Wednesday 5 September 2018

The Three-Month Vacation Nears Its End

Beautiful Byron Bay
Having last worked on the 1st of June, it is now just over three months since I worked a shift. I am due to start my new job on the 10th September, and having been out of the habit of work and routine for so long, I am dreading how I am going to cope! I went in to the hospital two days ago to meet with a HR representative in order to complete a heap of forms and sign my contract. I was very surprised to be given a 'welcome to work' pack, consisting of Tim-Tams, Vegemite, sun cream, note pads, and various other bits and bobs. Not only that, but my workplace induction will place in the same week I start work - now that's a novelty! There is a little amount of excitement - very deep down admittedly - and hopefully it'll be a positive experience from the start.

This week has consisted of lots of tedious tasks which I like to call 'life admin'. Things that need to get done but I like to keep putting off! Today I have been at the library (unfortunately you are limited to two hours per day on the computers) doing eLearning for the new job. This consisted of a fairly basic online module on outcome measures and patient rating scales (must remember that patients here are referred to as 'consumers'), and fortunately are mostly similar to tools used in the UK.

I find it a little odd that the facility I will be working at offers the choice of wearing your own clothes, or purchasing a uniform. Surely the point of a uniform is that everyone wears the same? Either way, I've decided to opt for the uniform in order to save the bother of buying a whole new work wardrobe and having to think about what to wear each day. You are allocated a voucher of $400 to pick what you like from a selection of shorts, trousers, shirts or polo shirts, or tunics. You can even order yourself a true Aussie-style canvas hat! I'll be skipping the hat - I'm not ready for that just yet!

I joined the gym at the end of last week, but had been waiting for a gym induction to be able to use the facilities. It's been two months since I last stepped into a gym so it'll be nice to get back to exercising and getting those endorphins flowing, and hopefully will be another way to meet like-minded people. As a bonus, the leisure centre has both and indoor and outdoor pools, so come Summer-time the outdoor pool will be a delight! They also run a running club on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 6am. I've really missed running but have found it diffiuclt to find adequate running routes, so maybe this will be a good (and safe) option.

I am feeling rather stressed about the prospect of commuting to work at the moment. I've weighed up my options, and decided that buying a car will be fairly pointless here in Brunswick; you can walk everywhere you need to or use public transport, so the costs will far outweigh the benefits. In fact, I've actually enjoyed how much I've needed to walk, and realise how lazy I had gotten at home, driving the 2 minutes down the road to Tesco instead of walking, or driving to the gym for ease. Anyway, the drive to work would be around 15-20 minutes, however there is always heavy traffic on those routes and so public transport would be easier. The downside with working shifts however, is that they will be starting and ending at funny times, quite often when there are transport delays or replacement services. The final option is to cycle. I have no problems with cycling, but am not very confident at cycling on the roads. However, there are plenty of second-hand bikes available locally, the route will take no more than 25 minutes, and apart from the initial outlay for a bike, the transport will be free. I've therefore lined up a few bikes to try out tomorrow and hopefully this will result in me being sorted for work. I've got to get over my cycling fear! It'll be much nicer to be able to leave work the minute I finish, and get home to make the most of my 15:30 finishes, as opposed to waiting around for public transport. Not only that, but it would involve a 20-minute walk from the hospital to the train station, on top of the journey.

I'm a bit of a one for leaving things until the last minute, and have booked to go away to the Mornington Peninsula from Thursday to Sunday, with four others girls from the UK who are all nurses. I must say, I can't really stand Facebook, but it has been a Godsend for meeting people, and it will be great to spend time with some fellow nurses. We will be visiting the hot springs at Mornington, going out for dinner, celebrating the birthday of one of the girls, and spending some time relaxing. The only downside is arriving back Sunday afternoon doesn't give me a great deal of time to prepare for work, but I couldn't say no to one final trip before I get back on the grind! I've been blowing money like it's been going out of fashion, but with three months off work I feel it would be criminal not to make the most of exploring Australia and enjoying my time. Fortunately most people get paid every fortnight in Australia, so it won't feel like such a long time before I get to replenish the (drinking) funds!
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1 comment

  1. Definitely sounds great to have one last holiday before you start. I hope your new job goes well. Bike confidence definitely comes quickly, I was very nervous at first on mine.

    M xx

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