are at and to prioritise what needs to be done next is the best thing you can do. You cannot think clearly when in the middle of the situation. Step into the treatment or medication room and collect your thoughts and focus on what needs to be done next and for the rest of the shift.
No matter how busy the shift is, go to the toilet and take your meal breaks. You need fuel to recharge and complete your shift effectively and safely.
10. Be easy on yourself
No one likes handing over work they could have done. There will always be work left unfinished in nursing – and whether you’ve prioritised as best you can often be subjective. The emotional support you provided to a patient may have been more important than the daily wound dressing you didn’t get to. Tasks are important but remember your patient’s needs and being an advocate for yourself as well as your patients sometimes is priority.
Time management takes practice. Reflect on what worked well and what didn’t at the end of your shift and why. Sometimes things are beyond your control, however you might identify areas for improvement.
If you missed the opportunity above, Here is my Shift Planner which will help you all with developing your time management skills caring for patients on the ward.
If you would like to stay up to date with everything, subscribe by CLICKING HERE.
by Aussie Nurse Educator | Sunday, August 8, 2021
Get your regular dose…
Hey Friends,
Thank you for stopping by for your regular dose.
After a couple of months working hard, I decided to take a quick break!
What has been happening?
I just returned from a nice holiday in Thredbo at the snow.
A couple of days back at home and back at work, my local area has joined other parts of Australia in lockdown as we attempt to stop the spread of the delta variant of covid.
My love goes out to you all during these challenging times.
What have I been doing? Well, I enjoyed a few days at the snow, snowboarding. I find the weather and cold air on the mountains during the winter months rejuvenating. I try to get down to the snow each year however this year was the first time in three years!
Following my return I have jumped straight back into work. I have been busy with nursing and business work, including creating content for the Aussie Nurse Educator. I have been receiving some lovely DM’s and emails from our website… keep them coming! I am loving chatting with you all.
Monthly Dose Newsletter
I have been planning on releasing a monthly newsletter. In preparation for this, I have added a newsletter signup section to the website. Thank you to those who have subscribed already! You will be the first to find out about what is going on, regular blogs, monthly doses, products, resources and downloads. If you would like to subscribe >> CLICK HERE
Meeting New People
I have had the pleasure of networking with some great nurses through the Aussie Nurse Educator. I am extremely grateful to have met Jackson from The Nurse Break (CLICK HERE to check out The Nurse Break) and Aleisha and Kelly from the Two Humerus Nurses Podcast (CLICK HERE to check them out on instagram). I will be collaborating with them in the near future. Stay tuned to learn more about me!
Students & New Graduate Nurses
If you didn’t know, I mentor students and new graduate nurses. In my role as a Clinical Nurse Educator, I not only assist students and grads on the floor clinically, I also assist them with other aspects of their growth and progression including resume writing and interview preparation.
I am absolutely stoked with the messages I have been receiving from you all. Well done on your efforts so far! Keep going, you are all so close!
Exciting News
I am developing a FREE RESOURCE.
So many of you have been enjoying my medication profiles and pharmacology posts. Some of you have reached out to me via DM or email and asked if I had any more resources to help. Let me tell you they are planned and on their way! I just need time to create and develop them for you!
Stay tuned, COMING SOON!
by Aussie Nurse Educator | Monday, June 14, 2021
What a crazy couple of months it has been!
I am so excited to be launching my website for the Aussie Nurse Educator!
After commencing earlier this year, I have been planning the development of a website to complement and showcase the Aussie Nurse Educator, myself and the services I offer.
HERE IT IS!
Please have a look around!
My shop is COMING SOON!
The website has been a massive project and process for me as I have been developing the site myself. Right from idea, planning, development and execution, I am doing the lot. Well, with the help of my lovely wife! This coupled with running the other aspects of the Aussie Nurse Educator and still working clinically has proved challenging. Thank you to my wife again!
I am so excited for what is to come for the Aussie Nurse Educator. I am so glad I decided to go online. As mentioned in my previous post, getting to know and engage with my following has been great. I have also been offered many other opportunities which I am currently working on…
More to come!
by Aussie Nurse Educator | Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Welcome to the Aussie Nurse Educator Blog!
I am stoked to have you stop by here for a read.
Let me explain where the Aussie Nurse Educator originated…..
During the 2020 down time I sparked the idea of the Aussie Nurse Educator while enjoying time away from work on holidays with my wife.
The events during 2020 lead me to plan my idea and place it in a safe spot for a later time.
That time, was during our next holiday, early 2021. During the holiday I decided it was time to start, so I pulled out the plan and started to work. I spent a couple of weeks refining the idea and planning my progression moving forward and on the 26th January 2021 I started the Aussie Nurse Educator on instagram.
I have had a great time commencing the instagram and engaging with my following. I have had some lovely messages and support from some lovely people! Thank you to you all!
I decided, early I really wanted a website. Somewhere I could show more about the Aussie Nurse Educator, myself and services I offer. I have always wanted to have a blog and here we are.
Website COMING SOON.